HEART FOR THE HOUSE: What Would You Do?

All right, all right, all right.

Celebration church, how you guys doing?

You guys doing good?

Yes, yes, yes.

You know, this is our this is our third service, and and um I just believe that they just keep getting better.

I believe that every every opportunity that we have to encounter the presence of God, it keeps getting more powerful.

And and if if all the other services and our worship experience so far is any indication of what God's gonna do, I believe that we're just I believe we're just getting started.

So I'm excited that God that you guys are are here with us today.

And I and I'm really I'm really pumped about the the season that we're in and the series um that we're in.

Many of you know that we've just concluded our Exodus series.

We even heard it mentioned in our prayer and praise portion of our service, and and we've heard so many incredible things about what God has done in that series.

So we still want to continue to hear from you.

We have ways that we really want to hear your story, and it doesn't stop there.

We we believe that we're all part of the story and that and that God is up to something.

And and quite honestly, it wasn't like it was a deep strategy on our part, but I feel like God has been bringing us on this journey that's even leading us to now.

I don't think that anything happens in isolation, but I believe that God leads us to where we are even right now.

And so the buildup that we've had, whether it's looking at the the Abraham narrative that then led us into the Exodus narrative that then leads us to where we are right now.

I believe that God is is is building on some things.

So there will be some aspects of this that sound familiar because I believe that God is is is trying to reinforce a few things.

And so we're entering into our heart for the house season.

Now, now let me give us some framework and some context as to what we're talking about when we say heart for the house.

This isn't our church's first time doing that.

And in fact, if you were to look um at any of our celebration locations on social media, you'll see that we're kind of in a heart for the house season.

To take it a step further, even if you look at some other churches in the upcoming weeks, you'll see that there's this idea of heart for the house.

And it's really all built on like the primary scripture found in in Matthew chapter 6, verse 21, where it says that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21

What we'll find is that if you really want to know what a person is really passionate about, what they're really interested in, the things that are really important to them, you can look at where they invest their time, you can look at where they invest their energy, you can look at where they invest their resources, their money.

That's always a great reflection of where people's hearts are.

And so what we believe is that we have a heart for the house because God's house has a heart for us.

And so this whole season that we're in, we want to talk a little bit about the idea of stewardship.

That's ultimately what we're talking about.

Now, now, coming from my perspective and and once sitting in your seats and now I'm here, I realize like that that stewardship has its own dynamics attached to it.

Because the truth of the matter is all of us have experienced, encountered, and been on our own journey, on our perspective on stewardship.

We've we've had encounters and we've seen things that made us feel uncomfortable about stewardship.

We may have even heard people say things about stewardship that makes us feel uncomfortable.

So I'm aware of the baggage that exists when you begin to talk about money, resources, and things like that in the context of the church.

This is why I believe that Paul helps us to have the appropriate remedy when it comes to our perspective when it relates to that.

See, in in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 7, it simply says, like, hey, when we give, we give as our heart stirs us.

2 Corinthians 9:7

We don't give under compulsion, but we just give following God.

Here's what I can promise you here.

No matter what we talk about, there's not gonna be any slick presentation, there's not gonna be any significant, like, hey, let me tell you what all this is.

I can I can tell you what I as I stand on the stage, anytime that we talk about resources, it's gonna be directly connected to you praying about what God is leading you to do and you obeying.

That's it.

And whatever God is leading you to do, we are celebrated.

If God doesn't lead you to do anything, we celebrate with you.

There is no, hey, if you give, then you're gonna get a get out of jail free card.

And if you give, everything's gonna work out, you'll have no problems ever again.

That's just not who we are, and that's just not true.

But what I do see in scripture, and even I believe the Exodus narrative introduced it to us, is that I believe God invites us into the journey that He's leading His people on, and we all have a part to play.

A couple of weeks ago, when we kind of started our Exodus narrative the third week, we we identified the tabernacle.

And in Exodus chapter 25, we see this invitation that God gives us where it says this, uh, looking at verse 1 and 2, the Lord said to Moses, Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering, and you are to receive an offering from me, from everyone whose heart prompts them to give.

Exodus 25 · chapter mention

We see that even then, when the whole idea of creating a space to worship God, creating a space for God to dwell, it was an invitation that as your heart stirs you, you could participate in it.

If it doesn't, then that's fine.

But that's the whole idea.

Paul reinforces that as well.

So that the text that we're gonna look at today that I believe that kicks off kind of like our stewardship concept and where we're going, um, it's gonna be found in in Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

Luke chapter 10.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

Many of us may be wondering exactly what do we mean when we say stewardship?

