Investing in Others: A Life of Compassion

In today's gathering, we took a moment to honor and appreciate our veterans, recognizing their sacrifices and commitment to our nation. We prayed for God's blessings upon them and their families, acknowledging the depth of their service. As we continue our series, "A Life Well Lived," we delve into the concept of investments—not just financial, but more importantly, investments in people. This is a crucial aspect of living a life that is truly fulfilling and meaningful.

Reflecting on the parable of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10, we explored the profound lesson Jesus teaches about the value of investing in others. The story begins with a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, a dangerous journey known for its treacherous path. This man is attacked, robbed, and left for dead. The narrative highlights the indifference of a priest and a Levite, who both pass by without offering help. In contrast, a Samaritan, considered an enemy by the Jews, stops to care for the wounded man, demonstrating compassion and selflessness.

This parable challenges us to redefine who our "neighbor" is and to see every wounded person as someone worthy of our investment. It calls us to look beyond societal divisions and prejudices, recognizing that every individual has an eternal soul valued by God. The Samaritan's actions exemplify the kind of investment that God desires from us—one that is sacrificial and rooted in love.

In our world today, we encounter many wounded individuals, whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Our mission as followers of Christ is to see these people through God's eyes and to respond with compassion and action. The church is not a place for comfort and exclusivity but a life-saving station for those lost and hurting. We are called to invest our time, resources, and talents in the redemption of lost souls, understanding that this is the essence of a life well-lived.

Key Takeaways:

- **The Value of Investing in People**: True investment goes beyond financial gain; it involves pouring into the lives of others, recognizing their eternal worth. Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that every person is valuable and deserving of our compassion and care. [29:38]

- **Redefining Our Neighbor**: The parable challenges us to expand our understanding of who our neighbor is. It is not limited to those we know or like but includes anyone in need, regardless of societal divisions or prejudices. [32:01]

- **Seeing Through God's Eyes**: We are called to view others as God does, recognizing their wounds and offering help. This perspective shifts our focus from judgment to compassion, enabling us to fulfill our mission as the church. [42:33]

- **The Church's Mission**: The church is meant to be a life-saving station, not a club for the comfortable. Our primary purpose is to reach out to the lost and wounded, investing in their redemption and healing. [59:43]

- **Sacrificial Love**: The Good Samaritan's actions remind us that true love involves sacrifice. We are called to invest in others without expecting anything in return, reflecting the love of Christ who died for us while we were still sinners. [01:08:15]

Youtube Chapters:

[00:00] - Welcome
[28:11] - Introduction to Investments
[29:38] - The Parable of the Good Samaritan
[31:07] - The Lawyer's Question
[32:01] - Who is My Neighbor?
[42:33] - Wounded by the World
[50:28] - Rejected by Religious Leaders
[59:43] - The Church's Mission
[01:00:37] - A Messy Church
[01:01:09] - The Good Investment
[01:02:43] - The Samaritan's Compassion
[01:03:47] - Sacrificial Love
[01:04:24] - Seeing Through God's Eyes
[01:05:22] - Helping Without Expectation
[01:06:39] - Conclusion and Prayer

**Bible Study Discussion Guide: "A Life Well Lived"**

**Bible Reading:**
- Luke 10:25-37 (The Parable of the Good Samaritan)

**Observation Questions:**
1. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, who were the first two individuals to encounter the wounded man, and what was their response? ([50:28])
2. How did the Samaritan's actions differ from those of the priest and the Levite? ([01:02:43])
3. What question prompted Jesus to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan, and how does this question relate to the concept of a "neighbor"? ([32:01])
4. What does the parable suggest about societal divisions and prejudices during the time of Jesus? ([01:03:47])

**Interpretation Questions:**
1. Why might Jesus have chosen a Samaritan as the hero of the story, and what message was he conveying to his audience? ([01:02:43])
2. How does the parable of the Good Samaritan redefine the concept of "neighbor" in the context of Jesus' teachings? ([32:01])
3. What does the parable teach about the nature of true compassion and investment in others? ([01:04:24])
4. How does the parable challenge the listener to view others through God's eyes, and what implications does this have for the church's mission? ([01:06:39])

**Application Questions:**
1. Reflect on a time when you were like the priest or the Levite, passing by someone in need. What prevented you from helping, and how might you respond differently in the future? ([50:28])
2. Consider the societal divisions and prejudices present in your own community. How can you actively work to bridge these gaps and invest in those who are different from you? ([01:03:47])
3. Identify a "wounded" person in your life—someone who is struggling physically, emotionally, or spiritually. What practical steps can you take this week to show them compassion and support? ([01:04:24])
4. The sermon emphasized the church as a life-saving station rather than a club for the comfortable. How can your small group contribute to this mission in your local community? ([59:43])
5. Sacrificial love was a key theme in the sermon. What is one way you can practice sacrificial love in your relationships this week, expecting nothing in return? ([01:08:15])
6. How can you cultivate a perspective that sees others through God's eyes, especially those who may have hurt you or whom you find difficult to love? ([01:06:39])
7. Reflect on the church's mission to invest in the redemption of lost souls. What specific role can you play in this mission, and how can you begin to take action? ([01:09:26])

