I believe this morning we will begin by
looking into chapter 10 of the Gospel of
Luke.
If you will turn there please.
When I chose the particular aspect of our
theme, serving one another, immediately my mind went
to this portion we know as the story
of the Good Samaritan.
Serving one another is a tremendous privilege, but
it is sometimes very, very difficult.
We've discovered, for example, Dana, would you give
me some of the pens out of my
briefcase there please or hand it to me,
thank you.
That's being served, you understand.
That was really contrived.
Thank you, brother.
I've come to recognize this whole problem of
really learning to serve one another, to do
it by love, to do it with discernment,
and I felt that probably the best way
I could describe this morning is to tell
you about 12 years ago we moved into
a community in the north part of Indianapolis,
lived out in the country for many, many
years.
But now we moved into a new situation.
I had faced a very critical issue when
I turned 65, which was 15 years ago,
and it felt like the Lord was saying
to me, been talking about fellowshipping with him,
being open day by day and honest in
the mornings with him, and finally said to
me, when are you going to begin to
do that?
Well, I've always spent time with the Lord.
I've always been diligent in the word.
I've always felt like I was really in
fellowship.
But he seemed to say to me, if
you don't begin right now, you never will.
That is getting up early enough to be
able to wait before him and hear his
voice, have him speak to me early.
And so I began, I began to share
this in the little book, Life's Ultimate Privilege,
the opening of the book, you may have
read it, which we quite candidly tell about
having to be honest and saying that we've
been telling everybody else, preaching to everybody else.
But God was saying, it's time for you
to begin.
I want to lay that as background because
it's a very wonderful thing that began to
happen in a new way.
I began to sense God speaking as I
had not heard him speak before.
He speaks all day long, but he just
wanted me to obey him in getting up
early.
And so when we moved into the city,
I began to look into the area where
I lived.
We have a one street that has a
dead end and there are 18 homes along
on the two sides of that street.
We're in the middle on one side.
And suddenly the Lord said, this is your
new neighborhood.
I'd like for you to claim them.
And as I began to walk those early
mornings up and down the street, not knowing
a lot of the individuals, but recognizing that
God had planted us there, began to say,
Lord, will you open doors?
Will you give me wisdom and discernment?
Will you help me to understand my neighbors?
What is my neighbor?
Who is my neighbor?
It's been a very interesting time.
A new chapter has come this last month,
actually the last couple of months, I moved
out of that neighborhood to another place about
a mile or two away and into a
new neighborhood.
But my heart has still been back with
those 18 homes as I would walk in
the morning and stand before certain places and
say, Lord, I don't know what's behind those
four walls.
Only you know the deep needs of hearts,
but I claim somehow you will deal and
you will work in their lives.
Be very interesting.
I I'm going to get away from teaching,
just, you know, share my heart with you
this morning, but be very interesting to give
you some of the insights through the last
12 years that we've lived there.
And when we moved, it was not easy
because I had learned to love and appreciate
some very wonderful people on that block.
I say that because my theme this morning
basically is who is my neighbor?
How do I minister to my neighbor?
I think it's important for us to recognize
in serving one another that there are several,
several spheres that we go through.
Let's just get our title down here, serving
one another.
If I understand, we have areas of responsibility.
First, my own home or my household, those
I live with, the immediacy of my family,
then my household of believers.
Let's just call it my church family.
Then I think you have immediately after that
my neighbor.
And if I understand this, we will read
a little bit further on.
Pretty soon you'll find my enemies.
How do I respond, become accountable unto God
in their behalf?
When we look into the 10th chapter of
Luke, we begin to discover some things.
Would you bow for a moment now?
And we ask the Lord himself to open
the verses, the words and make them living
and real to our hearts.
Because, Father, apart from your ministry, we just
have ideas and thoughts and concepts.
But we want you to speak to us
this morning and we pray that you will
do this.
We give you thanks for what you're going
to do.
We ask it in Jesus name.
One of the things that has always amazed
me, and I think you've discovered this already.
When God works, we want to systematize his
working and his theology.
One, two, three, four, five.
I believe in systematic theology, the sequence of
thoughts and the way doctrine unfolds and progresses.
But I'm utterly amazed at the fact that
you can't, you can't, you can't bring revelation
into that realm.
You can't say one, two, three, four, five
up to 10.
When revelation works, God goes two, six, one,
seven.
You cannot predict it.
I wish, because I've tried to groove him,
I've tried to get him into pattern.
But the struggle that I go through so
often is when I systematize, we get theology.
When the Holy Spirit reveals and he's constantly
picking here and there, three, two, six, it
is his prerogative to open as he will.