Because it's a it's a phrase that has so much attached to it.

Ultimately, what it means is, what have you done with what God has given you?

Because we see that attached to attached to so many of Jesus' parables, in fact, all of the end time parables, Jesus talks about stewardship.

What have you done with what I've given you?

And and here's what I firmly believe: God has given all of us something that we can make a difference in something.

I believe that.

I believe that all of us have something that we can make a difference.

So here looking at Luke chapter 10, um, picking up at verse number 25, we we have a very familiar, powerful text that I think we can we can pull some some principles from, and here's what it says.

Luke 10 · chapter mention

And behold, a lawyer stood up and put him to the test, saying, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

And he said to him, Well, what is written in the law?

How do you read it?

And he answered, You shall love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.

And he said to him, Well, you've answered correctly, do this, and you will live.

But he said, desiring to justify himself to Jesus, he says, Well, who is my neighbor?

Well, Jesus replied, A man is going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and departed, and leaving him half dead.

Now by chance a priest was going down that very same road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

So likewise a Levite, when he came to the pace and saw him, he passed on the other side.

But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, he came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.

Verse 34.

And he went to him, and he bound him with his wounds, pouring oil and wine.

Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

And the next day he took out two deneri and he gave them to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay when I come back.

Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?

He said, The one who showed him mercy.

And Jesus said to him, You go and do likewise.

You go and do likewise.

Today, as we as we begin to talk about this idea of stewardship and a part that God wants us to play in stepping into uncomfortable situations, utilizing what God has given us, uh, I want you to write this thought down in your in your notes.

What would you do?

What would you do?

Let's let's pray.

God, we we thank you so much, Lord, for for your grace.

We thank you for your favor, God, and we thank you for inviting us to be a part of the story, knowing that you uniquely wired us and provided us with gifts and resources, God, that really does make a difference in the lives of others and advancing your kingdom.

So, Father, I pray over the next few moments that you give us open eyes.

Open eyes to see you moving in areas that we hadn't seen you before.

God, I pray for open ears, ears that we can hear your truth, even where there's such a distraction that happens out in our world.

But Lord, I also pray for open hearts that we can receive the truth of what it is you want to speak to us today in this place.

Father, we believe it all done in Jesus' name, amen and amen.

You know, when I when I when I was reading this passage of scripture, it really stirred up a couple things in my mind because it's it's interesting how this idea of stewardship has such practical application.

And here's what I what I mean by that.

When looking at this passage of scripture, I challenge myself with the very thought of, okay, so so what would you do?

And and for me, it it takes on varying forms.

It really does.

There's a there's a certain form that makes me makes me very uncomfortable.

Because here's the thing one of the things that I just don't want to do, I won't go as far as saying that it's a fear, but I will say it's a great deal of discomfort, is that I don't want to become famous for the wrong reasons.

And and here's what I mean by that.

My children, at least once every other day, will inundate me with videos and memes making fun of people who fell off skateboards and fallen down steps.

So when I see these things, I laugh hysterically.

I want y'all to know that I have a I have a crazy sense of humor.

I'm laughing, we're talking, let's run it back, all that.

I'm I'm I'm into it.

So so we're we're getting into it and I'm laughing.

I've watched, I've watched shows like Punked Ridiculousness, I'm into it.

I I love it so much.

So there's a part of me that that I laugh at it, I'm into it, it's so hilarious.

But then there's the pastoral side of me that's like, man, but isn't he okay?

Like, like that that that looks very uncomfortable.

So there's this tension that I that I often wrestle with.

But but when I say that I'm concerned about being famous for the wrong reasons, yeah it's not as much that, yeah, you know, you trip, you fall, it's okay.

Like we all can move on from that.

The the things that that often make me feel uncomfortable is when it has a little bit more weight to it.

You know, there's there's literally a TV show called What Would You Do?

And that show terrifies me.

Because it's a hidden camera show, but it's not it's not illustrating somebody falling down the steps, it's not illustrating somebody tripping, it's not it's not illustrating someone falling off a skateboard.

It's literally a hidden camera that that forces people to get engaged in very uncomfortable situations.

I mean uncomfortable situations like sitting sitting at a restaurant and and and seeing a group of kids bully another kid.

Now, on the surface, of course we would say something, of course you would get involved, of course we would do something, but but when you really think about it, it's like, man, but but really, what what would I do?

Would I really get involved in that?

Would I would I really speak up and say something?

There are episodes that that even had instances where there was a a ride share person who pulled up and and he was trying to trick someone to get into their car.

And and you could kind of watch it all play out, and you're just seeing people looking like, man, should I say something like that?

That's that's not your ride share.