I'm ready to provide the 5-day devotional based on the steps outlined. Here it is:

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Day 1: Investing in Eternal Worth
True investment transcends financial gain, focusing on the eternal value of people. The parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates this principle by showing how compassion and care for others reflect a life well-lived. In the story, a Samaritan helps a wounded man, demonstrating that every person is valuable and deserving of our attention and love. This act of kindness challenges us to invest in people, recognizing their worth beyond societal labels or prejudices. By doing so, we align ourselves with God's perspective, seeing each individual as a soul of infinite value. [29:38]

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." (Hebrews 13:16, ESV)

Reflection: Who in your life can you invest in today, recognizing their eternal worth? How can you show them they are valued and loved?


Day 2: Expanding the Definition of Neighbor
The parable of the Good Samaritan challenges us to broaden our understanding of who our neighbor is. It is not limited to those we know or like but includes anyone in need, regardless of societal divisions or prejudices. The Samaritan's willingness to help someone considered an enemy by his people exemplifies the call to love beyond boundaries. This redefinition of neighbor encourages us to break down barriers and extend compassion to all, reflecting the inclusive love of Christ. [32:01]

"And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" (Matthew 5:47, ESV)

Reflection: Is there someone outside your usual circle who needs your help today? How can you reach out to them and show them love?


Day 3: Seeing Through God's Eyes
We are called to view others as God does, recognizing their wounds and offering help. This perspective shifts our focus from judgment to compassion, enabling us to fulfill our mission as the church. By seeing through God's eyes, we become more attuned to the needs of those around us, responding with empathy and action. This approach transforms our interactions, allowing us to be conduits of God's love and grace in a world that desperately needs it. [42:33]

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:4, ESV)

Reflection: How can you practice seeing others through God's eyes today? What specific action can you take to help someone in need?


Day 4: The Church as a Life-Saving Station
The church is meant to be a life-saving station, not a club for the comfortable. Our primary purpose is to reach out to the lost and wounded, investing in their redemption and healing. This mission requires us to step out of our comfort zones and engage with those who are hurting, offering them hope and support. By embracing this calling, we fulfill the true purpose of the church, becoming a beacon of light and love in our communities. [59:43]

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV)

Reflection: What steps can you take to make your church a more welcoming and supportive place for those in need?


Day 5: Sacrificial Love
The Good Samaritan's actions remind us that true love involves sacrifice. We are called to invest in others without expecting anything in return, reflecting the love of Christ who died for us while we were still sinners. This sacrificial love is the hallmark of a life well-lived, as it mirrors the selfless nature of God's love for humanity. By choosing to love sacrificially, we become instruments of God's grace, impacting the lives of those around us in profound ways. [01:08:15]

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13, ESV)

Reflection: What is one way you can demonstrate sacrificial love to someone today, expecting nothing in return? How can this act of love reflect Christ's love for you?

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Amen.

We are so honored today to be able to recognize and show appreciation for our veterans that are here with us today or listening online. We want you to know how much we love and appreciate you.

But for those of us that are here in the room at the Antioch campus, and they're doing this at the Smyrna campus as well, I want the lights up in the audience, and I'd like for all of our veterans to please stand and remain standing for just a moment if you would.

All the veterans, please stand. Thank you. Thank you. If you would, please remain standing for a moment. I want us to join together as a church family and pray over you and thank God for your service.

Let's pray together.

Father, we're just grateful for these men and women who have given some of their lives to the service of this country and our military. They made a commitment that required sacrifice for themselves and their families, and we're just so thankful. We ask you to continue to pour out blessing on them for what they've done, for the commitment that they made, for the sacrifices their families made so that they could serve. We just thank you, Father. Help them to know how loved and appreciated they all are. It's in the name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.

Let's thank them one more time. Thank you. Good to see you.

Welcome again, everyone. Welcome to Smyrna campus. We love you guys. Glad you're connected there. Everybody connecting with us online, we're happy to have that connection with you as well.

As we continue a message series called "A Life Well Lived," I was out of town last week. Sven and I went. I had a fun job to do last week, both emotional and fun at the same time. I officiated the wedding of our granddaughter, Randy, who's named after me. So you can imagine, I was a little bit of a tearjerker there. But also a very special thing to be able to do that out in Arizona. So we're thankful we can make that trip. And we're thankful that Pastor Mike did a great job last week bringing the message in this series about decision making.

Don't applaud too much. He's already got a big head. No, he does a great job. And he reminded us of how important the decisions we make every day are and bringing us to the place that we have a life that is a well-lived life. Every decision impacts that, has an influence over that.

