Jesus on Relationships [Neighbors] | Javan Shashaty

You got any enemies? Maybe enemy is too strong of a word. You got people that you don't like, people that you can't stand, people that get on your last nerve, that are really difficult to love. Listen, love your neighbor does not come with an exception clause. There's no fine print that says when you feel like it, or as long as they love you back. Some of us are like, I love everybody except for that lady at work. (Laughter) I got to see her tomorrow and it's driving me crazy. Some of you are like, I love everybody except for the people who disagree with me on politics, not them. I love everybody except that family member who talks behind my back that I haven't spoken to in a decade. I love everybody except them. Listen to me, you cannot punt on this command because people are difficult to love. If you're going to love your neighbor as yourself, you've got to do that with the people who are easy to love and those who are very, very, very, very, very difficult to love. And whoever just popped into your mind, when I said that, that applies to them. Love your neighbor. Well, good morning, Calvary Chapel. Come on, let's see what I asked to our feet. I hope you're ready to worship the Lord today. I love coming into God's presence as a family. Listen to how the Psalm, Psalm 96, how he encourages us to sing and gives us a vision of what to do when we gather as God's people. Here's what it says, Psalm 96 verse 1. Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth.

Sing to the Lord and praise his name. For claim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations and his marvelous deeds among all the peoples. I hope you're ready to sing and worship this morning. So lift our voices together. Sing this. Let our praise be your welcome. Let our songs be a sign we are here for you. We are here for you. Your breath come from heaven. Fill our hearts with your life. We are here for you. We are here for you to your hearts. To you our hearts are open, nothing here is hidden in you. Our heart won't desire. You alone are holy, only your worthy God. But your fire falls down. Let our shout. Be your anthem. You're in love. Fill the sky. We are here for you. We are here for you. Let your word. Let your word. Move in power. Let what's dead. Oh, I'm tonight. We are here for you. We are here for you.

Lift your voices. To you our hearts are open, nothing here is hidden in you. Our heart won't desire. You alone are holy, only your worthy God. But your fire falls down. Sing it out. To you our hearts are open, nothing here is hidden in you. Our heart won't desire. You alone are holy, only your worthy God. Your fire falls down. Let your fire fall down. For we sing of your glory. Lift your voice, Church, we love to you! (upbeat rock music) Almighty God of love, we welcome you in this place, we welcome you in praise! ♪ We were through in this place ♪ ♪ We were through ♪ ♪ We were through ♪ ♪ We were through ♪ ♪ We were through ♪ ♪ We were through ♪ ♪ We were through ♪ - Amen. Let's continue reading Psalm 96. When we gather together as God's people, we sing together, and what we do when we sing, why do we sing? What's our role in all of this? Psalmist continues to write, here's what we're to do. When we sing, we ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations. Ascribed to the Lord, the glory and strength. Ascribed to the Lord, the glory do His name.

Bring an offering and come into His cords. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness and tremble before Him, all the earth. There is one person, one who's worthy of our song, worthy of our hearts, of our affections, our devotion, and it's Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords. Let's worship His name together. (audience applauding) ♪ I am in the stream of exaltation ♪ ♪ I was born to lift your name above all names ♪ ♪ You hear the melody of all creation ♪ ♪ But there's a song of praise that only I can bring ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one only in Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one only in Jesus ♪ ♪ You are in heaven ♪ ♪ God of the angel ♪ ♪ And you chose to make my heart dwell in grace ♪ ♪ You hear my unhappiness ♪ ♪ Show me your glory ♪ ♪ So I'd have songs of thanks not even anything ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one only in Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one only in Jesus ♪

♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one only in Jesus ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ Who else is worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one only in Jesus ♪ ♪ Never got anointed one ♪ ♪ Who was and is and is to come ♪ ♪ Lead it on the throne above ♪ ♪ Holy, holy Christ ♪ ♪ The one who shed His blood ♪ ♪ You prove to us the Father's love ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, He lives it up ♪ ♪ Holy, holy ♪ ♪ Who was an isn't is to come ♪ ♪ He seated on the throne above ♪ ♪ Holy, holy ♪ ♪ Right just one shed his mud ♪ ♪ You proved he was the father's love ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ we lifted up ♪ ♪ Holy, holy Lamb of God anointed one ♪ ♪ Who was an isn't is to come ♪ ♪ He seated on the throne above ♪ ♪ Holy, holy ♪ ♪ Right just one shed his mud ♪ ♪ You proved he was the father's love ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ we lifted up ♪ ♪ Who was His worthy ♪ ♪ Who was His worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one ♪

♪ Only you Jesus ♪ ♪ Who was His worthy ♪ ♪ Who was His worthy ♪ ♪ There is no one ♪ ♪ Only you Jesus ♪ There is no one only of Jesus. There is no one only of Jesus. You were the of every song we could ever say. You were the of all the praise we could ever pray. You were the of every breath we could ever pray. We'd live for you. Jesus the name above every other name. And Jesus the only one who could ever say. You were the of every breath we could ever pray. We'd live for you. We'd live for you, sing holy. Holy, there is no one like you. There is no one inside you. Open up my eyes and wonder. Slowly, who you are and let me with your heart lead me. Give me love to those around. Oh, to lead me, Jesus. You were the of every song we could ever sing. You were the of all the praise we could ever pray. Only in Jesus. We could ever pray. We'd live for you. Oh, to lead me, Jesus. Jesus the name above every other name. No one like you. Jesus the only one who could ever sing. You were the of every breath we could ever pray. We'd live for you. Oh, we'd live for you. And holy, there is no one like you. There is none beside you. Open up my eyes and wonder. Show me who you are and let me with your heart lead me. Give me love to those around me. Holy, there is no one like you. There is none beside you. Open up my eyes and wonder. ♪ Show me who ♪ ♪ With your heart in me ♪ ♪ In your love to host love around me ♪