Like that could end up, that could end up going dark really, really quick.

What what do you do?

You you see instances where where you see an adult, a person in authority who's who's being demeaning to a child.

There, there's other videos where you see like these instances where an employer is being really demeaning and disrespectful to an employee.

And when I think about it, I'm like, yeah, like I would I would say something.

I'm I'm very high justice.

I'm very much like, hey man, I'm all about equality.

That's we're not gonna we're not gonna have that around me.

I I would love to say that I would get involved.

But but the truth of the matter is, man, like we we live in Florida, and you we there's the standard ground law, and things escalate quickly.

So so here's the thing I can get involved, but then there's an argument, and now I got into a fist fight in the middle of a target.

And then you know what ends up happening?

And here's the part that I feel uncomfortable with local pastor gets into a fist fight with someone in Target, wasn't minding his business.

But then, but then there's the other side of the equation because then you see it and you're like, oh man, I'm not gonna get involved, they're gonna work it out.

Like, I'm I'm gonna pray for them, it's gonna work itself out.

And then the camera's in your face saying, like, hey man, why didn't you get involved?

Oh, you're a pastor, headline, local pastor, watches a person get abducted, does nothing.

Like you can't, you, you, you literally can't win.

Like, it's like, what am what am I supposed to do?

Like, if I get involved, it gets uncomfortable, I'm on the headlines, I don't do anything, I read the headlines.

Like, it's it's literally, and and we make fun of it, but but if we really think about it, what what would you do?

When you when you see, when you see uncomfortable situations, what do you what do you do about that?

When you're when you're riding down the street and you and you see and you see that that person, that that homeless person, that person who's disenfranchised, and you can see that there's needs, but but at the same time you're you're wondering, like, man, like, is there something they could have done that got themselves out of this situation?

What do you what do you do when you see pain?

Do you project what they should have done, or do you just step into it like Jesus did and and not think about what they're gonna do with it?

Like, what do you do with that?

It's a it's a tension that we all wrestle with because we know that that God's calling us to do something, but I but I don't want to enable them and and I don't want to make, I don't want to get in the way, so so what do you do with that?

See, it's it's with it's with that context, it's with that, it's with that understanding when we enter into this text, it's not as easy as we think it is.

We we have the advantage of looking at this narrative and understanding where Jesus was going, and then we can look in the rearview mirror and say, Oh, I would have, I would have, I would have done this differently.

But in real time, it's really hard to often understand what do you do when you see suffering and struggle all around you.

You see, Jesus is beginning to teach this lesson to to his disciples, and he wants them to understand the context of who their neighbors are.

He wants them to understand, like, okay, man, like I don't I don't want you to have these deep boundaries that keep you separate from people.

I don't want you to have these rules.

So as he's beginning on this journey, we see that this man steps up and says, Well, Jesus, exactly who is my neighbor?

Can we can we deal with that?

Can you tell me who my neighbor is?

Now, now let me tell you what that is in lawyer talk.

What he's saying is, Jesus, where do I draw the line?

There's a lot of people out here that are hurting, there's a lot of things that's going on, but we got to draw the line somewhere, Jesus.

Where do where do I draw the line on who are my people and who are the people that are on the other side?

Who is my neighbor?

Now, now here's what you have to understand.

He was trying to figure out what was permissible and what was a thing that he can confidently and rest well at night avoiding, ignoring altogether.

And and here's the thing: we ask those questions.

I've asked those questions, where's where's the line?

But every time I've asked that question, God's brought me back to the mirror in a moment of self-reflection, saying, if you can identify where I drew the line with you, then that's the line you're supposed to draw with someone else.

I've yet to find that line.

So now I'm forced to wrestle with this uncomfortable tension of figuring out how do I step into someone's pain and suffering, but not enable them and not be a crutch and not help them to move forward.

It's this space that Jesus is in as he's beginning to talk to his disciples.

And so as he begins this conversation, he says, you know what it really boils down to is it's a matter of stewardship.

That God has given all of us something that we can make a difference in someone, but it all depends on your perspective and your lens.

And when we look at this passage, I really do believe that there's three lenses or perspectives that we can look at it when we consider stewardship.

Here's the first perspective: the perspective of the robber.

The perspective of the robber.

Now let me let me set the scene for us.

There's a man who is leaving Jerusalem and going to Jericho.

He's traveling on this road, a very popular road that that is that is narrow, and and and here's the thing: it is known to be a dangerous journey.

It's a journey that that is a down road descent.

And I mean that in every sense of the way.

Because Jerusalem was a representation of the presence of God.

It was the it was considered to be the center of worship.