And today we're going to be talking about investment opportunities. Some people, when you see the word investments, automatically most of us think of money, right? Financial investments. And it does include that, but that's not the main thing we're talking about today. We're talking about investing in people's lives and why that is such a big deal, why that is so important to have a life that is well-lived.

There was a dean of the school of agriculture at a university that was interviewing a student who was applying for admission. And he asked the prospective student, "Why have you chosen this career?" And the student said, "Well, I dream of making a million dollars in farming like my father." And the dean was impressed. He said, "Your father made a million dollars in farming?" He said, "No, but he always dreamed of it."

You see, sometimes when we look at investments, if you only look at it from a dollar-for-dollar perspective, some things don't make sense to invest in. Some things that you invest in, you're probably not going to see that direct dollar-for-dollar, even break-even, or maybe make a profit kind of investment. And some of the things that are truly worth investing in.

And I'm here today for us to look at a story that Jesus told, a parable in Luke chapter 10. If you want to be turning there with us, it's one that might be familiar to a lot of you. At least the term will be familiar to you. Maybe even if you weren't raised in church, the idea of the Good Samaritan. Maybe you've heard of that idea, the parable of the Good Samaritan.

We're going to be looking at the parable of the Good Samaritan because I believe Jesus is teaching us an important lesson here about the value and the worth of investing in people, especially when you understand how God views those people. And when you understand that every one of them has an eternal soul that was worth the price of the blood of the Son of God. Every single one.

Investing in people, to me, is one of the greatest ways for us to invest wisely in the eternal things of the Kingdom. So let's look at this story in Luke 10, beginning with verse 30.

Here, leading into it, I want you to get the context a little bit. There was an expert of the law. An expert in the law is questioning Jesus. Now it says an expert in the law. We think of it in terms of a lawyer today or a judge or something like that. An expert in the law then would have been similar to that, but it would have been a little different because in their culture, or the Jewish culture, the people he's speaking to, an expert in the law would be an expert in the laws of God.

The law that God gave. Remember we did a series through the book of Exodus? We saw how God gave them the law to teach them how to live, what was good and acceptable to God, what was not. And so this is an expert in knowing that law that God gave in that old covenant law. And he questions Jesus about what is going to be the key to having eternal life.

"What must I do?" he says, "to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus says, as he often did when people asked him a question, he turned it back on the lawyer. "How do you read it?" And the lawyer, the expert in the law, gives a good answer. He says, "Well, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself."

And Jesus answers him, "You've answered correctly. Do this and you will live." That's the key to life right there. Remember on another occasion Jesus said all the law and the prophets were wrapped up in those two commandments. It doesn't mean those two things are exhaustive commentaries on the law; it just means they sum up everything that the law was all about.

Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you can get that right, then you're probably going to be under the authority of God and his teachings in every other area of your life because it all begins there.

And so we pick up here in verse 30 when the expert in the law once said he asked Jesus to justify himself. So he asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbor?" And beginning in verse 30, this is Jesus' answer to the question, "Who is my neighbor?"

Because if you have to love your neighbor as yourself, then you've got to get a good definition of who the neighbor is. Because like most good lawyers, if you want to look at them as a lawyer, one of the things lawyers do is they look for the details of ways to sometimes make sure this is being fulfilled as it should be or loopholes.

So if you're not supposed to be obligated there, you're not being obligated there. They're trying to sort all of that out for us. And so this lawyer for himself is trying to sort this out for his own life. Now, sometimes even this account, sometimes the expert in the law gets bashed a little bit, and I don't think in any way he's trying to be deceptive here or manipulative.

He's thinking from a legalistic standpoint, "What's the very least I could do?" Or "What is the most I have to do to have eternal life?" Don't most of us sometimes think that way a little bit? Can I get by with this and still get into heaven? Can I not do that and still get into heaven? Can I do it differently than God says and still get into heaven? We look at it sometimes that way too.

So here he is answering that question, "Who is my neighbor?" Beginning in verse 30, in reply, Jesus said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead."

Let's stop there for a moment. That got their attention right away, I'm sure. The way Jesus describes this would have been very realistic. This is the very road he's talking about. It's the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. And it says he was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. But if you look on the map, Jericho is a little bit north of Jerusalem.

So why would he say going down to Jericho from Jerusalem? It's because Jerusalem was the higher elevation, and the way they described it included the geography and topography of the area. They were going down from the higher elevation to Jericho.

So here he is traveling a road that they would know. In fact, that road was well known. It was 17 miles long, and almost the whole 17 miles was treacherous for anybody, especially to travel alone. It was rocky. There were a lot of little cliffs and outposts, outstretched areas of land along the edges of the road where it was known that it was a place where quite often thieves, robbers, really bad people would hide behind some of those outcroppings of rock and things to catch people traveling by surprise to rob them.

On that road, that road had a nickname in that time, in that culture: the Way of Blood. Now some of us know parts of town like that, right? Where you feel less comfortable in those areas, where you've heard of more crime in those areas, where it has a reputation of not being safe. We all know that we are aware of places like that around us, and that was the way this road was known.

