Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
August 18, 2002 - W0233

How big is your neighborhood? Who are your neighbors? The people who live next door? Maybe.

The Bible defines ìneighborî a bit differently. It defines it in such a way that fulfills the greatest commandment of all. When we understand the Bibleís definition, we can begin to fulfill Godís invitation or to justify ourselves as to why weíre not.

A neighbor is different from a friend. A friend is someone we chooseósomeone we like and who likes us. They might look like us, act like us, like the same things and that makes them a friend. However, a neighbor is a very different thing. A neighbor is someone who is chosen for us. They move into our lives, our hemisphere. A friend is someone I choose; a neighbor is someone God chooses and places in your life for a season. You have no control over this.

It could be the people next door, a teacher at your school, a coworker, or even someone next to you at the supermarket checkout. Maybe itís someone sitting next to you on a plane, in church, or in a care group. Your ìneighborsî are people who have been chosen for you by God and placed in your life for a season.

Q1: Who are your ìneighbors,î people God has placed in your life for this season?

Our fulfillment of the Great Commandment is not determined by how we treat our friends, but by how we treat our neighbors. Look at how one man asked Jesus about Godís commands: ìAnd behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, ëTeacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?í And He said to him, ëWhat is written in the Law? How does it read to you?í And he answered and said, ëYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.í And He said to him, ëYou have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.í But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, ëAnd who is my neighbor?íî (Luke 10:25-29)

Jesus then launched into the story of the good Samaritan. ìA certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite [like a temple assistant] also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

"And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ëTake care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.í Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbersí hands? And he said, ëThe one who showed mercy toward him.í And Jesus said to him, ëGo and do the same.íî (Luke 10:30-37)

Let me tell you about Dave. Dave lived next door to me. Through several months of struggle he became my neighbor. Or, rather, I became a neighbor to him.

A new homeownerís greatest fear is to discover that your neighbors are trouble. That was Dave. He looked like punk rocker Ozzy Osbourne. Tattooed on every limb, leather-clad, smoked like a chimney stackÖ and that was just his girlfriend! Dave rebuilt cars in his driveway and motorcycles in his living room. Pools of thick, black grease puddled everywhere. And he never mowed his lawn. Never. Ever!

I remember the pungent smell of pot wafting from his house. Strange characters came and went at all hours of the night. And he harbored the largest, ugliest, loudest barking dog in the state. This dog was a demon-possessed animal straight from hell. Many nights when his dog and midnight visitors kept me awake, I would pray that Dave would go back to the place from where he got his dog!

On the other hand, we lived in our pristine yellow-and-white house with our brand new infant. I often had to shutter our house up to keep the pot smoke from invading the babyís room. I tried glaring at Dave to let him know I didnít approve of his lifestyle or appreciate his ìtobacco substitute.î Dave would have been my last choice for a neighbor.

One day I was mowing my lawn and grumbling to God about Dave. God had some strong words for me: ìStop grumbling! Go forth and moweth Daveís lawn for him!î What? I couldnít believe it. I said, ìHallelujah, Lord. Let him moweth his own lawn, Amen.î

The Lord answered, ìJust be kind. Iím not asking you to change his life. Iím only asking you to be kind. Itís time you start to live out what you believeÖ the way I created you to be.î God was about to teach me that the first step in being a neighbor is thisÖ

1.     CHOOSE TO BE KIND.

You might say, ìSome people just donít deserve to be kind unto!î If we were only kind to those who deserved it, we wouldnít be kind to anybody. We have to choose to be kind to others.

ìBut a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.î (Luke 10:33-34)

Notice that the Good Samaritan never preaches to this man whom he helps. His kindness is never contingent upon the man coming to church with him or accepting Jesus as Lord. No! He was simply kind.

I didnít want to mow Daveís lawn that day yet I was reminded ìthe kindness of God leads you to repentanceÖî (Rom. 2:4) In order for repentance to come, we must first be kind. Itís the kindness of God, and not His wrath or His anger that brings people to repentance. We must start simply by sharing the kindness of God. Not just to those whom we choose but to those whom God chooses and places in our lives.