Fact is, I have to be honest, I'm
still waiting for five on one occasion and
seven on the other.
He just doesn't bow to my desire.
Anybody understand what I'm talking about?
The unpredictability of the Lord.
Well, let's just read this portion and then
we'll begin to ask the Lord to give
some unveiling in chapter 10 of Luke.
Beginning with verse 25, and behold, a certain
lawyer stood up, tempted Jesus saying, Master, what
shall I do to inherit eternal life?
He said unto him, what is written in
the law?
How readest thou?
And he answering said, Thou shall love the
Lord thy God with all thy heart, with
all thy soul, with all thy strength, with
all thy mind and thy neighbor as thyself.
And he said unto him, Thou hast answered
right, this do and thou shalt live.
But the man willing to justify himself said
unto Jesus, and who is my neighbor?
Now we're introduced to this very familiar story
we know as the Good Samaritan.
It's interesting how this lawyer was probably under
the fire, sensing God had been speaking to
him, trying to justify and explain.
Let me just stop for a moment and
say there will always be some tension and
struggle between certain poles.
For example, here is my home, my first
privilege, obligation, my family, those who are immediate.
Then there's the pull of the church out
here.
Every servant of the Lord that I know
go through this struggle between the immediate family,
those outside in the church family.
We all go through it.
We're back to square one again.
God alone can give us the wisdom and
discernment to know the balance between the two
tensions.
I remember being in Yakima a number of
years ago.
A brother that I had come to know
and appreciate very much had a radio broadcast
and we often were with him.
And one day he got a call from
a local pastor in the city and it
said, I'd like for you to stop by.
I have a need that you can pray
about and you can help and counsel.
So my pastor friend Bill stopped by, visited
with the man a few moments and said,
there's a lady in your neighborhood that really
needs some help.
Here's the address.
Just like you have the address and you
can go from there.
He took the little slip of paper, looked
at the address and suddenly was stunned by
the fact that it was his own address.
He looked back at the pastor and he
said, Pastor, I don't quite understand.
This is my address.
And the pastor said, yes, your wife has
been to me several times.
Pleading for help.
Now, the immediate response is, oh, that fellow.
But I knew Bill very well.
I'd lived in the home.
I knew the situation.
I knew the struggle of seven children.
A lot of details that are involved.
And I was glad I was there because.
You may be surprised, but I looked and
I said, I think this just might be
a very jealous pastor.
Who listens on the radio, maybe God speaking
to his heart, just forget about it and
ask the Lord.
He alone can give you the discernment as
to whether this is a real issue or
somebody who's jealous of what you're in.
Well, I only mentioned that because everyone I
know will go through the struggle between serving,
fulfilling the need in my own home and
my church family and so forth.
And Bill has had tremendous ministry in the
Yakima Valley for many years.
I watched him dunk apples with the kids.
I watched him through the years way back.
And I knew that he was a good
father.
But I also know the accusations of the
enemy.
And so I just said to him, be
very careful.
You do not allow the enemy to accuse
you.
You're accountable to God.
And it brought back to my own remembrance
of verse over in the Song of Solomon.
You might just turn there for a moment
since we're wandering around.
Let's let's pick up a little principle here
in the Song of Solomon.
Very interesting verse that God spoke to my
own heart a number of years ago.
Chapter one of the Song of Solomon.
Verse six, the latter part of it says,
They made me keeper of the vineyard, but
my own vineyard have I not kept.
Made me keeper of the vineyard, but my
own vineyard have I not kept.
Here, I think you get a little bit
of a struggle between the vineyard out here
that represented his responsibility.
Then he says, but my own vineyard have
I not kept.
And I have to tell you, I've preached
on the balance that's needed between that vineyard
and my own vineyard for a number of
years.
And then one day the Holy Spirit whispered
and said, you missed a key word.
Starts with the phrase, they made me keeper
of the vineyard, but my own vineyard have
I not kept.
Somehow I'd missed it all.
They made me the keeper.
And the Lord said, I didn't, but they
did.
They gave you a job.
They imposed it.
They.
And I said, oh, thank you, Lord.
From now on, I will recognize all the
they's out there who want to impose.
And I choose to let you speak to
my heart to know how to meet the
needs of my own home and vineyard out
here.
So I just give you that in passing.
Remember, you'll always have the tension between those
who are giving you the burden and the
thing that they think you ought to do.
And the Lord himself gives you the vision
of the burden for your own home.
So we're saying this morning, there'll always be
this tension that goes on.
All tensions find their solution in the one
himself who meets our needs.