♪ Won't you leave me, Jesus ♪ ♪ Help me see the world I get to ♪ ♪ Where you go, I will follow you ♪ ♪ I will build my life ♪ ♪ Upon your love ♪ ♪ It is a profound nation ♪ ♪ I will put my trust ♪ ♪ In you alone ♪ ♪ And I will not be shaken ♪ ♪ I will build my life ♪ ♪ Upon your love ♪ ♪ It is a profound nation ♪ ♪ I will put my trust ♪ ♪ In you alone ♪ ♪ And I will not be shaken ♪ ♪ Holy, there is no one like you ♪ ♪ There is not beside you ♪ ♪ Open up my eyes and wonder ♪ ♪ Show me who you are and fill me ♪ ♪ With your heart and leave me ♪ ♪ Think of love to those around me ♪ ♪ Think of me ♪ ♪ There is no one like you ♪ ♪ There is not beside you ♪ ♪ Open up my eyes and wonder ♪ ♪ Show me who you are and fill me ♪ ♪ With your heart and leave me ♪ ♪ Think of love to those around me ♪ ♪ I will build my life ♪ ♪ Upon your love ♪

♪ It is a profound nation ♪ ♪ I will put my trust ♪ ♪ In you alone ♪ ♪ And I will not be shaken ♪ ♪ I will tell me shaken ♪ ♪♪ ♪ And I will build my life ♪ ♪ Upon your love ♪ ♪ It is a profound nation ♪ ♪ I will put my trust ♪ ♪ In you alone ♪ ♪ And I will not be shaken ♪ ♪♪ In Jesus' morning we declare that all over this room that we'll build our lives on you. You Jesus and you alone are a firm foundation. Everything else around us is sinking sand. So why would we build on anything else? Why would we put our trust in anyone else, in anything else, or there's no one like you? There's no one beside you. Lord, in this study as we continue to think about relationships, Lord, help us to look around to a world in need. And Lord, so often we think of the world being so far away, but today help us to focus on the world that's right outside our door. Lord, our neighbors and our neighborhood, Lord, that you would help us to love like you to see like you. Lord, in to reach out as you would reach out, even to those that are within arms reach.

Lord, lead us, help us to follow in Jesus' name, and all God's people said amen. Amen, amen. Come on, somebody put your hands together if you love Jesus. Hey church, before you sit down, find a few people around you, say hello, welcome them to Calvary. This is your 11 a.m. church family. Introduce yourself, tell them your name, tell them your whole life story in the next 10 seconds. All right, that's enough, sit down, sit down. Just kidding. Good morning. Welcome to church, everyone. If you have a Bible, go ahead and take it out. We are going to be in Luke chapter 10 this morning. Luke chapter 10, if you have your Bibles. And if you don't have a Bible here at Calvary, we work our way through the scriptures, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. And we want you to see the words on the page for yourself. So if you don't have a Bible with you, that's totally fine. We would love to give you one. So just raise your hand right where you are. We have some leaders who are making their way through the aisles right now, so that you can get a Bible and study along with us. Again, Luke chapter 10 is where we're going to camp out this morning.

If we haven't met yet, my name is Javan. I serve as the campus pastor at our Boca campus. It's an honor to be here today to study the word of God, to dig into the scriptures with all of you. Have you enjoyed this relationship series so far? Isn't it amazing? It's been so cool to see what the Bible says about all of these topics. All right, here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna pray before we get into the word, but something that we've been doing at the Boca campus that's been a great blessing to our community and our family is we pray for specific needs in the congregation and we get to pray for one another. So I'm gonna ask if there's anyone here right now who's praying for healing in their life. Maybe you got a difficult diagnosis recently. You're going through sickness or illness. If that's you, I know this is gonna take some courage, but would you just stand where you are? We're gonna pray specifically for you. If you're praying for healing, you're asking the Lord for a supernatural healing touch. Just stand right where you are now. I'm gonna wait one more moment if there's anyone else. If you would say that's me, I'm praying for healing right now from God. Thank you for your courage to stand. We know that God is the one who holds the power to heal. It's not us.

We trust that his will is perfect, but we're gonna pray for you. And we're gonna do this together as a church family. The Bible says when one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers with it. So if you're sitting next to someone who's standing right now, would you just lovingly stand up, place a hand on their shoulder? If you need to go to another section around the room and find someone, place a hand on their shoulder, go ahead and do that. This is part of what we do as the family of God. And for those of you standing, that hand on your shoulder is a reminder to you that you're not alone in this. There's people all around you who care about you, who love you and you have a God who sees you. And so as a church family, we're gonna cry out to the Lord for healing this morning. Let's pray. Our God in heaven, seated on the throne, high and lifted up. We approach you in the name of Jesus. In God, we ask for supernatural healing on behalf of those who are standing right now. We know that at the name of Jesus, sickness and disease has to flee. We know there is power in your name, God. We know that you can do it. We completely and totally trust your will and your plan. You are in charge, we are not, but God,

we know you have the power, so we ask you to heal. I pray for healing across this room for those who are standing for sickness and disease to be gone, for diagnoses to be incorrect. God, I pray for a healing touch through the power of your Holy Spirit. God, I pray for strength. Sustain those who are battling illness right now, Lord. Give them strength. Your Word says that in our weakness, you show yourself strong and your power is made perfect. So I pray perfect your power through their weakness, Lord. Strengthen them in the inner man by your Holy Spirit. And God, as we open your Word, I pray that you would speak to us today. Give us exactly what we need to hear. Encourage us, comfort us. And God, I pray that you would also challenge and convict us to be the men and women you've called us to be. We love you in Jesus' name. And everyone said, amen. Thank you for those of you willing to stand and receive prayer, we love you. Hey, I'll challenge you. If you were one of the people who placed a hand on a shoulder today, would you just go follow up with that person after service? Go have a conversation with them. Say, hey, I noticed that you were standing up. I got to pray for you in the service,

but is there anything that I can be praying for this week? This is your church family. So get to know some people around you and follow up in prayer. Now, today as we open God's Word, we are concluding our series called Jesus on Relationships, where we look at the words of Christ, we look at the Word of God, in our lives. We talked about friendship, family, singleness, marriage. And today, we will be talking about neighbors. I know when I say that, there's a lot of different emotions that come up in this room. Some of you have really good neighbors that make your neighborhood a joy to live in. Others of you, Lord bless us. You have awful neighbors that make your neighborhood a place you are actively seeking to move out of. Wherever you might find yourself, I think there's so much that we can learn from the Word of God today. That word for neighbor in the biblical Greek, it's the same word for near or close by, but the way the Bible defines neighbor is different than just someone who's close by you or someone who lives in the same neighborhood as you. And Jesus is going to define it for us as we read arguably his most popular story

that he ever told the story of the good Samaritan. So, if your Bible is open to Luke 10, we are going to start in verse 25. Luke 10, verse 25, if you're there, say, I'm there. You guys are ready to go at 11 a.m. I love it. Verse 25, here's what it says. On one occasion, an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. Teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life? All right, let's stop there. Verse 25 sets the stage for what we're going to read in the story of the good Samaritan. It starts with a man who's called an expert in the law. The Greek word is literally translated lawyer, but it's not a lawyer like what we think of today, like an attorney. An expert in the law was an expert in the Old Testament law. This man who approaches Jesus likely had the whole Torah and all 613 Old Testament laws memorized by heart. He knew the scriptures and he approaches Jesus with one purpose, it says to test him. Now that Greek word for test is not what we might be thinking 'cause the Pharisees and religious leaders would often try to trap Jesus in his answer. That word for test in the original language is a little more innocent. We have every reason to believe that this man was a genuine seeker.

