Pastor Elwin Ahu
July 25, 2010 - W1030

Value of One Another

Pastor Elwin Ahu

July 24-25 2010

Value of One Another

Pastor Elwin Ahu

July 25, 2010

Sermon Summary Notes

July 25, 2010-July 26, 2010

Title: “Value of One Another”

Speaker: Pastor Elwin Ahu

Things have been changing in life. There are so many changes that if we don’t take the time look around, things will happen and pass us by just like that.  For example, look around our Honolulu landscape (Pictures shown). Where the old Kaiser Hospital stood we now have the massive Prince Hotel. Where the old Aloha Motors was we now have the Hawaii Convention Center. While the Aloha Tower is still there, the tourists are gone.  So you see how things have changed over the decades.

But you know what never changes? God’s love for you never changes.  No matter what can be changing around in the world, no matter what differences we see in the horizon, in the landscape and in the people…God’s love for you never changes.

Let me read this to you what Paul said to the Christians in Rome: He says this from the New Living Transitions:

“And I am convinced that nothing  (let me say that again..Nothing)  can ever separate us from God’s love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fear for today nor our worries about tomorrow..indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love  of God”….   (Romans 8:30-39 NLT)

 Paul emphasizes that point.  There is nothing,  nothing you can ever imagine that can separate you from God’s Love.  I did some word study on the word Nothing….Do you know what it means in Greek? It means Nothing, Not a Thing, no Thing.

Nothing can stand between you and the love of God and it is a very deep love.  That too will never change. Do you know what else will never change?  What God expects us to do with that love. He has an assignment for us. As He has loved us, we should love others. Let us read together of what Paul told the Galatians:

“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.  For the whole Law is fulfilled.. in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF’ (Gal. 5:13-14)

 Paul is saying is that God Loves You. Know that and receive that love. Take that love and love one another. The whole Law, and everything that is written in the Bible is all about that.   In other words, there is nothing you can do to earn His love. There is nothing you may have done that will make God love you any less.   God’s love is already fulfilled in you.  You already have it.  Lots of times we walk away from it, we push it away, but God says I love you nonetheless.  That freedom we have that Paul is talking about in Galatians, is a freedom we have from being condemned because of our sins.  It is a freedom to walk away from any sinful circumstances or sense of hopelessness in life. 

God placed that love in you. You don’t have to go looking for it, you don’t have to earn it. You are free from having to earn love and respect from someone else. You already have it…But the challenge for us is now that you have it, what are you going to do with it?  How is your life going to reflect the love that he has already placed in you? What are you going to do with all that He has given you?

 God tells us exactly what He wants us to do with it. Love thy neighbors. The questions then are who are our NEIGHBORS and how do we share this with our neighbor?     

 There are many, many illustrations in the Bible and I will give you three today.   

THE SAMARITAN WOMAN (Jn. 4:7-42)

The first is out of the book of John.  John chapter 4 talks about a time when Jesus went to a country called Samaria.  Now you need to know something about the Samaritan and the Jews. They did not like each other.  There are a lot of cultural and historical reasons why but I will not go into details. Suffice to say, the Jews very much avoided going to Samaria. But Jesus went through Samaria on purpose.  We find in John 4 he ends up at a well, and at this well it was high noon. 

Jesus was tired from His journey but he waited at the well until this woman came, and as she started to draw water, Jesus asked her for a cup of water.  She wondered what in the world is this Jewish man doing in Samaria?  The Bible continues, “Therefore the Samaritan woman said to Him, ‘How is it that You, being a Jew, ask me for a drink since I am a Samaritan woman?’  (For the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ;Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living waters.’ ( John 4-9-10)

The woman tells Jesus to give her some of this living water, and Jesus tells her to bring her husband.  She tells him that she has no husband, but the Lord knows all things and He knew that she had five husbands, and the one she was now with was not her husband.  The Lord knew why this woman came to fetch the water at high noon when no one else came. This woman might have come once to the well when the other women were there and they could have been talking about her life.  This woman could have been tired of gossip and depressed about her relationships that she did not want to hear anymore.  So she draws water when no one is at the well at high noon.  Why did Jesus go out of His way to be there to meet her at the well at high noon?  (Hold that thought)

The second illustration of who are neighbors are comes out of the book of Mark.

THE UNTOUCHABLES (Mk. 6:53-56)

Jesus feeds 5,000 men, including women and children, and his followers go into a boat and a big storm comes. Jesus calms the sea and walks on the water to them.  They land on the other side, the people in that area hear about Jesus, they knew what he could do and bring all their sick to him. 