But but Jericho had turned into this place of idolatry.

So now you have this tension, and Jesus is painting this picture of a man who is straying away from the things of God and he's on a journey going in the wrong direction.

That's the picture that he's painting.

This man is is going in the wrong direction.

And and there's the robbers.

The robbers are there.

Now, so now for many of us, if we honestly think about it, when we when we see people that are struggling and we know that they're going the wrong direction, there's that tension of like, okay, is it is it self-inflicted?

Like, what what happened that got them in this place?

So there's the robber, and he's thinking of an opportunity for him to take advantage of somebody.

You know, like the the thieves, they're just they're just waiting.

We see we see we see passages and proverbs that talk about the thieves that are that are laying and waiting.

We see that that even the enemy is is considered to be a thief.

So there's this imagery that God is creating that that there's moments when we're on a journey, and maybe we're going in the wrong direction, maybe we're going in the right direction, but the truth of the matter is there's a thief who's looking for an opportunity to take something from you.

It says that he is he is beaten, that he is stripped, and that he is left for dead.

In fact, it says that he's half dead.

Now, some of us, when we hear that description, it sounds, it sounds kind of familiar because that description of being beaten, losing energy, having something stripped away from you.

Well, for some of us, that sounds like work.

Where there's people who are beating us up with their judgment.

They're trying to steal our ideas, steal our promotions, steal our opportunities.

We're wrestling with this tension of trying to do our best to make it to our destination, but we seem to be surrounded by people who want to take what we have.

This is the filter and the statement of a robber.

What's yours is mine, and I'm going to take it.

Have you ever felt that someone took something from you, took advantage of you, manipulated you, began to make you feel like you were stripped and exposed?

This is what the this is what the job description of the enemy is.

It's to find opportunities that when you're on your journey, regardless of the direction you're going in, to look for those moments when he can swoop in and begin to take away points of your joy, to begin to take away your hope, begin to take away your peace, begin to take away your freedom to the point that you end up feeling stripped and half dead on the side of a road.

For some of us, it's uncomfortable because if we really were to look at our lives, we would say, Keith, man, right now I feel like some things have been taken from me, man, and I and I feel half dead.

I feel like I don't have enough left in me.

You may you may feel half dead, but I'm here to talk to the side of you that's still alive.

Because while the enemy made every effort to take you off of here, the truth of the matter is he wasn't successful.

And the the marriage may have worked out, it may have may not work out, but maybe you feel half dead, but the fact of the matter is you're still here.

Maybe you maybe you didn't get to promotion and you feel half dead, but the reality is you're still here.

You you may not have gotten the diagnosis that you wanted, but the truth of the matter is you're still here.

The enemy loves for us to focus on the things that we lost when God still has life for us to live.

And what I'm speaking to right now is the person in here where you feel like you don't have any hope, you feel like you don't have any joy, and you even feel like you have shallow breath and you're feeling like you're half dead, but I listen to me, it is time for you to get up and recognize that God is not done with you yet, that you still have breath in your lungs, and that God is gonna continue to move you forward.

You're not dead yet.

See, the the robber's identity and job is to try to strip away some things to leave us at a place where we're destitute and broken.

So there's the perspective of the robber when it comes to stewardship.

What's yours is mine, and I'm going to take it.

I'm gonna take every opportunity, I'm gonna take advantage of everything that's in front of me, no matter who it hurts in the process.

But then there's another perspective, and that's the perspective of religion.

Now, let me tell you what I'm what I mean by that.

So the the the the Levite and the priest, they both have different roles, but they're of the priesthood, so they represent religion.

They were the ones who were who were very, very black and white.

They were the ones who who had to live according to law and order.

So we understand exactly what their roles were supposed to be.

But but I want us to think about this for a second from the man's viewpoint.

He had just been beaten, robbed, stripped of his dignity, left half dead.

So as he's as he's as he's in the ditch, breathing shallow, wondering why did this happen to him, but at the same time seeing off in the distance this figure coming towards him.

Based on the clothing that he had, he could tell that he was a religious man because their garments made him very distinguished amongst the community.

If I could be honest, I can imagine like his heart leaps for joy for a moment because he's thinking to himself, I'm in this broken condition.

I've been left for dead, but off in a distance I see this man who represents faith, who represents religion.

Of course he's gonna, of course, he's gonna step over into my world and help me.

He's wearing the uniform.

Like police officers wear the uniform because they protect and serve.

Firefighters wear the uniform because they go into things of peril and they make a difference.

Doctors wear the stethoscope because they're here to make sure that we're doing good and check our pulse.

The church wears a uniform of helping people in broken conditions because that's our job.