He really wanted to know the answer to his question. And what was his question? Look at verse 25 again, teacher, he asked, "What must I do to inherit what eternal life?" He wanted to know the answer for how to get to heaven. And listen, isn't that a question every one of us should ask at some point in our lives? Most people spend their existence trying to avoid asking that question. I don't wanna think about eternity, I don't wanna think about heaven in hell, I just wanna live my life now. But if heaven in hell is real and you better believe it is, then this is the most important question you could ever ask, isn't it? If you're here today and you're seeking, you're trying to find answers, you showed up at church 'cause you think, I need to know more about this, I need to know if God is real. I wanna tell you, I am so glad that you're here. You were gonna hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, you're gonna see the words of scripture come alive in your heart and I pray the Lord reveals truth to you. It's the most important question you can ask, what must I do to inherit eternal life? However, there's one thing that this man does wrong. And it's the way he asks the question. He says, what must I do to inherit eternal life? See, an expert in the law has spent all their time

learning all of the things that they have to do to walk in obedience to the scriptures. So he assumes that heaven works the same way. In order to get to eternal life, there's something that I have to do, deeds that I have to perform, something that I have to achieve or earn so that I can deserve heaven. And the Bible tells us that is not the way to eternal life. There is nothing that you can do to achieve heaven. It's only by receiving what Jesus has already done. Listen to what Paul says. Romans eight, verse three. For what the law was powerless to what? Do because it was weakened by the flesh. God did, past tense. God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he dem sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be what fully met in us who do not live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. This expert in the law was like, tell me what I have to do. Which law do I have to obey in order to get to heaven? He wanted to know the answer so that he could achieve it. And listen, if you're here today, trying to figure out what you can do

to inherit eternal life, I'm here to tell you the good news of the gospel that will set you free from an achievement mindset. There's nothing you do, but put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ and allow him to change you. That's the only action you take. Repent of your sin and trust Christ. And he fills you with his Holy Spirit. So if that's you today and you're at church because you're like, I have to check this box. I have to do enough things. And if I go to church and I read my Bible then I've done enough stuff. Take a deep breath. It is by grace through faith. Not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not of works, so that no one can boast. Salvation is a gift. What must you do to inherit eternal life? Receive the free gift of Jesus Christ. Let's keep reading. Look at verse 26. We'll read all the way through verse 28. I love Jesus' answer. "What is written in the law?" he replied. "And how do you read it?" The man answered, "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." Verse 28, "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this, and you will live." Jesus the greatest of all time at answering questions with questions. The man asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" And he goes, "What is written in the law?" Now, keep in mind, who's he talking to? An expert in the what? Law? It's like asking a mathematician, what's two plus two? Asking a barista, how to make coffee? Asking a cardiologist where the heart is located in the body? He's gotta be thinking, "Dude, do you know who I am? I've dedicated my entire career to knowing what the law says." But I think it's the second question that made the man think a little bit. The first question was, "What is written in the law?" The second one is, "How do you read it?" Now, he's not just asking what's written down in the book. He's asking, "What's your interpretation of it?" How would you summarize what's written in the Old Testament law? And you know what, in verse 27? The man gives a pretty good answer, doesn't he? He quotes Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19 when he says this, "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 who?

Yourself." He does a pretty good job summarizing the law. Jesus himself said this in Matthew 22, verse 40, "All the law and the prophets hang on these two commands." Such a pretty good answer that from the very beginning, the purpose of the Bible, the purpose of God's heart for his people could be summarized in one word, love. If we're gonna treat our neighbors the way that God has called us to, listen, church, you need to learn the meaning of that word, love. Now, all the Bible nerds in the room like me, you can probably guess the Greek word for love that's used here in Luke 10. It's the word agape, it's the unconditional covenant, never giving up, committed kind of love. It's the word that's most often used to describe the love that God has for us. And the Bible says that's the way you're supposed to love people. So let me ask you today, do you love people? Don't be so quick to answer. (congregation laughing) So we're like, absolutely I do, I love everyone. Everyone's created, everyone's God's creation, I love everybody. You know, theoretically, we love people really well. But I love what C.S. Lewis said about this. He said, "It's easier to be enthusiastic about humanity with a capital H than it is to love individual men and women." Now get this, especially those who are uninteresting,

exasperating, depraved, or otherwise unattractive. C.S. Lewis, everybody. Loving everybody in general may be an excuse for loving nobody in particular. It is when general love becomes particular that we find it so difficult to love the man next door. I love that line, loving everybody in general may be an excuse for loving nobody in particular. So when I ask you, do you love people? Which people? Who, the people in your life? Your friends, your neighbors, the people that are kind to you? The people that are not kind to you? Who are you loving in particular? If we're gonna love our neighbor as ourselves, that applies to actual real life people. And Jesus answers the expert in the law. He says, you answered correctly. That's what the law says, love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. And then Jesus says, do this and you will live. And some of us are thinking, but Javan, you said there's nothing I can do to inherit eternal life. Jesus just said to go and do this and you'll live. What's up with that? Jesus was very intentional with his words. He was revealing the idol in the man's heart. Jesus did this often.