So oftentimes people would travel a lot longer distance to go from Jerusalem to Jericho or from Jericho back to Jerusalem and not take that road, even though it was the more direct path. It was just so dangerous, and it was known to be dangerous.

And when we see something like this, this guy is beaten, he's robbed, left for dead. And sometimes we get today in our culture, thanks to media and social media, we have every bad thing that happens out there in our culture projected to us over and over again. And we can start thinking that maybe it's worse now than it's ever been.

And we forget that even way back then there was evil. There were bad people. There was bad stuff going on way back then too. That doesn't excuse it. That doesn't make it okay. It doesn't mean we should turn our backs to it and act like it's not there. No, we don't need to do that. But we also don't need to think, "Poor us, it's worse now than it's ever been." No, that's not true.

There's always been this element out there of people following the sinful nature into evil acts in the world. It's been going on throughout the course of history since the fall. You see, here's the thing: Satan is the deceiver and the liar, and he's the prince, the ruler of this world, the dark forces of this world. And he is there to kill and destroy, to steal, kill, and destroy, the scripture says.

And so we need to know the people who love and reign. We need you what our nature is: to be boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.

Does that sound a little bit like some of our culture today? Yeah, but it also described the culture when Timothy got this letter from Paul. You know why? Because we were already in the last days then. We've been in the last days since Jesus went back to be with the Father. This is the last age of the earth that we're living in now.

Every generation has tried to take certain events and say that proves we're in the last days. Absolutely, but so were the other events that happened 100 years ago, and so were the ones that happened a thousand years ago, right? We have been in the last days since Jesus went back to be with the Father.

And in the last days, these are the kind of things that are going to be going on, and they have been going on the whole time since Jesus came. We are in the last age of the earth, and during that last age, because we're under the curse of sin and people are living by the flesh and not by the Spirit, when you live by the flesh, you're under the control of the ruler of fleshly things, who is Satan.

And Satan promotes evil in this world. God gets the blame, but Satan is the one behind it. And Satan loves that. He loves it when people accuse God of not taking care of those things and keeping those things from happening when Satan is the one manipulating those things and those people that do those things.

We need to understand that that's not God's plan; that's Satan's plan. When people are living like this, they're under the rule and the control of sin, and they're following after the flesh and not the Spirit. And yes, in the last days here, we're seeing it all around us too.

Just back in October, very close to this campus, not far from the Smyrna campus at the Mill Creek Greenway, a young lady named Melissa, who was only 34 years old, was out getting some exercise. She was attacked, beaten, raped, and shot in the head and killed just right down from us here, not far at all.

Wasn't doing anything wrong. Wasn't doing anything wrong, anything she shouldn't have been doing. Why do those things happen? It's because in the last days, people will be controlled by the flesh and the sinful nature if they're not surrendered to the control of the Spirit of God.

Doesn't excuse it. The person needs to be held accountable who does those things, those kinds of things. But we shouldn't be surprised when evil things happen in a world under the curse of sin, where people are following after the flesh and where they've rejected God and his word, that they do bad stuff.

That's the way this works. And until Jesus comes back and we are in the new world, in the new heaven and the new earth, we're going to have to deal with the consequences of sin in this world.

And while we're here dealing with the consequences of sin, we need to be bringing people out of the control of the flesh, out from under the curse of sin, into the blood of Jesus. That's the role of the church. That's why we exist.

When I say the church, who am I talking about? Now this person, this story tells about this person who was traveling on that road who was beaten, and everyone hearing the story and the way Jesus tells the story would be thinking this is a Jewish person traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho.

And this Jewish man who was beaten and robbed has been wounded terribly. He's left for dead. He's beaten almost to the point of death. Everything he has had on him at the time is taken from him. He has no way to help himself. He's in a totally vulnerable, helpless situation where most likely he's going to die if nobody helps him.

Now why? Why does Jesus start the story this way? Remember what question he's answering: "Who is my neighbor?" And the Jews in the audience would have been probably all Jewish audience that Jesus is talking to would have thought, "Well, yeah, somebody ought to help this guy, right?" I mean, you would think that when you heard the story, somebody ought to help this guy.

He has been severely wounded. But I want you to bring it into today's world and think about how we live because all around us every day there are wounded people. I don't know any other kind. Think about that for a moment.

Everybody you deal with, no matter how happy they look, successful they look, prosperous they look, they all have some wounds that have been inflicted on them along the way. Every individual has been wounded in this world. Why? Because we live under the curse of sin, and sin hurts us all. It wounds us all.

There are wounded people all around us every day, and if we don't understand the call of God and the mission of God, we won't see those people the way God wants us to see those people. We won't respond to those people the way God wants us to respond to those people.

And oftentimes it's because we don't get it. We don't understand the mission. We don't understand the way God wants us to see those people. We don't get it. We don't understand the mission. God wants us to invest our lives while we're here in a way that leads to a life well lived.