So I began to recognize through the years
that as we progress and go on with
the Lord, there are all of these pulls
and needs and situations all around us.
Now we look at the story of the
Good Samaritan, chapter 20, chapter 10, verse 30.
It says, And a certain man went down
from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves,
which stripped him of his raiment, wounded him
and departed, leaving him half dead.
And by chance, they came down a certain
priest that way.
And when he saw him, he passed by
the other side.
And likewise, a Levite, when he was at
the place, came and looked on him and
passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came
where he was.
When he saw him, he had compassion on
him and went to him and bound up
his wounds, pouring in oil and wine and
set him on his own beast and brought
him to an inn, took care of him.
And on the morrow, when he departed, he
took out two pence and gave them to
the host and said unto him, take care
of him and whatsoever thou spendest more when
I come again, I will repay thee.
Which now of these three thinkest thou was
a neighbor unto him that fell among the
thieves?
And he said, he that showed mercy on
him, then said Jesus unto him, go and
do thou likewise.
All my preparation for the Good Samaritan and
all of this, I just really felt like
so many things that I'd like to just
tell you.
First of all, the principle in scripture is
going up to Jerusalem, is going up to
worship, be occupied with the Lord.
Coming down from Jerusalem to Jericho is coming
back to practice out here in the daily
life and the circumstances.
I had never really been aware before of
all that was involved in this 18 mile
journey down from Jerusalem to study a little
bit.
I was I was quite amazed at certain
things that I had not discovered before.
The circumstances that surround this descent coming down,
it was a dangerous, precipitous coming down.
They say that at that time there were
probably 12,000 priests, Levites, living in Jericho.
They were going up continually and coming down.
This was their profession.
This was their occupation, the thing that they
were doing.
And I pondered so often why Jesus so
goes out of the way in dealing in
this story with a Samaritan.
And he picks this individual.
I knew that the Samaritans were a half
-breed when people had Israel had been taken
into captivity.
There were those who were left in the
land and others coming in.
And so there was a mixture of the
Jewish people with these others coming in.
And that became the Samaritans, as it were.
Other things that I was really interested in,
as I began to research a little bit,
the Samaritans not only were a mixed breed
pagans, they'd settled in the land.
They were in clear violation of the thing
that God was wanting.
I discovered also that they had a mixture
in their religion of Judaism and paganism.
They adopted the Pentateuch as the sole sacred
book and had established on Mount Gerizim the
only place that it was proper to worship.
It's interesting when the exiles finally came back
from Babylonian captivity, they started to rebuild Jerusalem
and the temple.
These Samaritans wanted to help them in the
rebuilding.
But the Jewish people refused to have any
help from this mixture, this half-breed group,
and it widened the breach, the gulf between
them.
And by the time that Jesus came on
the scene, it was a wide breach.
In fact, those who would go through Samaria
avoided, they would go clear around, they would
do everything they could to avoid that particular
area, Samaria.
It's also interesting that the Samaritans thought that
Messiah was no greater than Moses and would
appear 6,000 years after creation.
This Messiah would live 110 years and would
lead them to the true faith.
Now, if you ever have a corruption and
a mixed up people, it's the Samaritans.
And isn't it interesting?
Isn't it interesting that on three occasions, Jesus
seems to delight to choose a Samaritan.
You remember the woman at the well?
Samaritan.
Remember the ten who were healed?
One came back to give thanks.
He was a Samaritan.
And here in our lesson today, all the
Jewish religious system going up and down, this
poor fellow falls into difficulty.
And it seems like the Lord says, guess
who this fellow was that stopped to help?
A Samaritan.
Now, I'm not just sure why he's doing
this.
I have lots of problems with the Lord.
I don't think he's condoning the whole system,
the mixture of the Samaritan.
I don't believe he's condoning that.
I know he's exposing that religious system that
was coming and going, was insensitive to the
needs of others.
Going up to worship, coming down to practice,
like early this morning, the Lord was saying
we've all been in Jerusalem for a while.
Last couple of days, not very long before
we're going to go back to some very
real situations to practice.
The ideal is wonderful.
The actual is something else.
And, you know, I look back over many,
many years knowing dozens of you.
So we sit in fellowship at the table
and we respond to one another.
I know some of the actual situations that
some of you are in.
You share them.
Here we are enjoying the fellowship, the wonderful
privilege of Jerusalem, as it were, and ministering
to the Lord.
But now we go back down to Jericho
and we have to face the actuality of
things.
And I keep saying, oh, God, how how
can I help them be prepared in the
actuality of some of their circumstances?
What do you mean?
My wife told me yesterday of one of
the families living in a rather difficult area,
having their windows shot out by a BB
gun, trying to protect the children around them.