In Luke 18, he did the same thing with the rich young ruler. He said, one thing you lack. So everything you have and give to the poor and then you will have eternal life. Is that true? If he sold everything he had and gave to the poor, then he would be saved. No, but he was revealing the idol in the man's heart was his wealth. And Jesus is doing the same thing with this expert in the law. And we're gonna see his idol as we keep reading here. Look at verse 29. But he wanted to justify himself. So he asked Jesus, and who is my neighbor? Oh boy, he did what no man should ever do. He tries to justify himself. That word justify in the Greek is the one that the New Testament uses to describe what Jesus Christ has done for us, to declare us righteous. And he says, I think I can do that for myself. So picture this expert in the law, as if he's standing before God the judge, and he says, I have obeyed everything that you have commanded, ever since I was a wee lad. I've loved the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and I've loved my neighbor as myself. I don't know why he's British, that's just what I picture in this scenario.

(congregation laughing) And then he pauses for a moment, and he says, depending on your definition of neighbor, I have loved my neighbor as myself. That's why he asks the question. He says, of course, I love the Lord, I love people. Just depends on how you would define neighbor. 'Cause if he can define neighbor, however he wants to, then he can love the people he wants to love, and he doesn't have to love others. You see, the Jews in that day, they understood the command to love God and to love their neighbor as theirself. However, they also taught that you had an obligation to hate your enemy. Love your neighbor and hate your enemy were almost on the same plane. Rabbis would actually teach this, that you were called to hate all those who stood against the plans of Israel. That was what you were supposed to do. In fact, some rabbis would tell the people that you were not allowed to help a Gentile woman while she was giving birth, because if you succeeded, you would help one more enemy Gentile enter into the world. Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. That's what they would teach people. But Jesus attacks this in Matthew chapter five. Listen to verse 43, "For you have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'" Jesus approaches this topic.

He goes, "Your rabbis, your religious teachers, they tell you love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Jesus flips the whole concept upside down. Love your neighbor, hate your enemy. No, love your neighbor and love your enemies and pray for those who are terrible to you. So let me ask you this morning, you got any enemies? Maybe enemy is too strong of a word. You got people that you don't like? People that you can't stand, people that get on your last nerve that are really difficult to love? Listen, love your neighbor does not come with an exception clause. There's no fine print that says when you feel like it, or as long as they love you back. Some of us are like, "I love everybody," except for that lady at work. (congregation laughing) And I gotta see her tomorrow and it's driving me crazy. Some of you are like, "I love everybody," except for the people who disagree with me on politics, not them. I love everybody except that family member who talks behind my back that I haven't spoken to in a decade. I love everybody except them. Listen to me, you cannot punt on this command because people are difficult to love.

If you're gonna love your neighbor as yourself, you've gotta do that with the people who are easy to love and those who are very, very, very, very, very difficult to love. And whoever just popped into your mind when I said that, that applies to them. Love your neighbor as yourself. And this is how Jesus sets up arguably the greatest story of all time, the good Samaritan. Let's continue 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 pause there for a moment. This is in response to another question. Jesus is the greatest ever at answering questions with questions, and guess what? He's also the greatest ever at answering questions with stories. The man said, "And who is my neighbor?" And Jesus replies, "A man went down "from Jerusalem to Jericho." He's gotta love it. He doesn't even address it. He just says, "I'm gonna tell you a story "to answer this question." Now, if you didn't know, the story of the good Samaritan is a fictional story. It didn't actually happen, but even though it was fictional,

it applies so much to us today. And Jesus' audience could relate so much to this story. When he says, "A man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, "everyone listening to him would have known "exactly what he was talking about." That road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a change in elevation. It had caves and rocks and robbers and bandits would often hide in waiting for someone to be walking on that road alone so that they could attack them. Bad people were on this road, bad things would happen on this road, and the Jewish people would avoid it at all costs. We have that in our society today, it's called 95, all right? So, just picture that scene, all right? Now listen, when this man is walking on the road by himself, it says that he's stripped of his clothes, he's beaten, and he's left half dead. This was the part where everyone would go, "Aww, you'd usually hear someone in the background. Bless his heart." Listen, that's not the way Jesus' audience would have responded to this. Because no one in their right mind would have traveled on that road alone. This story would have been met with more of an eye roll than with compassion. Listen to what commentator William Barclay had to say. He said, "He was an obviously reckless

and foolhardy character. People seldom attempted the Jerusalem to Jericho road alone if they were carrying goods or valuables. Seeking safety in numbers, they traveled in convoys or caravans. This man had no one but himself to blame for the plight in which he found himself. Yikes, changes a little bit of the story, doesn't it? Changes how we read this. It wasn't just some guy who was a victim of circumstance. No, some would argue he was very unwise with the way he went about this. But Jesus is doing this very intentionally. He's helping us understand something. Look at me, you cannot withhold compassion from someone that you deem unworthy of it. You can't withhold your empathy and compassion just because there's someone that you think doesn't deserve it. That's not how it works. We are called to love our neighbor as ourself, whether we agree with what they've done or not. And as Christians, I'm afraid we have become experts and professionals at explaining problems and we are still rookies at loving our neighbors. We love to sit back and drink our coffee and talk about all the things that are wrong in the world. Like, you know why that's happening, right? You know why the world is the way it is?

I'll explain it to you. It's all those people out there. It's the decisions that they make, the way that they're ruining our society, the way that they're doing things. You know what's wrong in your life? Let me tell you, it's all those terrible decisions that you're making. Listen, this man is lying half dead on the side of the road. The seminar about safe travel practices can wait for another day. He doesn't need a lecture. He doesn't need someone to sit back and explain his problems. He needs someone to step up and love him, someone to step up and help him. And unfortunately, nobody walking on this road seems interested in helping the poor guy. Look at verse 31, we'll read through verse 32. It says, "A priest happened to be going down the same road and when he saw the man, he passed by on the what? Other side." Verse 32, "So to a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed on the other side." Why does Jesus use the example of a priest and a Levite? Well, remember who he's talking to here? He's talking to an expert in the law. So he uses two examples of two experts in the law. First, he talks about a priest, the most well respected of the workers in God's house. The priests were in charge not just of educating the people,

but of all the sacrifices, every part of the worship service that happened in the temple fell upon the priest, the most well respected leader in the house of God. Shortly after them was a Levite. A Levite was more like a ministry assistant. They would help with the various tasks that would happen around the temple, but they're still very well respected. A priest and a Levite. And if anyone, if anyone should have had compassion on the man, it's these two. You know why? History tells us it was common for priests and Levites to live in Jericho, which means they would commute on 95 to work. They would travel from Jericho to Jerusalem, and then from Jerusalem back home to Jericho. They would travel on that same road that was treacherous. And it seems like from the story, they're also traveling alone. The same thing could have happened to them. So they should have had compassion, but what did they do? It says they passed by on the other side. Not only do they avoid helping the man, they walk so far away from him, they avoid even being tempted to help him. They're thinking, I don't even wanna look at him so that I'm tempted to feel any kind of compassion