Why wear the uniform if you're not going to do the job?

We're just getting started.

We we wear the uniform of hope, but at the end of the day, we're trying to find out where do I stop?

Where do I draw lines?

And here's the thing: for the religious folks, like it was like, hey man, there's really some strict rules on how we govern situations like this.

There's even passages of scripture that speak to it.

You know, we've read that passage, don't let your evil be, don't let your good be evil spoken of.

Or or or or bad company corrupts good character.

So we got to make sure we keep adequate distance from things that that make us feel uncomfortable.

Even the priest and the Levite, they had these rules that said that you can't come in contact with a dead body if it's not a family member.

So you you better do your best to keep yourself away from it.

So here's what happens.

Even though the religion sees the pain, even though religion is very well aware of what's happening, they distance themselves from the pain.

We're gonna keep our distance, but here's what we're gonna do.

I'm gonna offer you my thoughts and prayers.

I I appreciate that, but I can't breathe over here.

Can you step into the situation and actually help?

Can can you do something?

You see, and here's the thing it's really just a conversation about boundaries, right?

Like where's where's the boundary?

Where do we get involved?

And here's the thing for many of us, we forget that the same way that those religious men were on that road, the same way that the Samaritan man was on that road, the same way that the man who ended up getting robbed was on the road, the same way that the robbers were on the road, recognize that they're all on the same road.

Recognize they're all on a journey.

And the only thing that set those men apart is that it was that the other man was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that we may have survived the very spot that someone else didn't, and yet we went to distance ourselves from them.

We forget at that time when we were drinking and driving, but God got us home safely.

But when we hear about somebody else's DUI, we want to judge them for it.

We we forget about when we were dibling and dabbling in drugs and how God somehow preserved and saved us from it.

But when you hear about somebody else struggling with it, we want to be so critical of them.

Sometimes it's just a matter of time, and I believe that this text is meant to serve as a humble reminder of don't forget that we're all on a journey.

And the only thing that sets you apart from what somebody else fell in is it was just a matter of timing.

But here's the thing, we're talking about boundaries because there's gotta be boundaries.

At some point, we've got to hold people accountable.

At some point, there's personal responsibility.

At some point, we gotta say that you gotta play a part in your own rescue, and that's the tension that we wrestle with.

We we always talk about boundaries in my house.

It's it's a it's like a it's like ongoing tension that we have.

Probably in a different context than what you're thinking, but let me walk you through what happens in the Pittman household.

We we we have these moments where we're trying to figure out when when is the proper time to step in and take control.

Now, I frame the question.

Let me back up and give you context as to what I mean by that.

So in my household, let's just say hypothetically it's a Monday.

Great day at church, the 12 o'clock service was the best service, and now we're celebrating it, and now we're getting ready for Monday.

Well, on that on that Monday, my wife says, Hey babe, do you mind making me a cup of coffee?

Absolutely, you can have whatever you like, girl.

I'm gonna go get you some coffee.

What kind of creamer do you want?

Like that's that's my response always.

Make her some coffee, life is good.

Later on that evening, everybody gets home from work and school, and we're having our family dinner, we're all joking and having a good time, and the day comes to an end.

Now, me as the father of the house, a little bit later in the day, I begin to walk around to make sure everything is in order, making sure everything is settled, doors are locked, and it's good.

And and I notice as I'm walking, oh, there's my wife's coffee cup, and it looked like she took two sips from it.

Okay.

I go out into the kitchen and I look at the kitchen and I see that there's half-drank water bottles here, half-drank soda bottle there, and in my mind I'm thinking, like, man, like I that's such a waste.

I got I'm gonna have to throw that out.

So after seeing enough historical patterns, I've made a shift in my household.

Here's the here's the shift.

I I'm I'm just I want to see if this works for you guys.

I've made this decision.

If there's an open container in my house, I drink it.

No questions asked.

No questions asked.

Because historically, I have seen enough waste that now I've decided that I've got to get involved.

Now, now here's what ends up happening, though.

It's inevitable.

The moment that I begin to drink from it, then my family's like, oh, I can't believe you drank my drink.

Like, I was gonna drink it.

And I'm like, well, but historically you you don't.

So now we have this wrestling match because now they're saying, Well, you should have gave me an opportunity.

So now I'm saying, when when is the appropriate time for me to step in and go ahead and decide to drink it?

Because if I wait too long, then it's flat and I don't even want it myself, or do I just go ahead and drink it and you're gonna have to get over it?

That's what happens in the Pittman household.

It's this tension of when when do I get in and just go ahead and take control?

Because here it is.

As the father of the house, I have such a unique perspective of all the waste that I see.