My heart cried out, oh, God, that's Indianapolis.
The actuality, going back and wanting to get
them out of that situation for quite a
while.
Into a better community, but they deliberately chose
to move there to be a testimony or
go into all the struggle of it, the
actuality of things, the actuality of circumstances.
What do you do?
Well, we face it, and I think about
all I can say to you this morning
is God alone knows how to break in
to situations that are totally impossible and to
put his own way upon it.
Can I just read some stories to you
this morning for a little bit?
Somebody says that's always better than when you
preach anyway.
I noted for that all over Indiana, so
let's fit our pattern.
What I like to do is just explain
to you what I think is my real
burden.
How do we take how do we take
all that we know, all that God has
given to us in a conceptual way?
And bring it to the practical reality of
ministering to our neighbor, ministering to the needs
around us.
I look back at my immediate neighbors on
that particular block.
Next on the south side of me was
a Baptist deacon, first moved there.
He was moving about the community, a lovely
Christian brother in his electric wheelchair.
He could really get around.
He was in our yard often, and I
learned to love him, appreciate him, even though
his vision was limited.
He really loved the Lord.
And I remember the day when he had
a stroke, finally was in the hospital.
We had ministered to him on many occasions
before, given stories and had fellowship.
And one day it was as though the
Holy Spirit said, you need to go to
the hospital.
It's time, I knew he'd been in a
coma for at least 10 days.
And as I waited before the Lord that
particular morning, I felt the Lord saying, tell
the wife, lovely Christian, she needs to release
her husband and let him go.
He's ready.
How do you how do you tell somebody
that?
And I stood at the bedside for a
little bit and I looked over at Carol
and I said, I don't know, but through
the years on a number of occasions.
I've had to encourage the one who was
an authority in the home and you now
are actually the authority in the home that
you have the privilege of releasing your husband
to the Lord.
She said, never heard of that, said, well,
let's pray about it.
Let's consider it for just a few moments
this morning.
And I went on to speak of how
many situations back through the years.
I don't believe that Christians need to let
death come to meet them.
We go out to meet death.
Sounds brilliant, but I still believe it.
We go out to meet.
We're the tent, we're above it.
And so after we prayed a little bit,
she said, she said, yes, I can do
that.
There's some deep longings in his heart that
are not fulfilled, but I believe I can
do that.
And so we stood at the bedside and
she opened her heart, released her husband to
the Lord.
And when we got through, there was just
a real sense of peace, as though the
Lord had responded by saying, that's good.
We left the room 30 minutes later, two
sons walked in, rebellious of a previous marriage.
They walked in and stood there looking over
their dad in a coma.
And suddenly he looked up and he said,
oh, you've come.
I'm so glad I need to tell you
something.
And he warned both of them, he exhorted
both of them, just explaining to them.
He said, God wants you to meet me
up there because I'll be going very shortly.
One hour after he'd been released to the
Lord, he went to be with the Lord.
Nothing in me, I'm just simply saying that
here was my neighbor to one side.
Prayed for that family, the sons who were
away from home, and suddenly God brought them.
What I'm trying to say this morning, we
need to expect and believe that God will
order our steps in dealing with our neighbor.
Who is the neighbor?
Well, it's not just people living next to
you, but it seems from the context of
this story, it's the individual who's gotten into
a situation, a problem, a circumstance, and you
can minister mercy.
Anything ahead of time, out of order, you
can't push, you can't make a way, you
can only wait God's timing to have the
availability to minister mercy.
Well, I'd go around the whole block, the
neighbor in the back of us across the
fence.
Unusual situation.
They had more trouble with my wife than
I, you know, he couldn't understand why I
didn't get a job.
The wife was always going out on the
plane someplace, not a preacher.
You know, I couldn't understand.
Well, I wrote a tale of his garden.
I did all these things and he never
appreciated it, said the soil got so worked
up, it got harder.
And anyway, I just had to say, well,
thank you, Lord.
It's all right.
But we kept loving and ministering and attempting
to demonstrate the reality of the Lord.
He finally went off to nursing home and
his wife was left there.
She finally was taken to the hospital.
I remember the day when the relatives called
and said she wants you to come.
And I went into isolation, wore it all
in plastic and gloves and all the rest.
And she said, God wants you to pray
for me.
I need the Lord.
He'd been a good Methodist all through the
years, but she'd never really been quickened and
made alive.
And I stood there in all this plastic
trying to trying to somehow explain and her
daughter next there, weeping, saying, mother keeps saying,
you have through the years demonstrated.
And I said, oh, God, we didn't do
much demonstrating.