in my heart. And I'm sure they had all kinds of excuses for why they didn't help the guy. It doesn't take us long, even in our modern society, to think of reasons why they might not have helped him. I mean, let's just think of a few for a moment, shall we? If I go help him, what if I get attacked too? What if he's a decoy working for the robbers and as soon as I go to help, they're, ah, they're gonna jump out and get me. I'm sure that happened from time to time. What if he has some disease that I'm gonna catch? What if I get blood on my priestly robes? I can't show up to work like that. How's that gonna be honoring to the Lord? What about one we can all relate to? I'll pray for him on the way. I'll pray for him when I get there. They probably had every excuse in the world to keep walking and ignore the man who was in need. I love what Charles Spurgeon had to say. He said, I never knew a man refused to help the poor who failed to give at least one admirable excuse. Listen, we have excuses for days for why we don't even notice And in our society now, the most common one is what Pastor Doug likes to call the glowing rectangle in our pockets. You know, there used to be a time where we would walk around with our eyes up,

and this crazy thing would happen. You would walk past someone, you'd look them in the eyes, and you know what you would say? Hello? And what's crazy? Weirdest thing, you know what they would say back? Hi, how are you? I know if you've grown up in South Florida like me, this sounds like a crazy concept, but that actually happens, where people would say hi to each other because they weren't distracted by anything. They would actually look each other in the eyes and have a conversation. But now, instead of walking around with our eyes up, what do we do? Our eyes are down. We're looking at our phones, we're distracted. And I wonder how many people we miss, not just someone on the side of the road who needs help, but everyday people at your job, walking down the street, walking in your neighborhood, you completely miss because your eyes are down. And I wonder if we just brought our eyes up for a moment to see the people that God has placed around us, to have a conversation, try this this week. Just go say hello to someone. You're probably gonna freak them out. They're gonna be like, where are you from? You're not from Florida.

Say hi, watch what God does. Walk around with your eyes up to see the people that God has placed around you. Every single day, you have an opportunity to look up and love people. Listen, here's the good news. If you fail to look up, if I fail to look up and notice the people around me, God in his grace will send someone who's willing, someone who's willing to love them. And guess what? It might be the last person you would expect. Look at verse 33, we'll read all the way through verse 35. Jesus says, "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, "brought him to an inn and took care of him. "The next day, he took out two genarai, "gave them to the innkeeper. "Look after him, he said. "And when I return, I will reimburse you "for any extra expense you may have." Jesus makes the hero of the story. Who? A Samaritan. You know, it's hard to adequately describe the deep animosity that existed

between the Jews and the Samaritans at this time. I'm gonna try my best to illustrate it for you. The Jews saw themselves as the pure descendants of the tribes of Israel, while the Samaritans claimed descent from the Northern tribes. However, the Samaritans had intermarried with Gentiles, so Jews claimed they had a corrupted lineage. The Jews believed the only legitimate place of worship was at the Temple in Jerusalem, while the Samaritans believed the true place of worship was at Mount Girazine. The Jews accepted the entire Hebrew Bible, the law and the prophets, all of it. The Samaritans only accepted the Pentateuch, the first five books of Moses. Jews often avoided traveling through Samaria because Samaritans often harassed Jewish travelers. Jews viewed Samaritans as religious heretics. Samaritans viewed Jews as hostile and arrogant. This was a long-seeded hatred that went deep into the hearts of the people. So imagine the look on a predominantly Jewish audience when Jesus makes the hero of the story. There are Chany, a Samaritan. I mean, this is a nightmare scenario for any Jewish person. One of their own, a fellow Jew, is beaten and left half dead on the side of the road. They're heroes, a priest and a Levite. Walk right by the man and go to the other side without helping him.

And the one that actually helps is a Samaritan. Jesus made his point pretty clear, didn't he? Who is my neighbor? The man asked. And Jesus answers with a story that illustrates what it looks like to love your neighbor as yourself. And guess what? Your enemy might be doing it even better than you are. As I read this story, there's eight things that stand out to me. Eight phrases of exactly what the Samaritan does that doesn't just teach us how to love our neighbor. It applies so much to our lives too in the way that we can love people every single day. What I wanna do, I wanna walk through all eight of these phrases, all eight actions that the Samaritan takes and see what we can learn from them. So look again at the scripture, look back at verse 33. It says, "But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was, and when he what? Saw him." Three simple words. Number one, he saw him. He saw him. You know, the priest and the Levite, they saw the man too, but they didn't really see him. They looked at him, but they walked the other way. The Samaritan actually saw him. He saw the pain he was in. He saw him for who he was. Someone who's created in the image of God

and someone who needs help. The first step, if you wanna love your neighbor church, you gotta learn to see people. or if you're really spiritual, Costco. (congregation laughing) Don't just see the cashier as someone who's helping you get from where you are to the exit door. See them, look them in the eyes, ask them how they're doing. There's someone who needs the love of Jesus, aren't they? So treat them like it, see them. Number two, says the Samaritan, he took pity on him. It means he had compassion for him. It's not enough just to see people. Does your heart actually break for them? Does your heart break for what they're going through, for what they're experiencing? Every single one of us, our heart should break. We should be filled with compassion and empathy for people. So the next time you're at a restaurant and your waiter is having a tough time, instead of snapping your fingers and trying to make them do what you want them to, maybe have a little bit of compassion for them. Maybe ask them how you can pray for them. Say, hey, we're about to pray as a table. Can we pray for you for anything? I notice you're having a tough night. Are you okay? Let your heart be filled with compassion. See people and have empathy and compassion for them.