I do, because I'm thinking to myself, like, man, like we're we're throwing out that coffee.

Every time I see my family members, I just see dollar signs.

Like, okay, that's costing me money.

That's costing me.

Okay, that's that's like it's it's just a running tab.

So when I look at all the waste, I'm thinking to myself, like, yeah, I'm gonna get involved and let me reallocate this thing, mainly for me, because because I'm tired of throwing all this stuff out.

So when my family and I are having these crazy debates, it it occurs to me, like, man, I wish they could see the big picture here.

Because there is nothing that I have taken from them that I don't still have an abundance of.

I I may have drank your half-drank water bottle, we still got more water.

I may have drank your soda, we still got more soda.

I may have just eaten all of your Chick-fil-A, even when you just got home with it.

I'll still buy you some more Chick-fil-A.

I'm trying to I'm trying to make my case here, guys.

Here's my point there is nothing as the father that I am taking from them that I don't have an abundance that's available to them.

If they could just recognize that.

But unfortunately, a lot of times what happens with us when it comes to stewardship, we're saying to ourselves, what's mine is mine, and I'm going to keep it.

But God is saying, if you could just recognize that yes, I may step in because, hey, I'm aware of all the waste that is in your life, but anything that I ask you to surrender, believe me, there's an abundance for it on the other side, but I just need you to trust me with him.

And when I have these conversations with my children, I say to them, Can you look at the parable of the prodigal son?

Do you remember when the brother who was still there was so disappointed because his brother got all the special treatment?

And he said to him, Son, why are you so upset?

All that I have is yours.

Everything that you see that I've done for one, don't you know that it's available for you?

Listen to me, church.

Maybe right now we're counting the cost and we're saying, like, okay, God is really stirring me to do something, but I'm concerned that maybe I just don't have it.

Stop drawing boundaries around your generosity, stop drawing boundaries around your stewardship and recognize that God is not gonna ask you to provide anything that He's not already provided for you on the other side.

But you've got to first be willing to trust him in it.

So here's the moral of the story.

My family needs to stop complaining.

So here we are, we have this perspective of the robber, which what's yours is mine, and I'm gonna take it.

We we have this perspective of of religion, what's mine is mine, and I'm gonna keep it.

Let's draw strong boundaries around it without recognizing the abundance that God truly has for us.

But then there's the other side, the perspective of relationship.

See, that that perspective of relationship is is is really powerful because this is where we we interact with the with the Samaritan.

It's such a well-known passage that there's statements that we know.

Oh, the good Samaritan, we we understand what that is.

Because what it means is that there's a person who saw the same thing that the robber saw, but didn't take advantage of it.

Saw the same thing that religion did, but didn't just offer shallow prayers and scriptures with it.

He actually stepped in to say, How can I make a difference in it?

And here's the thing that I want us to understand because Jesus is just layering point upon point in this.

The tension between the Jews and Samaritans were extreme.

I want us to envision like a post-civil war, like the Jim Crow era, like the tension that was existing between these two races was something that was that makes all of us uncomfortable.

It went on for hundreds and hundreds of years.

So here's the thing the Samaritan, which was typically the group of people that were the most oppressed, saw what many believed to be a Jewish man in this context, and he still was felt this urge to move and to get involved.

It's possible that maybe when he looked at the suffering of this man who represented the very people who at one point oppressed him, but yet he saw himself in him.

There was something about it that he could identify with, being a man who had been oppressed, being a man who'd been marginalized, being a man who had been isolated just because of his ethnicity, he still saw a need and decided to step into it.

Imagine the compassion that's in someone's heart.

That you can look through the lens of all of those things and yet still see, but God has given me something that I can make a difference.

I'm gonna push past all this drama, I'm gonna push past all the politics, I'm gonna push past all the racial divide, I'm gonna push past all of that because God has given me something that I can contribute and make a difference.

It's a very humbling space to be in.

So the Samaritan gets involved and we see some powerful things take place.

Now, for all of us, we're wondering, but what does that practically mean for me?

I want to close with this thought.

Because it can be overwhelming.

Because as our hearts begin to get stirred around this very idea, we're still wondering, but what do I do?

There's needs and suffering everywhere.

There's there's there's there's so many things that I can do, but it can be overwhelming on what I should do.

And I think the answer is found right here in a passage of scripture.

See, what we see is that the robber takes religion ignores, the Samaritan gets involved.

But there was a very intentional way that he got involved.

The first thing he did is he went to him.

The text says that he didn't he didn't distance himself, he he didn't stay away from him, but he he he went to him, he stepped into his world and said, Man, I gotta assess the pain that's right in front of me.