We complained, too, sometimes.
But the Holy Spirit has a way to
minister life in spite of you.
Do you know that?
Getting into subjectivity this morning, but I wanted
to say to you, when I left this
last couple of months, that area, I thought
of all the people across the street and
the other side, Laotian boat people came with
three suitcases and three children.
Lovely Christians, God has worked in our neighborhood,
a couple of doors down, a black deacon
moved in, loves God in spite of his
cigar.
When Ben opened up the Kroger bread route,
going to Kroger every weekend and bringing in
boxes and boxes of sweets, why, we delivered
it through the neighborhood.
He took it down to his church downtown
and finally getting off the story anyway.
God has peculiar ways of ministering in situations
if we're available.
Ministering grace, third door over, president of the
Neighborhood Society, retired president of a big corporation.
Catholic brother, I walk up and down the
street in the mornings, praying and usually meet
him coming back from early mass, an ungodly
man and yet sensitive.
And I remember the day he's been taking
care of his wife now for eight years
in a wheelchair.
Completely.
Out of touch.
And I looked over at Bill and I
said, Bill, would you let me pray for
you?
I'd given him books which he never read.
I don't think.
Bill, would you let me pray for you?
I'm amazed at the way you minister to
your dear wife in her helpless condition and
in your own physical need.
Here he is in his 80s.
And as we as we looked at one
another, he wept and he said, if you'd
pray for me, it'd be wonderful.
How do you pray?
Oh, God, awake and open.
I guess I'm trying to say to this
morning.
I believe that with ear sensitive being available,
God will begin to give us the distinction
between responsibility in my own home.
Then in my church family and finally, my
neighbors roundabout.
I.
I'm asking the question now, how do we
move from all the information, all the knowledge
we have to bring it into practical reality
and doing?
Well, I blame Ben for this story.
I think I ought to read it to
you because it'll shorten it if I read
it.
Let me just tell you about an Argentine
pastor.
He arrived at the church service on Sunday
morning with a well thought out message which
he knew the people would appreciate.
He discovered the various Greek words for love
and context in which each was used in
scripture and excellent illustrations to explain them.
However, during the early part of the service,
he became convinced that he should not deliver
the message when the time came to preach.
He stood in the pulpit and simply announced
my text this morning is love one another.
That was all he said.
Then he turned and went to his seat.
There were a few moments of embarrassed confusion
as the song leader gestured to him.
Are we supposed to have another song?
But he simply sat there and ignored all
of this for two or three minutes, a
long time when no one knows what's happening.
Then he stood up and returned to the
pulpit and announced brothers and sisters.
My text this morning is love one another.
And he sat down as before.
His wife observed and began to think something
was wrong.
Yet after a few more minutes of embarrassed
silence, he announced again.
My text this morning is love one another
with a loud stress on the word love.
This was repeated again.
And when he sat down this fourth time,
someone in the crowd of over a thousand
people turned to someone seated next to him
and said, how can I love you?
Strangely, someone else turned to another and said,
is there any way I can show love
to you this morning?
In a few moments, the church was alive
with people talking about how they could express
love to each other.
The pastor discovered later there were 28 people
in the church that morning who were unemployed.
Every one of them had the promise of
a job before they left for home.
There were single parent families having genuine difficulty
in making ends meet.
Many of those needs began to be met
that day.
Many, many other needs began to surface.
And they were met that morning before people
left for home.
In the weeks that followed, that pastor explained
that had he given his original message as
planned, the congregation would have probably agreed with
it, been challenged by his exhortation to love.
But the unemployed, the poverty stricken would have
gone out without any practical meeting of their
deep needs.
Amazing.
For the next three months, when the time
came in the morning service for him to
preach, he would announce, brothers and sisters, my
text today is love one another.
Then he would sit down and immediately people
would turn to those near them, asking how
they could show love to them.
And the church would be abuzz with people
helping meet the needs of each other.
Not everyone was happy with this.
Some people got angry.
Some said he wasn't paid to do this
and even left the church.
I mean, you know, that's kind of simple
every Sunday morning getting up saying my text
is.
After three months, the pastor stood to announce,
brothers and sisters, the Lord has given me
a new text this morning.
The congregation burst out in applause.
He simply explained my text this morning is
love your neighbor as yourself.
And he sat down.
There was silence throughout the church as people
began to think to themselves.
My neighbor.
I wonder how I can show love to
them as one or two people got up
to leave.
Others followed and the return to their home,
went next door to the neighbors and asked,
how can I love you?
How can I serve you?
It was a few days before Christmas.
A number of families found themselves agreeing to
give away and so on.