Number three, he went to him. Sounds simple, doesn't it? The priest and the Levite, they might've seen him. They might've had a little bit of compassion, but they didn't stop. They didn't go to him. I'm sure that this put a damper in the Samaritan's plans for the day, don't you think? I think he had a calendar. He had a schedule that he was trying to follow. And this ruined all of that. But he went out of his way to see him have compassion and then walk over towards him, even at great cost to himself, even if he was risking getting attacked on his own. He went to him. So the next time you pull in your driveway and your neighbors outside and they're waving high, instead of pretending you're on a phone call and getting inside as fast as you can, go to them, walk over there, have a conversation, talk to them about life, ask them about their spouse, their kids, maybe ask them what their name is if you don't know it. Have a conversation, see them, have compassion, and then go to them. Number four, the Samaritan, he bandaged his wounds. I love this because he took care of the immediate need. He didn't think too far ahead and like he needs this and he needs this and he needs this.

He said, what does this man need right now? What he needs right now is his wounds to be disinfected. His wounds need to be taken care of. So let me just take care of the immediate need that's right in front of me. I think so many of us, we fail to love our neighbors because we think too far ahead, like, well, I need to do this and then this and then this and that's gonna be too hard and take too much of my time. So I'm just not gonna do anything at all. And we avoid taking the first step. No, bandaged their wounds first. Just take one step. So when your co-worker is telling you about a difficult time that they're going through in their lives, you might not be able to fix all of it. You might not be able to solve their family crisis, but you know what you can do? Pray for them right there. Don't just say I'll pray for you later, have a great day. No, right there in the cubicle. Put your arm on their shoulder and pray for them. Bandage their wounds right there in the moment. Don't just wait for something to happen later. Number five, the fifth thing the Samaritan does, he put the man on his own donkey, which his donkey was his mode of transportation. He was okay getting a little blood on the seats of his Camry, you know what I mean? He was all right inviting the man to ride on his own donkey

which came at great self-sacrifice because what did the Samaritan have to do from that point on? Walk. He had to walk alongside the donkey wall, the man who was injured, rode on top. Are you willing to sacrifice something in order to help people? Are you willing to be inconvenienced? Are you willing not just to invite someone to church but say, "Hey, I'll pick you up." You might have to drive out of your way. You might have to wake up a little bit earlier. But is it worth it to love your neighbor? Absolutely it is. Number six, he brought him to an inn and took care of him. This part's great 'cause he begins to think beyond just the immediate need to the long-term need. An inn back in that day was not just like a hotel. It was more like a hospital. It was a place where the man could get the help he needed. He could get his wounds cared for. He could recover and he could heal. He brought him to a place where he would be taken care of. Are you willing to go on a long-term journey with somebody? Sometimes a prayer in the moment is all you have, a conversation in the moment is what you can give, but are you willing to help a week later, two weeks later, a month later? When someone you know lost a family member

that was really close to them, it's one thing to show up in the moment. It's another thing to check in on them two weeks later, a month later, a year later to go on a journey for the long haul. Number seven, the Samaritan, he paid the price for the bill. He could have left him there and dealt with insurance to figure it all out, but he said no. I'm going to pay for this out of my own pocket. He left two denari with him, which was a great cost to himself. Two denari would have covered two to three weeks of care for this man. He said, "I'm going to give you enough in advance so that all of his needs could be met. It came at great cost for himself." Are you willing to love your neighbor even if it comes at a great cost? What about that friend of yours that's struggling to pay their rent? Instead of just saying, "I'll pray for you," what if you silently covered it? You took care of their rent for a month or a couple months just so that they can get on their feet again so they can have a fresh start. You don't tell anybody. You don't make a big fuss about it. You just silently cover it at great cost to you in order to love your neighbor as yourself. And lastly, number eight, he guaranteed his return to settle any debts. The Samaritan promised that one day he would come back, and if there were any additional costs that the insurance didn't cover, that he would take care of it himself. I'm going to pay for this out of my own pocket. I'm coming back to make sure everything is okay. I know people that dedicate their lives to doing things like this, that every single day they walk around with their eyes up looking for people to help, looking for people to bless, looking for people to share the gospel with.

And there was a time where I thought, "That's so weird. Everywhere you go, you're just always like talking to people. How do you get anywhere?" And now I realize I want to be just like those weird people. I want to be just like the person who's always walking around looking for someone to help. I know people that what they do, their strategy is they carry church invite cards around in their pocket and take a whole stack of them and maybe they put two or three of them in their pocket that day and their mission, their goal is I'm going to hand all of these out to people. Everyone I interact with, the lady at the drive-through, the guy at the register, everyone that I talk to that day, I'm just going to give them a church invite card. And it's more than just inviting someone to church. It's more significant than that. Because when you have a church invite, it gives you an opportunity to pray for them. When you hand it to them, you say, "Hey, is there anything I can pray for you for?" You know, every time I've done this over the course of many years, I've never had someone refuse prayer. Imagine that. The never, never have I had someone say, "No, you can't pray for me for anything. I'm good." They're always open. Like, "Yeah, you can pray for me. Here's what's going on in my life." It gives you an opportunity to talk to them. And guess what? When you invite people to church, you would be shocked how willing they are to actually come. Some of you are here today because someone invited you. It's amazing. The research says that people are willing to go to church and hear the message of the

gospel. They're just waiting for one of these crazy people from that church on Cypress Creek Road to actually invite them to take a step of faith, to get out of your comfort zone, to love your neighbor, to pick your eyes up from your phone for 10 seconds, to notice someone, and actually invite them. My wife and I had a crazy experience recently where we were at church at the Boca campus and we walk in and we see our neighbors there and we're like, "What are you guys doing here?" And we've talked to them about church before but not extensively and what's crazy is the guy who services their pool goes to our church. And he talked to them and he gave them an invite card. He prayed for them. He invited them. And guess what? They showed up. Imagine how convicted we felt. These are our neighbors and the pool guy beat us to it. Who's going to beat you to it? Say no one. Listen, every single day you interact with people. You have the opportunity to take a step of faith and bless them. For my wife and I, our kids do this better than anyone. Honestly, they set the example for us. We go places and our kids are like, "Dad, we should invite them to church." It happened the other day. I was on a daddy daughter date with my daughter, Cara. We were getting Italian ice and we were about to leave. We were in a rush because we had plans and my daughter goes, "Hey, we should pray for her and invite her to church." And I was like, "You know, we have things to do, honey. There's a lot of places we've got to be.