He he went to him.

But when he when he went to him, the Bible says that he then took oil and poured it on his wounds and cleaned it with wine.

There's a there's profound symbolism in that, but but here's here's the here's a bullet pointed version.

The oil represents anointing.

The oil represents the the the gifts that was on that man's life uniquely.

The wine represents joy, it represents the Holy Spirit.

So watch this.

The man stepped into the situation and used what God had given him to help.

What has God given you that will allow you to help someone else?

Far too often we think that we have to give the exact same thing.

We don't.

For some of us, we may have an abundance of wealth, so maybe God is asking you to serve in that capacity.

For others, you have profound gifts and talents that you know that can help move our church forward.

Maybe God wants you to serve in that capacity.

For others, maybe you just have a profound intercessory life and God is leading you to pray.

Maybe God wants you to serve in that capacity.

The point is that the man used what he had to make a difference in the man that he saw in front of him suffering.

What has God given you?

What is he giving you?

Has he given you a gift to encourage?

Then encourage.

Has he given you a gift to give, then give?

Has he given you a gift to pray, then pray?

Has he given you these gifts?

God is simply saying this, I've given you gifts, I expect you to use them.

Now after he after the man goes to him and he uses what he has, the beautiful thing is he helps the man take his next step.

This is the beautiful part about this whole narrative is that the man isn't just content with stepping in and and and leaving him there.

But the Bible says that he goes the extra step.

He puts him on his own animal, he takes him to essentially what is the hospital.

He did he agrees to circle back and check on him.

I can't think of a more powerful illustration of a pastor's heart.

Stepping into stepping into the pain, recognizing and seeing, man, what can I what can I do?

What is God giving me to make a difference in this situation?

And then helping that man take his next step.

And then circling back to check on him.

It's so simple but yet so hard to apply.

Because when we ride down the street and we see the suffering, we can either try to distance ourselves from it, to ignore it, or we can be overwhelmed and try to do everything and burn ourselves out.

But I believe that this passage is a helpful example of how we're to steward our lives when we look at a world that is in desperate need of it.

You see, at the end of the day, this this passage is meant to draw our attention to this profound uh epidemic called the bystander effect.

And and what the bystander effect is, it's like a social experiment, but but in essence what it is, is it's when you when a multitude of people can watch suffering and they don't do anything about it.

A bunch of people can all watch and see someone in distress, and the more people there are, the less action there actually is.

And there's entire like social experiments, and you can you can look at it on YouTube of where they'll have like a person in a desolate situation and put them in the middle of a highly populated city and people won't do anything about it.

It's it's powerful to think about.

And and we see it more and more.

You know, here recently, probably about a couple years ago, I I had seen this kind of come to fruition in a way that really that shook me to my core.

You know, there was this story that happened up in the Northeast where a 16-year-old girl was lured into a high school bathroom and she was beaten to death.

And and what makes it more disturbing is that there's tons of students that were in the bathroom recording it on their phones.

I I watched the video yesterday just to kind of give myself a fresh reminder of it, and I still found myself screaming at my iPad saying, put down the phone and help her.

How how did we become so desensitized to brokenness and abuse?

And our first instinct is to take our phones out and to record it and to hashtag it and to upload it.

Our awareness is powerful, but our involvement is transformative.

And I believe that God is saying that it's time for us to put down our phones, to stop talking about it, and recognize the needs and the pain and the suffering that's right in front of us, and stop trying to find excuses and reasons on why we're not going to step into it and get uncomfortable and let someone meet Jesus and allow them to take their next step because this world is dying.

I am I am so tired of churches being full on Sundays, but people's lives being empty on Monday.

I'm I'm so I'm so tired of seeing students who are feeling suicidal and full of anxiety and depression when I know that we have the resources that can make a difference.

I am so tired of seeing how churches are so full, but marriages are still falling apart.

I'm so tired with us just taking our phones out and taking pictures of how awesome we are and how many followers we got and how many comments we have when God is saying it is time for you to put the phone down and do something about it.

So we as a church are no longer going to stand by and watch this world go to hell anymore.

God has given us the victory.

So my statement is we will not stand by, we will not stand by and watch the disapproach and the poor and the broken continue to stand and feel like they don't have any luck.

We will not do it, we will not stand by and watch another merit fall apart when God has given us the ability to make a difference.

We will not stand by and continue to watch the suffering of our students with no more.

God has given us a vision, it has given us a conviction and we will not stand by devil! You are all unnoticed because you have a bulk church that refuses to allow you to influence us anymore! We will not stand by and do it any longer.

Everyone saw him, only the Samaritan got involved.

