March 30, 2011 Are You A Good Guy?

In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him." Good Salvation Wednesday Morning to all of you, my dear brothers and sisters. Please pray today for the souls of the unsaved and ask God to use all of us who are saved to help bring in the harvest, so that they also may be saved by the loving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Big Trip 15-3 Are You A Good Guy (Girl) 3 Luke 10:30 - In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wind. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him." (NIV) Ok, let's bring this up to today, what it might be like. A man is walking toward town when he is jumped by a gang of robbers, they strip him of his clothes, take his sneakers and his cell phone and beat him and maybe even shoot him. Now along comes some folks, they see the man lying there bleeding and hurting so they talk among themselves. I am not going to help this man, the robbers might be just hanging out waiting to jump ones who help, said one man. The next man says if we go and help him and he dies his relations will sue us saying we did something wrong. I am not going to get sued. The next man says we must do something and called 911 on his cell phone and got an ambulance rolling. Then along comes another person who covers the man with his coat, cleans his wounds with his shirt and waits till that ambulance arrives. Today, so many people do not want to stop and help as they are afraid they might get sued, but fear not, there is a good Samaritan law that will protect them. In fact, folks, if you witness a vehicle accident it is the law you stop and assist. In the above scriptures Jesus uses the example of what we now call the story of the "Good Samaritan" to teach who our neighbors really are. So I ask you today, who are your neighbors? Your neighbors are everyone except you and of course Jesus. Even your spouse is your neighbor. Your neighbor can be living in your same house. Love God and Love your neighbor and please, please do not be afraid to help others. A few good rules to remember when helping others. If you come upon an accident or witness an accident what is the first thing you do to help your neighbors? You protect the area from another accident. Do not move an injured person unless they are in danger of more injuries. Example, a person is injured, maybe even a back injury and they are in a car. Do you get them out or wait for an ambulance and for those first responders? In most cases the injured should not be moved, but if you see the car is leaking gas, get help and get the people out of the car. What you can do in advance, so that if the time comes... Why not take a Red Cross Safety course, learn how to "Stop Bleeding and Start Breathing." Now let me point this out today before I leave... If you really love your neighbor as you do yourself you will prepare for what might happen. You will be ready. And most of all, you will do what Jesus has commanded us to do and tell our neighbors the good news of Jesus Christ. We need to work the harvest, and help our neighbors. If you help a neighbor with food, or some used clothes, or help them clear the snow from their walk, etc, the neighbor will soon notice you care about them, not just to preach to them, but to have honest love for them, that you care about them all the time, and that will make it so much easier to tell them about God. And caring about others can also be a lot of fun. Yesterday I made some veggie soup and I mean a lot of it. I shared it with others and then I had this one big container in the car and was coming home. My neighbor across the street had just pulled in their driveway, a working family. Mom and dad work hard. I carried the soup up to the door and said, "You don't want to cook tonight do you?" and handed her the soup. She was thrilled (at least till she tasted it). Help someone today, be a good Samaritan today. You don't need to wait for someone to be robbed, help them today by sharing your blessings... Someone say Amen. Dear Father in Heaven, help me to always help my neighbors and to love them and help me to remember that my neighbors come in all colors and sizes and with all different looks, all made in your image. Lord, help me to learn to love as You love others. In the name of Jesus, I pray, also praying today for the lost. May the harvest be good today and may we help. Amen. Go forth now and share those blessings with your neighbors... love ya, Pastor Dan.