It's an important daddy daughter date that we're on right now, okay?" And she goes, "Dad." I was like, "You're right." So we invited her to church. We got to pray for her. She told us about things that were going on in her life. It was incredible. Sometimes you need to see life through the eyes of a child. Our youngest son, Truett, is probably the best example of this. Our Truett is five years old now and God has given us the incredible privilege and gift of having a kid with Down syndrome. And everywhere Truett goes, he makes sure that he says, "Hi to everybody." And not just when we're in confined rooms, I mean, like walking through the mall, he's like, "Hi. Hi. Hello. Hi. I'm Truett. Five." He just says things to people all the time. And it's shocking how many people just walk right by them and don't acknowledge them. They're just on the glowing rectangle, you know? But oftentimes people will stop and they'll have a conversation with us. And it's taught my wife and I. of our son who goes out of his way to do the simple things and just say hi to somebody. And I remember a pastor told me years ago after my son was born, he said, "You know, Javin, some people will call your son, "handicapped or disabled, but I wanna tell you something."

Jesus said, "The two greatest commands, "love the Lord your God with all your heart, "with all your soul, with all your strength, "with all your mind. "And love your neighbor as yourself." He said, "Your son will do that better than you "and better than anyone else you know, "so who's the handicapped one, him or you?" (audience applauds) I don't know who sets the example for you. For me, it's my kids, it's my son, Truett. But maybe it's time we take a step of faith. Get out of our comfort zone. Look up for once and see the people around us. I wanna show you a story of a man named Eddie. Eddie was a police officer in New York City in the early 2000s. And someone handed him a Bible as a gift. He didn't really think much of it. You know, Eddie didn't realize he was about to go into the biggest crisis and tragedy of his life. And I want you to pay attention to how that simple gift of a Bible, someone who took a step of faith to see him, to have compassion for him, and to go to him, and how that changed his life forever. Take a look. (dramatic music) - I was coming in to work. It was a very good day, nothing different about it.

I hear on the radio, playing hit the towers. That is the World Trade Center. And we understand that a plane has crashed into the world. - We're running a block or two away from the Twin Towers. So we get going, we start going that way. We see a lot of people running, a lot of people bleeding, crying. You know, then another plane ends. (dramatic music) We're going towards the building. There was a big cloud of smoke. (dramatic music) Soon as we're going into this black smoke guy walks out. Looked like he had uniform with metals on it. But it was like a aura, you know? And I was like, you have to go in there. And he said it's so calm, then you turn around now, unless you want to die. (dramatic music) And there was like a way to move across the Hudson. The smoke cleared. So we turned around, expecting to see him there. You know where to be found. I mean, we must have two steps maybe, and turned around and he was gone. He was gone, and that started my mind from there on it. One of the buildings started coming down, standing on the edge, and I'm looking down into the fire that's coming, like five stories, or fire just coming up.

I'm thinking this must be what hell it looks like. That guy there don't tell me to turn around. You're not going in there. I would have been in there. He still feels like the end of the world. It's just that you didn't die. That's when you start actually yourself. Why didn't I die? We know that in a crisis, people stay isolated themselves, or they go to community. The tragedy of 9/11 brought a lot of people together. Everybody was united, helping each other. Groups of people praying. That was the greatest thing that I see out of that tragedy. Right before 9/11, a guy gave me a little book, and I used to read it. I was in a Christian, but I used to read it anyway. But then I just threaded my locker, kept it there for a while. After I retired, I took that book back out. I always reflect on the moment that I bumped into them. I call an angel that day in 9/11, and I always, always was thinking, "Why? Why did God save me?" We moved to Florida, and I told my wife, "I feel like going to church, so why?" I said, "I don't know. I believe God wants to speak to me there." That same feeling that I had when I bumped into that angel, I'm going to say, was the same feeling that I had when I walked into the church.

One day I went up to the altar. feeling, "This is what purpose is, what God wanted for me, you know, He saved me for a reason." So after coming to Calvary, I started going to a meeting called the First Respondent's Meeting, and it was just, it was where I belonged. This is where I felt God sent me to be. I just kept attending the meetings and just getting more connected with our First Respondent's community here. Calvary from Florida and retired people and firemen and even nurses would come in. And after a few years of being there and serving, God called me to lead the group after the World Trade Center. It just made me feel that there was something different that I needed to become more like that and try to bring the unity that I saw that day. And that's what I see that we're doing here at Calvary, we're our family. We try to just be there for one another. Coming to Christ, everything's changed. And I just saw how God was building me, even through tragedy and through pain, to get to the place that He wants me to be and the purpose that He had for me. I believe that we all have a crisis in our life. And at one time we have to make a choice, we either run through isolation and be by yourself, try to figure it out with one workout or front-tooth stories. Anything that happens to us, He knows and there's a reason for it, which I believe is always for the better, even though at that time we don't see it. Eddie's story is amazing and I wonder if that guy who gave him that Bible knows where he is now. And 25 years later, that same guy is leading a first responders Bible study group out of all places, a church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. One act of faith. One step of courage can change someone's life forever and can change future generations of people who will know Jesus just through your obedience to love your neighbor as yourself.

We're going to close in verse 36 and 37, Jesus says, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." So Jesus told him what I believe He would tell us today. Go and do likewise, let's pray. Father in heaven, thank you for your word. Jesus, thank you for the cross. Thank you for your resurrection that gives us life. Thank you that there is nothing that we have to do to inherit eternal life. We don't have to earn it with our good deeds or our good behavior. Thank you that we just receive the free gift of salvation. God, I pray that you would help us, for all the believers in this room, for the Christians here, help us to love our neighbor as ourselves, to lift our eyes, to see people for the way that you see them. But all over South Florida, there would be Christians who are praying for people and inviting people to church and discipling people and sharing the hope of Christ wherever we go. God, open our eyes. And I pray for anyone here who doesn't know you as Savior, that today you would draw them by the power of your Holy Spirit. Jesus, you said, "No one can come to you unless the Father draws them." So heavenly Father, draw the sinners back home. I pray that the lost would be found if there is anyone here today who needs to make the greatest decision of their lives, we give this moment to you. You are in charge. In Jesus' name, amen. You know, the story of the Good Samaritan is not just a challenge for us to love people well. The story of the Good Samaritan is my story. It's your story.