Fulfilling Godís Greatest Commandmentsóto love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength as well as to love your neighbor as yourselfódepends on how we treat our neighbors. Thatís the test. Often God will choose people for you and place them in your life, and the way you respond to them is a true test of your love for God.

I didnít want to mow Daveís lawn but I did it anyway because I love God and wanted to obey Him. When I was done I was so excited; I thought he would fall on his knees and ask Jesus into his heart! I saw him come home finally so I went out to my trashcan just to be available. He didnít even notice! He just went in his house and lit up a joint!

I cried out to God, ìDo You know how hard it was to do that? Look, he doesnít even care! Do You understand the sacrifice it takes to be kind?î It was as if the Lord said, ìI know, but that wasnít for himÖ That was for you.î You see, kindness isnít to be our last response, it should be our first. Kindness shouldnít be at the top of my reachówhere I have to strive to get to it. Kindness should be at the beginning of my reachóthe very foundation of all I do.

Q2: How are you doing in the area of kindness? Is it the beginning or ending of your reach? Why do you think so?

How are people going to be led to repentance if we as Christians canít even be kind? Let kindness be the overflow of your heart, the starting point for all you do. Like the Samaritan, who simply helped a stranger as a natural outflow of his heart, we get to choose to be naturally kind. The Samaritan didnít stop with being kind. He took the second step in being a neighbor toÖ

2.     DO SOMETHING UNEXPECTED.

For the most part people expect a certain amount of kindness. Thatís common courtesy. Thatís even ìChristian.î But whatís unexpected is when we go beyond kindness to do something more. The Samaritan did that: ìAnd on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ëTake care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.íî (Luke 10:35) The Samaritan did more than be kind, he went out of his way to care for the stranger.

You see, caring for yourself is expected. But putting yourself out in order to care for a neighbor (not a friend, but a neighbor), now thatís unexpected. When you graduate from the expected kindness to the unexpected, above-and-beyond caring, thatís where ministry begins. It doesnít start until then. Caring sets the platform for God to work miracles. This is where we fulfill the greatest commandment of all: ìLove your neighbor as yourself.î

Q3: How are you caring for your neighbors?

Q4: If you were to do something ìunexpectedî for your neighbor, what would it be? Why?

Two denarii is two daysí wages. If you make about $100 per day, then thatís worth $200. Whatever the worth, in their day, that was a lot! And the Samaritan gave it freely, without any expectation of a return.

This flies in the face of a lot of televangelist, prosperity messages that tell us that when we give, we can expect much more in return. No! When we are able to give of ourselvesówhether it be in our time, our care, or our financesóand expect nothing in return, then in that moment we will become the most like Jesus we could ever be. In this moment, you begin to resemble the ìimage of Christ,î truly projecting the image you were created inófor you were created in the image of God. Then you find the fullness of life.

This kind of love, the kind that gives unexpectedly, requires something of usótime, effort, energy, perhaps even finances. But, like the story of the Samaritan, Jesus would say, ìGo and do the sameî (Luke 10:37). Many of you serve in missions, outreaches, volunteering and so forth just because you love God. And one of the reasons I believe the Lord uses this church is because of the hearts of servants shining the love of Jesus.

That is so crucial because the world doesnít need to see our efforts as much as it needs to see His heart in what we do. Thatís what will make the difference to them. Thatís what will attract them to a relationship with Jesus Christ.