A life well lived sees those people, understands that they're wounded, even when they offend us, even when they're not like us, even when they're doing things that we think are wrong for them to do. They're still wounded people that Jesus died for on the cross. Every single one of them is a wounded person that Jesus died for on the cross.

Jesus came to seek and to save the people that got their act together. Is that what it says? Who did he come to seek and save? The lost. Those that have lost their way, those that are out there wounded and lost and don't know how to find their way back.

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Some are physically wounded like Alissa was or like the person in the story was, but there are other kinds of wounds too that we don't see as easily sometimes as the physical wounds.

Others are emotionally wounded. It's amazing when you get to know people's stories how many people have trauma in their stories, in their past. Something traumatic has affected them, has impacted them somewhere along the way in their lives. We wonder, "Why are they like that? How did they get like that?"

But when you get to know them and their story, you can find some things back there that have shaped them into the people that they are now. And some of it is terrible emotional trauma that they've experienced. One of the most common in our culture today is both a physical and an emotional trauma: a child being abused as children.

That's more the story now than I've ever seen it in our society, where those children were abused, oftentimes sexually abused, and oftentimes by people that they were supposed to be able to trust: their own family members, friends. That takes a toll on a child. That changes their viewpoint and perspective of the world and themselves.

When something like that happens to them, it takes a lot of healing to get back beyond that again to the life that God wants for that child. And some children don't make it past it, and they carry it into adulthood, and it changes who they are dramatically as adults: who they trust, what they think of themselves, how they picture who they are, and how they picture other people in their motives in their lives for the rest of their lives. They question that.

You see, there are wounds that we can see and there are wounds that we can't see. Now God sees them; he knows them. But we don't always look through the eyes of God beyond how they're acting to see the wounds that might be there that are causing them to act the way they're acting.

And then there are those that are spiritually wounded too. Sadly, they've been wounded by, in their eyes, the church or people who claim to be Christians who have somehow not responded to them the way they thought they should or treated them the way they thought they should or loved them the way they thought they should.

And all too often, people can wear the name of Christ without living a life consistent with the name of Jesus. And when you've experienced that, it's hard. We tell people they need to do this, but this is not easy. You've got to separate that from Christ himself.

But all they know of Christ is the people that treated them that way, who were wearing the name of Christ. That's all they know of Christ right now. And you wonder why they reject the church and ridicule Christians and act like we don't know what we're doing. But you don't know their story. You don't know how wounded they've been in the past, how hurt they were by someone or by some church that they were trying to get involved in and be a part of.

Now, it's not always the church's fault, and it's not always the individual Christian's fault. Sometimes people misinterpret or take things the wrong way, but sometimes it's deserved, justified that they feel wounded by those who represent Jesus in our culture today.

In John chapter 9, there's an account of a guy that had been healed by Jesus who had been blind. And the Pharisees were supposed to be the spiritual religious leaders of their people, right? And here's how they responded to it.

Verse 13 of John 9: "They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath day. Therefore, the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."

Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." What's this blind man supposed to think? The spiritual leaders are telling him that the guy who did this is wrong, that he shouldn't have ever done that. This is coming from his spiritual leaders in his community.

But others ask, "I think they're smarter than the Pharisees. How can a sinner perform such signs?" So they were divided. Can you imagine the confusion of the guy that was healed? His friends are saying that guy couldn't have done that if he was a bad person, but the Pharisees are telling him he was a bad person. What am I supposed to believe about that?

You see how people can get wounded even by the people who claim to be the people of God? But we know who is the source of that division. In John 10, verse 10, it says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy." Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."

Jesus' intent is always for our good. The wounding is coming from the enemy, not from Jesus. And we have to learn to divide that, separate that, see that for what it really is.

So that's the first thing I want us to see in the story is this guy was wounded by the world. But the second thing is this: he was rejected by the religious leaders.

Look at the rest of the story, beginning in verse 31. A priest, now in the Jewish culture, the priest would be similar to my role, right? I'm a teacher, and under the new covenant, we're all priests under the new covenant. But in that culture, under the law, the priest would have been more like in the role I'm in.

It says that a priest happened to be going down the same road, just happened to be going down the same road, right? Now he's coming from where? Jerusalem. So he's probably been doing some priestly function in Jerusalem, and he's on his way back from that priestly function at the temple there in Jerusalem.

Okay, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite. Now a Levite would be kind of like under the leadership of the priest, and they would serve in the temple and serve the priest and help the priest with whatever all the work they were supposed to be doing. The Levite would be doing that.

A Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. Now the translation there says "saw him." It means they actually paused just for a moment to take a look at this guy. Do you think they could see that he was wounded? Absolutely. What was their response? Passed by on the other side. Maybe even picked up the pace a little bit, right?

Remember, they knew how dangerous this road was. They may have been thinking this could be a trap. He could be faking it. You know, all those things that you think about, and they passed by on the other side.

