The Crucible of Conflict

The crucible is for silver, & the furnace is for gold, & the LORD tests hearts.Proverbs 17:3

The Gospel & My Neighbor

The Parable of the Good Muslim

How do I inherit eternal life? (Luke 10) 25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put

him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Lawyer – Question 1

26He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" Jesus – Question 2

How do I inherit eternal life? (Luke 10) 27And he answered, "You shall love the

Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Lawyer – Answer to Question 2 (What is written in the Law?)

28And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." Jesus – Answer to Question 1 (What shall I do to inherit eternal life?)

Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10) 29But he, desiring to justify himself, said

to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Lawyer – Question 3 (What is the limit to who I must love?)

30Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Robbers – Steal & Injure

Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10) 31Now by chance a priest was going

down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. Priest – See & Do Nothing

32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. Levite – See & Do Nothing

Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10) Numbers 19:11-16 Don’t touch a

dead person or else you will be ceremonially “unclean” for seven days. This is their schedule.

Leviticus 19:34 “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, & you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” This is their purpose.

This is quite a conundrum!

Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10) 33But a Samaritan…

…as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. Samaritan – See & Show Compassion

34He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Treat Wounds – Overcame the Priest’s Failure

Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10) Then he set him on his own animal and

brought him to an inn and took care of him. Transport the Man – Overcame the Priest’s Failure

 35And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' Spend Money on Him – Overcame the Thieves’ Failure

Who is my neighbor? (Luke 10) 36Which of these three, do you think,

proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" Jesus – Question 4

37He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Lawyer – Answer to Question 4 (Which of these three proved to be a neighbor?)

And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." Jesus – Answer to Question 3 (Who is my neighbor?)

The Centrality of the Gospel

The Gospel, The Connection, The Conduct Romans 15:2-3, 7 2 “Let each of us

please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches (insults) of those who reproached (insulted) you fell on me.’ 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

Psalm 69:7-9 7 “For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face. 8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons. 9 For zeal for your house has consumed me, & the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.”

The Gospel, The Connection, The Conduct Galatians 3:7-9 “7Know then that it

is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." 9So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.”

The implied Gospel conduct is to take the Gospel to the Nations (your neighbor).

Four Alienations

Two Inadequate Approaches

“…Jesus weaves into a whole cloth what we would today call private morality & social justice. Along with the well-known prohibitions against sexual lust in the heart, adultery, & divorce there are calls to give to the poor (Matthew 6:1-4) & to refrain from overwork & materialism (Matt. 6:19-24). In Western society these sets of concerns have often been split off from one another. In fact, each of America’s two main political parties has built its platform on one of these sets of ethical prescriptions to the near exclusion of the other.

Two Inadequate Approaches

Conservatism stresses the importance of personal morality, especially the importance of traditional sexual mores & hard work, & feels that liberal charges of racism & social injustice are overblown. On the other hand, liberalism stresses social justice, & considers conservative emphases on moral virtue to be prudish & psychologically harmful. Each side, of course, thinks the other side is smug & self-righteous.”

- Tim Keller in Generous Justice

Two Inadequate Approaches to Loving My Neighbor as

Myself

Liberalism & Conservatism:

…with deeds & with the Word

The Gospel Way to Love My Neighbor

The Gospel Way – Deeds & Word 1 Jn. 3:18 “Little children, let us not

love in word or talk but in deed & in truth.”

James 1:27 “26If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

The Gospel Way – Deeds & Word James 2:14-17  “14What good is it, my

brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Romans 13:9  “The commandments are summed up in this word… ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:14  “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”

The Homeless

The Homeless

The Homeless

The Poor

The Poor

The Poor

The International Community

The International Community

The International Community

Your Literal Neighbor

& when he saw him, he had compassion…

…as he journeyed, came to where he was,

Women Hold up Half the Sky. – Chinese proverb

“Child sexual exploitation is very real and alive in our nation, in our country, in our region, in our state, and in our very own little community.” – Karen Countryman-Roswurm

Within our own country it is estimated that each year there are 1 million American children sexually exploited. 

Women Hold up Half the Sky. – Chinese proverb

The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country each year is increasing. 

Now the 3rd most profitable criminal activity, following only drug and arms trafficking...quickly moving to the top spot.

Average age of entrance into sexual exploitation is 11-14.

One out of every three youth on the street will be lured into sexual exploitation within the 1st 48 hours of leaving home.

Women Hold up Half the Sky. – Chinese proverb

Life expectancy after entering the "life" of being trafficked/exploited is seven years.

The Midwest is a major pipeline (interstates and highways like I-70, I-80 and I-35) for human trafficking with Wichita and Kansas City being among the top originating cities (where children are trafficked from and sent to other areas or destination cities around the nation).

International Student CommunityKSU is home to over 1,900 international students from more than 100 countries. Over 80% of international students never step into an American home.

EphraimOrphanProject.orgWe’re helping build an orphanage in the Central Plateau region of Haiti. The December 10-18 Trip is coming up!

Love your neighbor opportunities... Locally

Your neighborhood Manhattan Emergency Shelter, Inc.

(mesikansas.org) Shepherd’s Crossing

(shepherdscrossing.info) Flint Hills Breadbasket

(breadbasket.manhattanks.org) Life Choice Ministries (lifechoiceks.org) Mosaic of Manhattan

(mosaicofmanhattan.org) Helping International Students

(hismanhattan.org) First Fridays Prayer Plant a LIFE Group

Love your neighbor opportunities... Domestically

Jeri Stroade at All Nations Church (allnationsmobile.org)

Short-term trips Orphan Sunday (orphansunday.org) – live

webcast tonight Plant a LIFE Group

Love your neighbor opportunities... Globally

Ephraim (ephraimorphanproject.org) Operation Christmas Child

(samaritanspurse.org/OCC) Short-term trips Plant a LIFE Group

You go, & do likewise!

Jesus is the Great Samaritan to whom the Good Samaritan points.