There's suffering all around us.

Do you see it?

There's division all around us.

Do you see it?

The question is, what are you gonna do?

We truly believe that God has given us a burden to be a hub in this region, to make a difference that no longer accepts the status quo on what successful ministry is.

But we're gonna go into your worlds, we're gonna help and equip your families, we're gonna do what the Bible says and step into those uncomfortable conversations and use the grace and the anointing that is on our lives to change things.

I am tired of the enemy trespassing on the victory that God has already given us, and it is time for us to let him know you are evicted, you have no authority here, you don't have any squatters, right?

In the name of Jesus, you will get off of our marriage, in the name of Jesus, you'll get off of our kids, in the name of Jesus, you'll get out of our city because that is what it means to be a passionate, mobile body of Christ.

God's given all of us something so that we can do something.

What is he giving you?

And what are you gonna do with it?

With every head bowed and with every eye closed, I simply want to ask you this question.

Maybe, maybe right now, you're in here and you recognize there's an area of your life where you feel that, Keith, when you were talking about being half dead, something being stripped away from you, feeling exposed, and you know that you need the grace of God to step into your situation.

I want to pray for you right where you stand.

Keith, I feel I feel like my I feel like my health has been stolen.

I feel like my peace of mind has been stolen.

Keith, I feel like my joy has been stolen.

Keith, I feel I feel like there's some things that that I should have that I just don't have anymore.

If that's you, I want to pray for you.

So on account of three, I want you to boldly lift your hands up, believing that God is gonna get involved.

One, two, three.

Amen.

God bless you.

Hands up literally everywhere.

My God, the devil's busy, but today we're going to put him out of work.

Here's my second question.

If you're in here with us today, and when we talk about that side that feels half dead, the truth of the matter is you would define your spiritual walk as the dead side.

I don't have a relationship with God.

I'm away from God, I'm distant from him.

We we don't want you to leave here feeling like you have to do this all on your own.

So if you want to commit or recommit your life to Christ, that's simply inviting him in.

The best thing that you can steward is your walk with God.

And you know that today is the day that you need to invite Jesus in.

I want to pray for you.

So on a count of three, to commit or recommit your life to Christ, I want you to boldly lift your hand up as high as you can.

One, two, three.

Amen.

My God.

My God.

Church, can we give it up for what God is doing in this place right now?

I want everyone to hear me.

I want everyone to hear me.

Five years ago, when this church was planted, the people who just raised their hand to give their life to Jesus, this is what we had in mind.

Five years ago, when we when we raised resources so that we can reach people, you're who God had in mind.

Do you see what happens when a body of believers recognize that God has given us each uniquely a gift and how we see it come to its fulfillment?

The enemy is disappointed, but heaven is celebrating.

I celebrate with you.

In just a few moments, Pastor Justin's gonna come out.

He's gonna give you some instructions on your next steps, on how you can begin to take this journey with God, and we want to equip you and walk with you every step of the way.

But as we prepare to go back into worship, I want to pray for us as a community because I know that we're in a season where God is stirring us.

I want us to consider what God is putting on your heart to contribute for October 20th.

The vision of helping our students, the vision of making sure we equip our families beyond just Sundays, the vision of helping our church in Zimbabwe build an environment in the middle of cult worship and make a statement to the enemy that you do not have any right in being here.

The vision that God has given us to radically change this entire region.

That's it.

No compulsion, no twisting arms.

My question is we see the pain.

God's made it clear to us.

You have a part to play in that.

What are you gonna do?

I want to pray for us.

As we go into worship, I want to pray for us.

And I'm believing that the power of God is gonna move in such a profound way that we're gonna see a shift in the atmosphere.

Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you for what you're doing in this place.

And God, it's by your word that we stand on God, recognizing, Lord, that we have been the beneficiaries of someone else's heart for the house because the house has a heart for us.

So, Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for every person that feels as if they've been exposed, God, even feeling half dead.

And I command in the name of Jesus for them to rise up.

I command for resurrection power, I command for hope to stir up, and them recognizing that God is not double-done yet, that he still has a vision for you, that he still has a future for you, that he still has a calling on you.

In the name of Jesus, I command marriages to rise up.

In the name of Jesus, I command sickness to go.

In the name of Jesus, I command for students to know who they are in Christ.

In the name of Jesus, I command for the Spirit of God to move and move everything that's not likely from our home, from our work, from our lives.

So, God, we give you all the glory, the honor, and the praise in Jesus' name.

Let's worship God together.

Thank you for tuning in to today's podcast.

For more information about Celebration Orlando or to get in touch with us, please visit celebrationorlando.org.