As the Bible says, “Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured.  (Mark 6:56)

Jesus fed 5000 people, walked on water and now all the outcast were coming to Him. He must have been tired but instead of resting He just stayed there and allowed them to touch the fringe of His cloak to be healed.    Why did he do that?  (Hold that thought)

The third illustration of who are neighbors are is out of the book of Luke chapter 19: 1-10

THE TAX COLLECTOR (Lk. 19:1-10)

Tax collectors were Jews collecting monies from Jews to support the Roman government.  The Jews hated the Roman government.  Zaccheus made money collecting taxes from the Jews.    Luke says, that Zaccheus tried to see Jesus through the crowd but he was small in stature.  Zaccheus ran ahead and climbed a tree. When Jesus came to the tree, he told Zaccheus that he needed to come down and Jesus was going to his house.  Because Zaccheus was the Chief Tax Collector, the Jews would say that he was a sinner of all sinners.  Jesus goes to his house and the people responded.  Let us read Luke 9:

“When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, ‘He has gone to the guest of a man who is a sinner.’  Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.”  And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19: 7-10)

 When Jesus went to Zaccheus’ house he got saved, when He visited the Samaritan woman at the well, her life changed. Not just her life, but others were saved through her. When Jesus presented Himself to the sick, they were healed. So according to the 3 stories, who and where are our neighbors?

1. Neighbors are found living on the MARGINS of life.

They don’t necessary live next door, they live on the margins of life. If we are going to reach them and love them as God has loved us, we need to know where they stand on the margins of life and not wait till they come to see the kingdom of God, but taking the kingdom of God to where they are. 

Jesus knew that the kingdom of God rested in the CENTER of life.   That everything in life is about the kingdom of God.  But he also knew that his ministry required him to take the kingdom to those who were on the margins of life.  That’s why you see him in the streets, ministering to the Lepers,  to those in Prison, those who are Hopeless, Forgotten, those who are Blind,  those who are committing Adultery.  He took the ministry to them.  His ministry was not about come and see me.  He knew where his neighbors lived.  He took the message of God and went to his neighbors. 

We are living in tough times, many times we shy away from taking the message to our neighbors because we do not know who they are, or because we are concerned what others may say about us, Jesus had no Concern over what people would say about him.   Jesus knew that as he was loved, he needed to love his neighbors. 

Times have changed and we need to know where our neighbors are in the times in which we live.  In the 16^th century the church played a big role in every phase of society.    Nothing was done with out consulting the church.   Politics , Healthcare, Legal Matters, Environment, Education, Family, Social Welfare and Arts were all influenced by the Church.

But over time it changed because man began to learn how man could do things.  Beginning in the 1600’s, Man began to determine truth for himself rather than simply accepting the Church’s word. Truth became what could be proven. So what could be proven about the world around us became our World View and replaced the Church at the center of our lives. This also resulted in the Church being pushed to the outer margin of life as simply another aspect of our world among many others.

So as a society, we moved from the Church being the center to a World View being the center. Currently, we are living in the Post Modern Age where there is no universal objective truth at the center but more of an individual relative truth that is felt. People are still seeking God but they are now told that there are multiple ways to reach Him. So through the ages, the Church has moved from the center of life to the outer spheres and now in this Post Modern Age, the Church has moved to a different plane under society.

 So how do we reach people in this new Post Modern Age?

2. Be a BRIDGE BUILDER, not a ROADBLOCK.

A bridge builder is one who understands the love of God and will build a bridge of authentic love for one another.   It is not only talking about love, but showing the love of God..

It is being someone that shines the light of God. Read (Isaiah 49:6 NIV)

“I will also make you a light ( the word light stands for the stars in the heavens) for the Gentiles, that you may bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

It is not so much where others come and seek. It is more where we as Christians now go to reach them. That is our assignment - the mission our Lord has given to us. 

These are his last words , the very last words Jesus  said to the ones he loved the most before he ascended.   They are asked Him, when are you going to develop this kingdom?

Let’ read this together:

“He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:7-8 NIV)

In other words, you take the love that He has given you and start spreading it around as soon as you can. That is our assignment.  Share God’s love with our love ones, those outside of that circle and in places that you have been avoiding all your life.  Remember, "We love, because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19) The Gospel and Our Assignment are Very Simple – Love thy neighbor as you love yourself.

Study Suggestions

1.   What should you do with the freedom God has given you?

2.   Where are your neighbors found?

3.   What have you done to seek out your neighbors?

4.   Where or who do you want to avoid reaching out to?

5.   Why did Jesus go to Samaria?

6.   What should we be?

7.   What should we avoid being?