Part 4
Matthew 22:34-40 NLT But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees with His reply, they met together to question Him again. (35) One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap Him with this question: (36) “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” (37) Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ (38) This is the first and greatest commandment. (39) A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (40) The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Neighbor: (Greek: plesion) anyone of the human family that happens to be close by.
Philippians 2:15 MSG (15) Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night
Become More Attractive
- We can always be more authentic in our walk with the Lord.
Authentic – Genuine, real, not false or fake.
- We can always be more compassionate in our love for others.
Compassion – a feeling of sympathy or sorrow for someone who is suffering from misfortune accompanied by a strong desire to do something about it.
- One of the most effective ways to increase your potential in reaching people is to learn to sacrifice for others.
Sacrifice – the surrender or destruction of something that is prized or desirable for the sake of something considered to be more valuable.
- Sacrifice motivated by love is extremely difficult to ignore and discount.
- Sacrifice moves people.
- Sacrifice melts people.
- Sacrificial acts are rarely forgotten.
Maximize Your Neighboring Potential
- Maximize the Moment
Luke 19:1-10 NIV Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. (2) A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. (3) He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. (4) So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. (5) When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” (6) So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. (7) All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.” (8) But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (9) Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. (10) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- Reinvest Your Resources
1 John 3:18 MSG (18) My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love.
- Modeling for The Long Haul
66% of Millennials perceive churchgoers to be hypocritical. (Barna Research)
Romans 12:1 MSG So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life–your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life–and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
Although our actions have nothing to do with gaining our own salvation, they might be used by God to save somebody else.
2 Corinthians 3:3 NLT (3) Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.