Now, I like to give the priest a little bit of a break because I'm a pastor. It's only natural that I'd like to give him a break, but I can't find a way to do it. You know, I'm sure he was busy. I'm busy too. I can actually remember this happening to me in the years of ministry that I've had.

Sometimes I've been really busy working on something for the Lord, and somebody had the nerve to interrupt me and wanted to have a conversation with me in the middle of me trying to get stuff done for Jesus, right?

What's the real work of Jesus? People, right? And it's true for all of us as Christ followers that when we see people that are wounded, we come up with all the excuses, all the reasons that we don't need to stop what we're busy with to take time for those people.

And I know we can't spend time with every individual out there that's wounded. None of us can do that. But all of us can do some of that, right? All of us can be involved in this, helping those that are wounded around us, especially the people God puts directly in our path like this priest and this Levite.

He happened to be going down this road. Sure, God is telling through Jesus this story that he's going down this road so that he would see this guy for the purpose of teaching the lesson that he's wanting to teach about who is my neighbor.

So they pass through this road, and they're going down this road, and they pass by on the other side. Now, I'm sure they were busy. They had a lot to do. And I'm sure they also remembered under the law, this is true: if they touched a dead person, they would be unclean for a period of time.

Now, if they're unclean for a period of time, can they do their job? No. So that would have taken them out of their job for a while had they gone over and touched the guy. He was actually already dead, so they could be rationalizing that, right?

If I actually go over there and I'm going to go over there and touch this guy and check on him, I might not get to do my job the rest of the week. And so we look at those loopholes. We talk about lawyers looking for loopholes. I think we all look for some loopholes sometimes in what God has called us to do in our lives.

I wanted to share with you, you've probably heard this. I've shared it years ago, but I came across it again, and it ties directly to this idea that we're talking about here when we talk about how we can change the world and how this guy was rejected by the religious leaders and how often that happens even today in our culture.

It's called the life-saving station. I just want to read it to you real quick because it applies directly to this.

On a dangerous sea coast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station. The building was just a hut. There was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea and, with no thought for themselves, went out day and night tirelessly searching for the lost.

Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding area wanted to become associated with them, with the station, and give of their time and their money and effort for the support of its work. New boats were bought, new crews were trained, the little life-saving station grew.

Some members of the life-saving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the first refuge of those being saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds. They put better furniture in the enlarged building.

Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully and furnished it exquisitely because they used it as sort of a club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work.

The life-saving motif still prevailed in the club's decorations. There was a miniature lifeboat in the room where the club was. The club initiations were held. About this time, a large ship was wrecked off the coast, and the hired crews brought in the boatloads of cold, wet, half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick. The beautiful new club was in chaos.

So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of the shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside. At the next meeting, there was a split in the club membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club's life-saving activities, and they were not able to do so because the club was in chaos and since they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club.

Some members insisted upon life-saving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called the life-saving station, but they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast, which they did.

And the years went by. The new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another life-saving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that sea coast today, you will find a number of exclusive clubs along the shore. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people are lost.

Does that sound at all like the church in America today? We've decided to make ourselves comfortable with the church in our life-saving stations, and we've stopped saving lost people. People wonder why the church is in decline in America, and I can tell you it's because we stopped focusing on the main job of the church and started focusing inward on ourselves and what we want it to be for us instead of what it's going to take to reach the lost out there around us.

You see, it takes an investment to reach those people: time and money and gifts and abilities to reach lost people. It requires a lot of sacrifice, and most church members in America just don't want to make those sacrifices because we're not seeing that as the main mission.

They were here for, oh, and seeing that the church is here to serve us instead of us being the church here to serve others and bring them to know and follow Jesus.

I love that I pastor a church that has this statement, this vision mission statement. Lakeshore exists to connect people to Christ and each other. That's the first thing in our statement. We're here to connect people to Christ. That comes first above everything else we do as a church.

We also exist to grow people to maturity in Christ once they come to him and to serve people in the name of Christ. That's a good thing, but it has to start with rescuing people, rescuing the lost, helping them find their way back to Jesus.

If we do this right, you know what the church is going to look like? Messy. It's going to be really messy. People from all backgrounds, all kinds of situations, all kinds of stuff they're involved in right now, the mess of their lives, they're going to bring it all in here if we're reaching lost people.

That's the way it's supposed to be. We're not a museum for saints. We are a hospital for sinners. That's what we must be to be the church Jesus is calling us to be.

Remember Jesus spoke of the good shepherd who would leave the 99 in the fold to go look for what? The one that was lost. They're already in the fold. That's not the focus. The focus is the one who's out there, not in the fold. That's the focus that we need to have as a church.

Now here's what we have to look at because the church struggles with this. Dollar-wise, that's probably not a great investment. It's going to cost us a lot, and we're not going to get a lot of immediate financial return for doing it.