I was tempted this morning to get up
and announce my text is.
What are you trying to say, Brother Vern?
Brother Sparks said to me through the years
more than a dozen times, I know.
Oh, if we could live in the good
of what we know.
If we could live in the good of
what we know.
Now, I know you're responding, your heart saying,
oh, Lord, I, I really, I really need
to know.
How to meet the needs of my family,
the church family and my neighbors and even
those out there who do not like me,
my enemies.
Well, let me read one more story to
you.
Because I think it sums up what I'm
trying to say.
I am convinced that there's the indwelling anointing
that teaches us.
Says in John, you have an anointing that
abideth within you.
And I can tell as I look out
over a group, the anointing that within so
often is registering.
And there's that, I know that.
I used to think that when people were
doing that, they were getting something new.
And then I realized that it's the teacher
who is explaining within.
And there's something within every one of our
hearts this morning that's saying, oh, Lord, I
know so much.
I've been privileged to receive up in Jerusalem
so much.
But when I go down from Jericho to
practice it, I run into all of the
struggles and the difficulties.
Well, let me read another story to you.
I've always loved Tony Campala and his stories.
When my daughter-in-law and my son
went to a praise gathering this last year
in Indianapolis, someone gave them money to go
to the hotel and spend the whole time
there.
And they were looking forward to it because
it would be a time to be together
and to just respond to the Lord.
Tony was there speaking and he was explaining
a book that had, I believe, just come
out called The Call or The Calling.
That particular morning, first one to speak, he
shared his heart and the burden of the
Lord and God calling individuals and their responding.
Later that day, my daughter-in-law phoned
and she said, we got so convicted this
morning after the first session.
We went to our room and spent the
rest of the morning praying and opening our
heart to the Lord.
They're very busy for God, very occupied.
But God broke through because not only was
the anointing within that teaches, but the anointing
that comes upon and settles upon like it
did in this Argentine church when the Holy
Spirit came in and the anointing broke the
rigidity of knowing and brought it into practice.
Well, this is a story that Tony tells.
I read it to you because it illustrates
the same thing again.
I want you to get, he says, I
was asked to be a counselor in a
junior high camp.
Everybody ought to be a counselor in a
junior high camp at least once.
A junior high kids concept of a good
time is picking on people.
And in this particular case, at this particular
camp, there was a little boy who was
suffering from cerebral palsy.
His name was Billy.
And they picked on him.
Oh, how they picked on him.
As he walked across the camp with his
uncoordinated body, they would line up and imitate
his grotesque movements.
I watched him one day as he was
asking for direction.
Which way to the craft shop?
He stammered, his mouth contorting.
And the boys mimicked in that same awful
stammer.
It's over there, Billy.
Then they laughed at him.
Tony says I was irate.
But my furor reached its highest pitch.
Which on Thursday morning, when on Thursday morning,
it was Billy's cabin to give devotions.
I wondered what would happen because they, in
the cabin, had appointed Billy to be the
speaker.
I knew they just wanted to get him
up there to make fun of him.
As he dragged his way to the front,
you could hear the giggles rolling over the
crowd.
It took little Billy minutes to say seven
words.
Jesus loves me and I
love Jesus.
Only seven words.
When he finished, there was dead silence.
I looked over my shoulder and I saw
junior high boys bawling all over the place.
Spirit of revival broke out in that camp
after Billy's short testimony.
Tony goes on, as I travel all over
the world, I find missionaries and preachers who
say Do you remember me?
I was converted in that junior high camp
that morning.
We counselors had tried everything to get these
kids interested in Jesus.
We even imported baseball players whose batting averages
had gone up since they had started praying.
But God chose not to use the superstars.
He chose a kid with cerebral palsy to
teach the message and speak to our hearts.
I'm only trying to say one thing this
morning.
It's this.
There is an anointing that works within and
teaches us.
But there is an anointing that settles in
sometimes.
God delights to use the unlikely.
Does that encourage you?
Let me repeat it again.
God delights to use the unlikely.
And I say, oh God, that really encourages
me.
It's the anointing that settles in.
Now, somebody's going to say, we will get
some cerebral palsy, people.
You can't set up God.
I've tried.
You can't set up God for the anointing
to fall.
He's unpredictable.
At least, most of the time.
But more and more, I'm becoming aware of
the fact.
The unpredictable God loves to minister through those
who are least likely.
The next thing I'm discovering is he's usually
late on my time schedule.
Not his, but late on mine.
But always just on time to speak to
individuals.
I've been asking, you know, this is just
second time of that opportunity to speak to
you.
How do we break out of all the
information and knowledge we know?