We were left half dead on the side of the road, you know, spiritually speaking, because of our sin, we had no way to be reconciled to God. This world has chewed us up and spit us out and we have nothing to offer when we stand before God the Father. And yet God sent Jesus to redeem us, to put us on His own shoulders, to carry us all the way through to the finish line. Every single part of this story, it's not just a good lesson. All eight things that the Samaritan did, it shows us what Jesus has done for us. Listen to this, number one, he saw us. Do you know that Jesus sees you right now? He sees you and you're paying everything that you're walking through. The Bible says Genesis 16, God is the God who sees. He sees you. You know what else is true? He took pity on us. Jesus had compassion on us. Romans 5, 8 said, God demonstrated his own love toward us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He died for you not when you were at your best, but when you were at your worst. You know what else Jesus does? He came to us. He came to you. God didn't just leave you here on earth to figure it out on your own. Figure out how to get to heaven. No, he sent Jesus. The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

He came to you. You know what else Jesus did? He bandaged our wounds. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on a cross and rose again so that we can be healed, so that we can be reconciled to the Father. Isaiah 53 says it's by his wounds that were healed. He carried us. He put us on his shoulders. When Jesus went to the cross, he crucified your sin and mine so that we never have to deal with it again. He took care of us. Listen, even after his death and resurrection, Jesus told his disciples, it is better that I leave you, because when I leave, I will send the comforter, my Holy Spirit, and he will guide you into all truth. Even after Jesus left, he gave us his presence, the Holy Spirit of God, to guide us while he wasn't here. He paid the price for the bill, just like the Samaritan. Jesus Christ went to the cross to pay the punishment for your sin, so that when you stand before God, your judgment is, it's paid in full. Jesus has paid the price for you. You don't have to pay anything. And listen, the last thing that Jesus did before he left,

he guaranteed his return to settle any debts. One day, Jesus Christ will return to make every wrong thing right, to wipe every tear from our eyes and to redeem his people once and for all, the story of the good Samaritan is the story of Jesus. And if you're here today and you've never given your life to Christ, you've been searching for meaning and purpose and fulfillment out there in the world, I promise you're not gonna find it out there. This is what you've been looking for. A relationship with Jesus is what you've been seeking. And today, God brought you into this room. It's not an accident that you're here. God brought you here so that you can hear the greatest news in the history of the world, that God gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life. So what we do here at Calvary, we give you an opportunity to make a decision, to publicly declare your faith in Christ. In a moment, the worship team is gonna lead us in a song. And as they sing, if that's you and you know, you need to surrender to a relationship with Jesus, here's what I'm gonna ask you to do. During the song, actually stand up out of your seat and walk forward right here to the front of the stage. I know some of you were thinking,

this is my first day. I just got here and now I have to stand up in front of all these people. Listen, God is gonna honor this decision. When you get here, it's nothing weird. I'm just gonna lead you in a simple prayer. You're gonna repeat it out loud after me. It's gonna be your heart calling out to God. I know some of you right now, your heart is pounding, your hands are shaking. You're thinking, I know I need to do this, but I don't know if I have the courage to stand up. Listen, pray right now and ask God to give you the courage. If someone invited you today, tap them on the shoulder. I promise they'll walk up here with you. If God is calling you home, if you know that now is your time, as this song plays, be bold, stand up and walk forward now. ♪ Let's see the sure ends ♪ ♪ Jesus is mine ♪ ♪ Oh what a foretaste ♪ ♪ Of glory divine ♪ ♪ In salvation ♪ ♪ Purchase of God ♪ ♪ Born of His Spirit ♪ ♪ I'm washed in His blood ♪ ♪ And this is my story ♪ ♪ This is my song ♪ ♪ Praising my Savior ♪ ♪ All the day long ♪

Praising my Savior all the day long. I know many in this room are already saved. You're already walking with the Lord. There's others of you you're wrestling right now. You know you want to walk up here, you want to give your life to Christ, but there's something holding you back. Maybe it feels like the burden is just too heavy on your shoulders to stand up out of your seat. Others of you you might be thinking I have to clean myself up, I have to get my life together before I make this decision. No, he's calling you home now. Come on. I'm just gonna wait one more moment if there's anyone else that says I know I need to be up here that wants to join our brother. We'll wait for you. Welcome home, come on. He loves you. Come on, he's calling you in a relationship with him. I know for those of you who are upfront you probably know this already, but God's been chasing after you a long time. The love of Christ is greater than any sin than any mistake, and right now the Bible says that every sin that you've ever committed is going to be washed away. You'll be redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, which means his sacrifice on the cross pays for your sin and full. If you surrender to him, if you repent of your sin and choose to follow Jesus, one day you will stand before God completely redeemed, and he will say well done, good and faithful servant. So here's what I want you to do. I want you to repeat this prayer out loud after me, because the Bible says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and you believe in your heart that God raised them from the dead, you will be saved. So repeat this out loud, okay? Say this, Lord God, I open my heart and I invite you inside. Forgive my sin. Today I repent. Now fill me with your spirit, and I will walk with you all the days of my life. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hey guys, before you go back to your seat, we would love to just spend a couple minutes with you. We want to give you a Bible as a gift and some next steps in your walk with Christ. So you see the team that's right here. We're gonna go to the room that's right by that exit sign. Five, ten

minutes. I'd love to shake your hand and get to know a little more of your story, and then we'll get you right back in with your family and friends. Sound good? Go ahead and follow the team this way. Church, can we give them a hand as they go? Praise the Lord. Hey, if you're not standing already, stand to your feet. We're gonna close in a response to what God has done. Has the Lord been faithful to you? Come on, someone's got to believe that. Has the Lord been faithful to you? Come on, let's sing and worship Him together. Let's sing and I'll build my life. Here we go. And I will build my life upon your love. It is a perfect foundation. I will put my trust in you. And I will not be shaken. I will build my life upon your love. It is a perfect foundation. I will put my trust in you. Only there is no one like you There is none beside you Open up my eyes and wonder Show me who you are and fill me With your heart, believe me Be in love with all the love I've been Only there is no one like you There is none beside you Open up my eyes and wonder Show me who you are and fill me Bring your heart, believe me Be in love with all the love surrounding me I will, will, find me Oh, upon your blood It is above my nation I will put much less in you You are me and I will not be shaken Well, as always, thank you for worshiping again with us this weekend If you need prayer for anything

Please join our prayer team at the front of the stage And we will see you soon as soon as Wednesday evening Right here on campus And hopefully as late as next weekend Have a great week ahead, thank you [MUSIC]