It was a cold November day when I peeked outside to see what the racket was. It was Dave, loading a bunch of junk car parts from his yard into the back of his old pickup. I saw him trying to hoist an engine by himself and he just couldnít do it. ìGo help him,î the Lord whispered. ìI did,î I said in a huff, ìfive times already Iíve mowed his lawn!î ìIt hasnít helped him come to Christ or anything else for that matter.î God replied, ìJust go and do something unexpected.î

I put on some old clothes and went to help Dave. We loaded all this junk on his truck. I asked him where he was headed and he said he was going to the dump. ìNeed help unloading all this stuff?î I asked. ìSure! Thatíd be great,î he said. I jumped into the cab hoping that at least his heater would work, it was so cold. Instead he kept the windows shut tight but then he lit up the biggest, fattest doobie I ever saw. He was smoking away and the cab started to fill with second-hand pakalolo smoke. I tried to crack the window a bit but the more he smoked the worse it got. Soon enough he started talking up a storm. I was breathing this stuff in and I got a little light headed. Before I knew it, I got really talkative too!

Oh, no! I thought. I can just imagine tomorrowís news: ìTruck full of stolen parts stopped by drug enforcement officers. Pastor found stoned inside.î Thankfully we got home without incident. I felt bad that I never had a chance to formally share my faith with Dave. But then again, it had gotten to the point where I wasnít trying to ìscalp himî for the Kingdom. God had told me to just help him, build a relationship and be a neighbor, and I had.

I have to confess that when I first started being kind, I didnít want to. I only did it out of obedience and love for God. But after awhile my heart started to change. I learned that before God changes a neighborís heart, He had to change mine.

It was only when my heart became genuine that God was able to use me. That was the difference. Sometimes I do things in order to gain what I wantóaccolades from peers or another soul for the Kingdom. But the greatest legacy I could ever leave is when my actions come not from a contrived heart but from a genuine heart. Itís when I genuinely love people and genuinely love doing what Iím doing. Not perfect, but genuine. Itís an issue of the heart.

When we understand who God has made us to be and that we are made in His image, then we begin to truly be kind and do unexpected things from a genuine heart. The next step in being a neighbor is toÖ

3.     DO SOMETHING AUTHENTIC.

ìëWhich of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbersí hands?í And he said, ëThe one who showed mercy toward him.í And Jesus said to him, ëGo and do the same.íî (Luke 10:36-37)

The one who showed mercy was the real neighbor. The Samaritan simply wanted to help. The priest and the Levite werenít authentic to the core; when no one was looking they didnít help.

Show mercy, be kind and above all be authentic! No ulterior motives, no dutiful religious act or contrived heart. The Bible says, ìIf any man be in Christ he is a new creationÖî  (2 Cor. 5:17). Youíve been transformed and youíre a new person. Your new identity, thoughts and attitude is Godís identity, thinking and heart.

When we catch this, it makes life so much easier. We want to be able to give and to live righteously. And that comes easily when we express the new creation God made us to be. Itís that simple! Be a person who is truly after Godís own heart. When you have that kind of heart, watch what God can do with it.

Several weeks after the dump run with Dave, he came over to my house. He was clean-shaven and freshly bathed. ìHey, Wayne, last coupla weeks I been goiní to your church.î ìNo way!î I said without thinking. ìWhat I meant to say wasÖ Praise the Lord!î ìYup, my girlfriend too,î Dave confirmed. ìIíd like to ask you a few questions.î

We talked about his faith and in a few weeks my wife Anna and I watched as he and his girlfriend received Christ at a weekend service. A little while later we saw them get married and then one day they moved. But for a short season we were allowed to be their neighbors. It took me awhile but I finally became his neighbor.

Who is your neighbor this week? God is going to choose some people and place them in your life. How we treat these will determine whether or not we really love God and fulfill His Great Commands. Let it flow. Itís in your kindness, in the unexpected things, and in your authenticity that will shine Godís heart and make a difference, an eternal difference in peopleís lives.

Final Q: Pray and ask the Lord, ìWho is my neighbor this week? Whom do You want me to reach out to? Help me to find the person You choose, God, that I may be kind, do something unexpected and authentically represent Your love in their lives. Help me to do this within the week, that I may honor You and love my neighbor as myself. Amen!î

Activity: Write your prayer and Godís answer in your journal. Act and see what God is able to do through you!

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