Some of us have been to Jerusalem.
Some of you have been to Richmond for
many years.
Now we go back down to Jericho.
Impossible situations.
But God, but God.
I guess part of my amazement is that
when God breaks in to speak, as he
did that day in Indianapolis to my son
and my daughter-in-law.
And they came home with the book, the
call.
And all that had happened to them in
their room that day, they didn't go to
much of the rest of the day.
And I said, oh God, you've been answering,
but you do it so differently than I
anticipated.
I just have to say I appreciate what
Dana was saying last night.
God's church is a lot bigger than we
realize.
God's working in a lot of situations out
here.
Much more than we'll ever realize.
And I've had to shamefully say, I have
a wonderful son and daughter-in-law and
three lovely grandkids who are teaching and working
in Grace Community Church up in the north
part of Indianapolis.
And, you know, I'm embarrassed that they're not
in our house, but in a bigger house.
Fact is, they have four services on weekend,
two on Saturday night, two on Sunday morning
with between six and seven thousand people who
attend.
But God has peculiar ways.
You can't give revelation.
The called and the chosen.
Chosen to see?
I keep praying this morning, oh God, we're
the called according to your purpose.
We're called today with a holy calling to
be serviceable.
Why in the midst of even a precious
congregation like this do you choose out in
your own way as you will?
One morning after my
daughter-in-law, Patty, walked up to the
brother who they have plural eldership.
All the New Testament functions.
Very interesting.
Turned to the elder who had been speaking
that morning and said, John, have you ever
read a book called The Ultimate Intention?
John looked back and he said, why do
you ask?
Patty said, well, I kind of recognized a
few phrases and statements and concepts.
John, the elder said, well, let me tell
you.
Fifteen years ago, I was down in Texas
and young life, high energy, working for God.
Got all involved and said I got so
frustrated and burned out, I left the ministry.
And I was floating for a number of
years until someone came to me one day
and said, here's a book you might be
helped with.
And handed me a book called The Ultimate
Intention.
And about that moment, John looked down at
Patty's little name tag and it said Patty
Framke.
He said, that's interesting.
I believe the guy who wrote that book,
his name was Framke.
No, he's been dead for many years.
But he said, my life has changed.
I'm here today because I saw the difference
between just living in the redemptive box and
living in the larger purpose box.
Alive under what God wanted for himself.
And he said, would you be related to
that guy?
She said, well, he's not dead.
Fact is, I could set up an appointment
for you.
So I started meeting with John.
His turn once a month to speak four
times.
Two Saturdays, two Sundays.
And it's been very interesting.
I'm not trying to name drop.
If you knew the struggles that we go
through when month after month, John has said,
I'm going to be speaking on this, this,
this and this and this.
And I said, thank you, Lord.
I'm getting to preach to 6,000 people
this weekend.
Only you could do that.
One day he said, I keep quoting.
And he said, would you meet with all
the elders?
I said, oh, I don't think so.
But we did.
Just once.
What are you trying to say this morning?
Availability.
God alone.
Knows how to bring the neighbor into your
life.
Situations into your life.
And the more we discover that there is
a reserved grace.
The supply we can live by day by
day.
Then there's the special grace that falls in
given situations.
I call the anointing that comes from above.
The anointing that settles in.
They expect it.
To believe God.
And there's so many times when I recognize.
Only the Lord.
Only the Lord can break the log jam
in the lives of individuals.
There are some.
These days.
I've watched you through the years.
And my heart cries out.
Oh, God.
They know so much.
They have all the books in the bookstore,
including mine.
How do you break through from what we
know?
To begin to love one another.
Now, we could end the service this morning
a lot of ways by saying.
Our text is.
That everybody begins to reach over and say.
Frank, how can I help you in your
needs that nobody knows about?
Are you following me?
Well, I don't know.
But my burden is.
Oh, Lord.
Bring us to the place where with expectancy
we're saying.
Help me to learn to serve one another.
As you open the door.
You make a way.
I just add a few more things now
in closing this morning.
Because.
It seems to me that in the actuality
of things.
Most of the fellowships, you know, some of
you may not know.
We live in.
Central Indiana.
For the last 30 years.
God has allowed us to.
Move from one fellowship to another.
Whether it be in Bloomington University.
Purdue campus.
Kokomo Anderson.
We have had a number of fellowships.
The eldership coming together.
At least once a month to pray and.
To seek the mind of the Lord.
And in the midst of all of this.
Come to discover some of the same problems.
In each of the.
Fellowships.
The other day I was reading.
From Daily Bread.
And it's a statement that Oswald Chambers deals
with.