But Jesus is teaching us it's a good investment. Why? Because it's a good investment. Why? Because those lost people are worth that sacrifice in the way God sees them and the woundedness that they're experiencing right now. He has compassion on them. He wants them to come to know the life that he wants to give them.

Which leads to the third thing, and that is this guy was also saved by a Samaritan. And Jesus, I love this because I have a little bit of this personality. It's like Jesus appreciates sarcasm as much as I do.

Yesterday at the event we had here at the Antioch campus with the fundraiser for Safe Haven Family Shelter, I appreciate everybody that helped with that. It went very well. But one of our members, Mary, had a shirt on about sarcasm and how much she appreciates it and all that. But she said I could get one at Home Depot. She knows me well.

So here's the thing about sarcasm. Usually, there's some element of truth that we need to hear. Not always. Some people are just, you know, very crude in their sarcasm. But a lot of times there's some truth we need to hear.

And Jesus, I think, uses an element of sarcasm here because up to this point, they're feeling not good about the story, but Jesus is about to make them be shocked by the story. Because here's what he says next, okay?

After the priest and Levi went by, verse 33: "But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was." Now what rubs salt into the wound of what they were already feeling in this story is that they were already feeling the same thing. It's that it's a Samaritan that helps this Jewish guy on the side of the road.

You know why? Because they were sworn enemies, the Jews and the Samaritans. Generally speaking, they didn't like each other at all. Generally speaking, if you put it in today's culture, it might be more like the Israelites and the Palestinians right now and what's going on there. Very much like that in that culture then, where the animosity that existed between them.

And the fact that it was the Samaritan that helped really would have been like rubbing salt in the wound for this Jewish audience to hear. Their priest, their spiritual leaders, the priest and Levi, didn't help, but somebody who is a Samaritan actually helped.

And I want you to notice three things about the Samaritan. First of all, he cared for a man he had never met. He didn't know this guy. He had no idea who this guy was. And he still wanted to help bind up his wounds and take care of him.

We put a lot of qualifiers a lot of times on who we're going to help, don't we? I don't know that guy. Why should I help him? I don't know that lady. Why should I help her? Right? Don't we do that? We put that little excuse there, that little loophole in the plan, where unless we know them, we don't think we're obligated to do anything.

So that was the first thing. He cared for a man he never met. And he assisted a man, the second thing is, who was supposed to be his enemy. Here's what you need to know when you read the story that Jesus told.

He went over and he immediately just started binding up the wounds and pouring oil. And that's the way they did with medicine then. They would use oil and wraps to help take care of the wounds and all. And he's taking care of the guy, even though the guy was supposed to be his enemy.

He didn't check to see, "What town are you from?" He didn't check to see, "Are you a Republican or a Democrat?" Right? He didn't check to see, "Do you have a lot of money and a bank account somewhere where I might get something back out of this?"

Which is the third thing, and that is he sacrificed for a man who could be his enemy. He didn't check to see, "Do you have a lot of money and a bank account?" He could not repay him, especially not right then. Everything he had was taken from him right then.

And not only did he spend his own money to take him to the inn and put him in the inn, he even obligated himself to future debt financially to make sure he was still taken care of after he left, which tells me he was on a trip where he needed to get somewhere too because he couldn't just stay there. He had to get on and do things, but he wanted to make sure the guy was taken care of anyway.

Here's what we need to know about what Jesus is teaching us about the investment in people who are wounded: that is, everybody that's wounded is our neighbor. Everybody that's wounded in this world is our neighbor.

Ephesians 6 tells us that our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers and the authorities, the powers of this dark world, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. It's not against Democrats. It's not against Republicans. It's not against the rich. It's not against the poor. It's against Satan.

And Satan is stealing and killing and destroying people. He's the enemy we're fighting against, and every person that's wounded has been wounded by him, not by God. And God's people need to see them through the eyes of God as our neighbors that need our help.

Now, don't get me wrong. There are better ways to help than some other ways. So we need to try to be the best we can at helping people with real legitimate needs that are out there. Jesus also teaches things like if a man will not work, he should not eat, right?

There's some principles you have to apply to that. You don't pull any of this out of context. But still, we need to have compassion and see people through the eyes of God. And if they're wounded, we need to find the best way to help them heal from their wounds as the people of God.

Part of that might be teaching them to take responsibility for themselves in the ways that they can. That might be one of the good ways to help. But in the immediate need, if they're wounded, we need to help bind up the wounds while they learn those steps that they need to take to get back to where they need to be.

So he sacrificed for a man who could not repay him in any way. Why would he do that? Why would he make that kind of investment? He, in this story, he will probably never see this man again. Why would he sacrifice like that?

Because he saw this man through the eyes of God. He saw somebody that mattered to God. He saw someone for whom Jesus died on the cross.

Now, Jesus is going to tell you, he's going to show that example in his ministry when he goes to the cross. Because it said, while we were still sinners, Christ did what? He died for us.

