Sunday, October 11, 2009

LITN X, Verses 21 - 37

21. When He said that, Jesus became elated...exuberant in the Holy Spirit...and He cried out, joyfully, "I thank you, Father, Master of heaven and earth, that You hid these things from the presumptuous ones who think they know it all, and revealed them to these innocent ones...these children, untainted by the cynicism of religion...these newcomers to the mysteries of the spirit realm. Yes, Father, it pleased You to do it this way."

22. He went on to say, "All things have been committed to Me by My Father...no one fully comprehends who the Son is except the Father...no one fully comprehends who the Father is except the Son, and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

23. Then He turned to His disciples and said, privately, "Do you have any idea how blessed you are to be able to see what you are seeing?

24. There are plenty of prophets and sages...even kings...who would have literally given anything to witness something like this, but never got so much as a glimpse of anything like it...they longed to hear what you are hearing, but were never able to tap into it."
25. On a particular occasion an expert in the Law approached Jesus with the intention of testing Him. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to realize the benefits of eternal life?"

26. "Well, what is written in your Law?" He replied. "How do you perceive and interpret it?"

27. He answered, "It's simple...'Love the Lord your God with all your heartfelt passion, your willed intention, and with all your energy, and with all your intellect or intelligence; and, 'Love your neighbor as unconditionally as you love yourself.'"

28. "You have answered correctly...that's all it is," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will manifest the full potential of eternal life."
29. But that wasn't enough for this religious expert...he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "All right...but who, exactly, is my neighbor?"

























30. Jesus replied, "Let me explain it this way...a certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he became the victim of merciless robbers. They stripped him of all his clothes, beat him up, and went away, leaving him for dead.

31. A priest just happened to be travelling down the same road, and when he saw the man lying there, bruised, bloody and naked, he was repulsed by the sight, and passed by on the other side.

32. Then a Levite going the same way passed him, and had the same reaction as the priest. Not wanting to get involved or touched by the man's condition, he also passed by on the other side.

33. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came to where the man was, and when he saw him, he was moved to compassionate action.

34. Without hesitation he went to the man, bandaged his wounds, and poured oil and wine on them. Then he picked the man up and put him on his own donkey, took him to a nearby inn, and spent the night personally taking care of him.

35. The following morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'I have to leave', he said, 'but I want you to look after him...and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expenses.'

36, "Now, which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who was victimized by inhumane robbers and indifferent holy men?"

37. The expert in the law replied, "Well...I suppose the one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Then go and do likewise."

6 comments:

River said...

Come to Him as a child. Free of the reglious mindset. YES & AMEN

Anonymous said...

Bishop I love this paraphrase and love LITN. The priest and Levite can represent our desiring to save our image or identity. We are so concerned with letting people know who we are; what camp we are from; what titles we have earned, that we miss being relevant to our beaten and bruised society. Love this story.

karl cobos said...

Good morning Bishop, looking forward to the word and worship!

Anonymous said...

To go and do likewise is the call to action that when answered confirms our most sincere desires to 'Love the Lord our God with all our heartfelt passion, our willed intention, and with all our energy, and with all our intellect or intelligence; and, 'Love our neighbor as unconditionally as we love ourself.'

Very sweet and clear rendering here Bishop, it applies well to include all here.

Brenda said...

In answer to verse 23, I do realize how blessed I am to be seeing what I see at CITN. Another explosive service, so glad I was a part especially that last song. Bishop you and your cousin are equally funny, loving it.

SCRIBE said...

Go and DO likewise! Amen!!!

Joyce Meyer has been doing a series as of late on this precept. She says that as opposed to telling everyone we will pray for them that a need be met, if we are in a position to meet the need and feel an inkling / nudge/ prompting from the Holy Spirit to roll up our sleeves and DO SOMETHING, then there isn't really anything to pray about, JUST DO IT! She stated that most people tell others that they will PRAY FOR THEM because they really do not want to get involved on a personal level, which would require us to ACT and not talk. And those who always tell us that they will pray about something in regards to helping / assisting someone else, usually they already have a mind NOT to get involved or assist anyway. Selah...

Let your YES be YES and your No be a No. It is not good to play "religious games" when we see a crisis that we are able to remedy. God empowers US to serve as His Hands Extended, as Resources and "Saviors" in the Earth. We are not expected to help everybody, but we can help somebody. So, as we make a commitment to GOD to go about "Doing Good" and what is right by His People, we are doing right by God. And in this they shall know us as HIS DISCIPLES and LIVING EPISTLES in the Earth. Helping others may not always be comfortable, convenient, or conducive to our our plans and livelihoods, yet GOD doesn't require us to do and give what we do not have, but does expect us to do what we can, where we are, using what resources we have in our hands to make a difference in the lives of others. Yet, through all this, we must ask GOD to impart HIS WISDOM in us as to not become enablers and pacifying those who make excuses constantly while NOT DOING their part, assuming ownership, and taking personal responsibility in their own lives for their spiritual growth and strengthening. Meanwhile, as we do OUR PART, let us not attempt to BE GOD in the lives of our fellow people. GOD is IN US, the Hope of Glory, yet sometimes the trials and tests come to make us strong. And should we ever reach the place where we find that GOD is all that we have, then surely GOD must be all that we need at that time, in that place, to overcome that particular obstacle or thing.

As we reach up and reach out to GOD, seeking HIS Face, God dispatches His Resources throughout the earth to meet us at the place of our need, when our utmost desire and need is HIM. He can send people, orchestrate situations / scenarios, and seeming happenstance to cross our paths and encounter us in our daily lives as we go about doing good by others... doing what we can, where we are, with what we have to make a difference simply because it IS RIGHT. This is what is best to GOD and right in the eyes of the pure at heart.

Let us not get so religious and caught up in our own woes, titles, positions that we bypass / forfeit the opportunity to show the heart of GOD to someone in need by simply asking "What may I do to help?" And if what is needed is already apparent, don't waste precious time in second-guessing and attempting to talk ourselves out of letting go of what we possess in the hopes of "Self-Preservation", for GOD loves, honors, and rewards the cheerful giver. Give what we have, be it time, encouragement, food, clothing, tidbits of wisdom / tutoring, or sometimes even a kind word and smile could make the huge difference between darkness and light. Those who lends / gives freely to the poor / needly/ hopeless, without selfish agendas and unclean motives, GOD shall REPAY the debt.