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[0:00] Let us begin our worship by singing together in God's praise in Psalm 67 of the Sing Psalms.

[0:11] You'll find that on page 84 of the Blue Book. Psalm 67, Sing Psalms, page 84.

[0:25] God be merciful and bless us. Shine upon us with your face, that the earth may know your actions and all lands your saving grace. O God, may the peoples praise you.

[0:38] May all peoples sing your praise, for you judge the nations justly, ruling over every race. May they sing with joy and gladness.

[0:49] May they all rejoice as one. O God, may the peoples praise you, as they all unite in song. Then the land will yield its harvest.

[1:02] God will pour his gifts abroad. God our God will surely bless us. All the earth will fear our God. We'll stand and we'll sing these verses together.

[1:14] God be merciful and bless us. God be merciful and bless us.

[1:26] Shine upon us with your face, That the earth may know your actions, and all lands your saving grace.

[1:47] O God, may the peoples praise you. May all peoples sing your praise.

[2:01] May they all rejoice as one.

[2:30] O God, may the peoples praise you. May they all unite in song.

[2:44] Then the land will yield its harvest. God will pour its gifts abroad.

[2:58] God our God. God our God will surely bless us. All the earth will fear our God.

[3:13] May we turn our minds and our hearts towards God in prayer. May we pray together.

[3:24] God our Father in heaven. Our Father in heaven, we thank you again for this day that you have given to us and this opportunity to gather again under your word and in the power of your name, Redeemering to the усл Мы of the Spirit and By the электros of our LORD who pray for us to God in peace.

[3:43] "... And we pray that we would know it in our lives that is worth trusting in.

[4:01] And we pray that we would know it in our lives as a power that is worth trusting in. And a hope that goes beyond anything that this world can offer.

[4:15] Lord, we pray that as we gather here as your people tonight, that we would know the power of your spirit that was left with your people.

[4:27] That it would still be active amongst us tonight. And through the reading of your word, speak to us. Speak to our minds.

[4:39] Speak to our hearts. Speak to the deepest concerns that we have. Speak to our worries. Speak to our needs. For you know us greater and in a greater sense than we know ourselves.

[4:54] You know what is best for us as a father. God who loves us knows what is best for his children. And so to whom else can we go?

[5:06] For if we go around chasing the schemes and methods of man, we have found out to our own foolishness that they are empty.

[5:19] And they leave us empty. And they leave us wondering what is there to this life. As many of us have asked that question.

[5:33] We pray in you we find an answer. In the Lord Jesus Christ. And what he has done for us. We thank you that in recent days, there have been men and women in leadership over us who have read the gospel to the nations.

[5:57] Whether willingly or not, your word has been read. And we pray that this reading would take root in the hearts of men and women who are in need.

[6:11] We thank you for the life of our Queen. And how she gave you the honour. And how she gave service to you, Lord, as her King.

[6:29] We pray for our new worldly King. That he would be one that would come to trust fully in you. And confess the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour likewise.

[6:49] Lord, we pray for each of us in our situations. Whether it be in school, whether it be in study. We remember the students who have left home for the first time.

[7:04] We ask you would be with them. And we remember the ones who need to uphold their faith in you. And are challenged by their faith. We pray that you give them strength to do so.

[7:16] And encourage them in every difficult step that they take. That they would not be ashamed to say that I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

[7:27] Contrary to what this world thinks of Christ. But let that be true of everyone that is gathered here tonight also.

[7:38] That we would not be ashamed of the one who has redeemed us. As we look at ourselves, we see. And we pray that we see. Sin in us.

[7:50] Sin in us. That we must confess. And the sin that is within us. Leaves us guilty before God.

[8:01] And in no way can we enter his presence because of our sin. And so we need someone. To wash away our sins. Someone to pay the price of sin.

[8:14] And so Jesus Christ has been that man to us. We thank you for all that he has done. And as we come to look on your word.

[8:26] Illuminate our minds. Open our eyes. Unblock our ears. To the sacrifice that was paid at Calvary. And the love that Jesus Christ had.

[8:40] In going to our place. Where he allowed men to spit upon him. People to mock him and ridicule him. People to hammer nails through his hands.

[8:56] And leave him to die. In such a terrible way. But we thank you that that was not the end of the story. And you are one that has been risen.

[9:09] You are exalted. Beyond all men. You are the son of God. As you showed yourself to be. So we pray we know you.