And that's the lesson he's teaching before he even goes to the cross: that every wounded person in the world was worth the investment that God made when he sent Jesus here to go to that cross for them. That's how valuable it is. That's how valuable they are to God.

Luke 19, verse 10, it says, "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." Friends, we're talking about a life well lived. There's no way we could say we've lived a life well if we haven't invested in the redemption of lost souls.

If we haven't been willing to sacrifice and invest time and resources and talents and anything that God has blessed us with as a part of how we manage that and steward that into the mission of the church that he put here on earth to rescue those that were lost.

That's us. We are that church. And we make every excuse in the world for why we can't be actively involved in serving and giving and using our talents in the church when that's the very thing that should be the highest priority for our lives as followers of Jesus Christ.

Maybe there's somebody today that understands that in a way they didn't before. And you're ready to take that step and make that commitment to not just attend church, but be the church and see the wounded around you as your neighbors.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you. We thank you that in Christ we've seen this teaching that he gave us that really, Father, speaks directly to our lives today as all of scripture does. It reminds us that in our busyness and our own brokenness, sometimes we fail to see the wounded around us. Please forgive us.

We thank you for your grace, your mercy, where we've not paid attention like we should. We were not given time and talents and resources like we should to the things that matter most. Help us to value lost people around us the way you do. Help us to see them through your eyes and have compassion on them.

And though they might not all listen and they might not all respond, you still want us to see them as you see them. Provide the opportunity for healing for them should they choose to accept it. Amen.

May we be people you can count on for that, Father, because your love is at work in us and through us. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen.

If you're here today and you're ready to take a step of commitment of your life to the mission that God has called you to in this world, we invite you to come now as we stand and sing. Just come right up front. I will meet you there.

Let's stand and sing together. Amen.

Amen. You want to have a seat, please? Come on up, guys. We've got a couple of prayer requests we especially want to be praying for right now.

Daniel comes asking for prayer. His son, Harper's mom, that's her uncle, he said, passed away. And they're going through that process right now with visitation and the memorial service and all that. We're going to be praying for them as they go through that.

Brenda, come on up. Brenda just wanted to offer praise. Her sister has been battling. Tell us the name of the... I don't pronounce it very well, y'all. Myasthenia gravis. Yes. We call it MG. Right, MG. And I know some other people that battle with that too, and it's a hard thing. But she's recently improved to the point that they could take her off of the prednisone that they had her on. And that's just a really big step of improvement. They want to give God the praise for it. Thank you. Amen.

I know there are many other prayer needs within the congregation. I also want us to just be praying for our country during this time of transition. As a new administration is going to be coming in, the current administration is going through that process of the transition. Let's lift them all up in prayer. We need to pray for all of our leaders, regardless of who you voted for or didn't vote for, okay?

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you that we can give you the praise for this good report. We can ask you to be with us. The family that's going through the loss right now, we know that only you can provide the comfort that's needed there.

And, Father, we pray for our country. We thank you for the blessings that we enjoy here. We just pray for the outgoing administration, that you would guide them, guide their steps in this transition process. We pray for the new administration coming in and everybody that will be in positions of influence there.

We just pray that your guidance would be there for all of them. And, Father, we pray that your will would be done on earth and in our country and in our state and in our towns and in our homes as it is in heaven. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

God bless you. Thank you.

At this time, Walter is going to come and lead us in a time of communion around the Lord's table.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

"We're talking about investing in people's lives. And why that is such a big deal. Why that is so important. To have a life that is well-lived." [00:26:41] (10 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"Investing in people to me is one of the greatest ways for us to invest wisely in the eternal things of the Kingdom." [00:29:42] (9 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you can get that right, then you're probably going to be under the authority of God and his teachings in every other area of your life. Because it all begins there." [00:31:46] (15 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"Every individual has been wounded in this world. Why? Because we live under the curse of sin and sin hurts us all. It wounds us all. There are wounded people all around us every day." [00:42:33] (12 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. Some are physically wounded like Alissa was or like the person in the story was, but there are other kinds of wounds too that we don't see as easily sometimes as the physical wounds." [00:47:33] (17 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"People from all backgrounds, all kinds of situations, all kinds of stuff they're involved in right now, the mess of their lives, they're going to bring it all in here if we're reaching lost people. That's the way it's supposed to be. We're not a museum for saints. We are a hospital for sinners." [01:00:19] (18 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"Here's what we need to know about what Jesus is teaching us about the investment in people who are wounded: that is, everybody that's wounded is our neighbor." [01:06:20] (12 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"Because he saw this man through the eyes of God. He saw somebody that mattered to God. He saw someone for whom Jesus died on the cross." [01:08:30] (14 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"There's no way we could say we've lived a life well if we haven't invested in the redemption of lost souls." [01:09:29] (10 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


"Help us to value lost people around us the way you do. Help us to see them through your eyes and have compassion on them." [01:11:18] (10 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)