That hits the practicality.
Of where we live.
What.
Will keep us serving the Lord in our
church.
And community.
When the going gets tough.
Although we may be sensitive to the needs
of others.
That alone isn't enough.
Nor should we be driven by a need
that we have a desire to be appreciated.
Or loved by others.
Our needs are deep.
And only God can satisfy them.
The more we try to satisfy them with
anything else.
Even the Lord's work.
The more dissatisfied we will become.
Even love.
For God's people.
His sheep.
Won't keep us going.
People can be unlovable.
And insufferable.
We may come to resent them.
Not.
The only.
No.
The only.
Sufficient incentive for service.
Is.
Our love.
For the Lord.
And it's.
The love of Christ.
That compels us.
No other motivation will do.
My utmost.
For its highest.
He says.
If we are devoted to the cause of
humanity.
We shall soon be crushed.
And brokenhearted.
But if our motive.
Is to love God.
No ingratitude.
Can hinder us.
From serving.
Our fellow man.
He goes on by quoting Peter's statement.
Simon.
Son of Jonah.
Do you love me?
And he says.
Feed my sheep.
Principle getting out this morning is.
My love runs out.
Some people.
I can love.
Some people.
I have to ignore.
Because.
I just.
Don't like them.
I find them very.
Difficult.
And when that happens.
I've had to always look up and say.
Oh God.
I thank you for this little word.
Chambers gave years ago.
As I discover.
That you shed your love abroad.
Your love abroad in my heart.
And this is the only way.
I can love something.
Some individuals.
That are unlovable.
Now.
That's not your fellowships.
But we have problems in Indiana.
And I expect.
Maybe there are problems other places too.
What do we do?
When we're faced with the lesson.
Of the Good Samaritan.
I know a seminary professor.
He.
Had a whole class.
Of students.
And he wanted to make this very clear.
To them.
So one semester.
He set up his preaching class.
In a very unusual way.
He scheduled his students.
To preach on the parable.
Of the Good Samaritan.
And on the day of the class.
He choreographed.
His experiment.
So that each student.
Would go.
One at a time.
From one classroom.
To another.
Where he or she.
Would preach their sermon.
On the Good Samaritan.
The professor.
Gave some students.
Ten minutes.
To go from one room.
To the other.
To others.
He allowed less time.
Forcing them to rush.
In order to meet the schedule.
Each student.
Passed down the hall.
Walked down a certain corridor.
And passed by a derelict bum.
Who had been placed.
On the floor.
Deliberately planted there.
Obviously.
In need of some sort of aid.
As he moaned.
And cried out help.
The results.
Were surprising.
And offered a powerful lesson.
To all the class.
The percentage of those.
Good men and women.
Who stopped to help.
The fellow.
In the hall.
Is very very low.
Especially for those.
Who are under the pressure.
Of a shorter time period.
The tighter the schedule.
The fewer were those.
Who stopped.
To help the indigent man.
When the professor revealed.
His experiment.
You can imagine the impact.
On his preaching class.
All these future.
Spiritual leaders.
Rushing to preach a sermon.
On the good Samaritan.
That almost all of them.
Walked past the baker.
At the heart of the parable.
They had a sermon to preach.
And he wanted them to live it.
Well here we are this morning.
Time for me to close.
Can I ask you a question?
Do we expect.
The anointing of the Lord.
To come into situations.
We need.
The anointing within.
That teaches.
But the anointing.
That settled in upon us.
Suddenly breaks through.
To did with the cerebral palsy boy.
And God.
Speaking.
God.
Remember.
He is the one.
Who ministers.
To the needs of people.
We're available.
Morning father.
We bow to acknowledge.
Our serving one another.
Is such a privilege.
We so much need.
To know the anointing.
Within.
But the anointing.
That comes upon.
And I'm praying that somehow.
Struggling words this morning.
Will be your opportunity.
To awaken us to the fact.
That as we go.
As the Samaritan went.
That day.
He saw.
He was available.
Help us today to be available.
I believe there are some.
Very very.
Wounded.
Hurting.
People.
That you brought.
To this campus.
They've come out of difficult situations.
Give us the sensitivity.
Don't let us be matter of fact.
Don't let us just go through the order
of things.
But today to have that openness.
To be able to turn to somebody at
our side.
And say.
Is there something I could pray with you
about?
Some burden.
Or load that I could.
Share with you.
There's some particular concern.
That we could stand together in.
Oh Lord.
But I'm not able to say this morning.
You communicate to hearts.
We'll give you the praise.
The honor.
The glory.
For we ask it in Jesus name.
And everybody said.
Amen.