[9:23] In a way that is personal to us. In a way that we can trust in you. No matter what is said before us in our lives. Whether we are in the depths of despair.

[9:35] Or whether we are walking with ease. Lord we pray. You answer us in our need. And meet us.

[9:48] At our need too. We pray for Mr. McKeever. As he takes rest. And holiday. We pray that you may revive him. And restore him.

[9:59] And we pray for. Callum Murdoch Smith. That he would set Lynn and the family. To this congregation. And we pray.

[10:10] That the preaching of the word. Would take effect. In our town. For there are many that need it. We pray. That you give us understanding.

[10:22] On how to do these things. And how to share the gospel. In a way that is gentle. And loving. And not in ways that. Make people.

[10:35] Turn away. From the hope that is within us. Lord give us compassion. For people. And a love. For the souls that are lost.

[10:46] Be with us. Now we pray. May your spirit. Be with us. As we look at your word. We ask these things. In the name.

[10:57] And power. Of the Lord. Jesus Christ. Amen. If we could continue. In our. Praise of God. By singing to him.

[11:09] In Psalm. 143. Of the Scottish Psalter. You'll find that. On page. 439. Of the Blue Book.

[11:22] Psalm. 143. Second version. Page. 439. Of the Blue Book. From the beginning. Oh hear my prayer.

[11:34] Lord. And unto my. Desire. To bow. Thine ear. Accord. I humbly. Thee require. And in thy faithfulness.

[11:45] Unto me. Answer. Make. And in thy righteousness. Upon me. Pity. Take. We'll sing down. To the end. Of verse.

[11:55] Mark 5. Yet I do call to mind. What ancient days record. Thy works. Of every kind. I think. Upon. Oh Lord. And we'll stand. And sing.

[12:06] These verses. To God's praise. O hear my prayer. O hear Lord.

[12:18] And unto my desire. To bow thy dear accord.

[12:30] I humbly. I humbly. Thee require. And in thy faithfulness.

[12:44] Unto me. Answer me. And in thy righteousness.

[12:55] Upon me pity take. In church and tender not.

[13:10] With me thy servant poor. For why this well I ought.

[13:23] No sinner can endure. The sight of thee O God.

[13:37] If thou hast deed shalt try. He dare make none uphold.

[13:50] Himself to justify. Behold the cruel foe.

[14:04] Me persecute this fight. My soul to overthrow.

[14:15] O yea. Yea. Ye be my life. Thine quite. And to the ground thine smote.

[14:29] And made thee dwell full low. In darkness as for God.

[14:43] Our men can long ago. Therefore my state much vexed.

[14:57] For wellness be within. My heart my sore perplexed.

[15:09] And death's all it hath been. Yet I do call to mind.

[15:23] What ancient history court. Thy works of every kind.

[15:35] I think upon the Lord. If we can turn now to the Gospel of Luke.

[15:51] Luke. The Gospel of Luke chapter 10. And we'll read from verse 21.

[16:03] The Gospel of Luke chapter 10. Verse 21. We'll look at the parable of the Good Samaritan.

[16:17] Let us hear God's word. In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said. I thank you Father Lord of heaven and earth.

[16:31] That you have not. That you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding. And revealed them to little children. Yes Father. For such was your gracious will.

[16:43] All things have been handed over to me by my Father. And no one knows who the Son is. Except the Father. Or who the Father is.

[16:54] Except the Son. And anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Then turning to the disciples. He said privately.

[17:05] Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see. And did not see it.

[17:16] And to hear what you hear. And did not hear it. And behold a lawyer stood up to him. To put him to the test. Saying. Teacher.

[17:27] What shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him. What is written in the law? How do you read it?

[17:38] And he answered. You shall love the Lord your God. With all your heart. With all your soul. With all your strength. And with all your mind. And your neighbour as yourself.

[17:50] And he said. To whom. You have answered correctly. Do this. And you will live. But he desiring to justify himself.

[18:01] Said to Jesus. And who is my neighbour? Jesus replied. A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho.

[18:12] And he fell among robbers. Who stripped him. And bet him. And departed. Leaving him half dead. Now by chance. A priest was going down that road.

[18:23] And when he saw him. He passed by on the other side. So likewise. A Levite. When he came to the place. And saw him. Passed by on the other side.

[18:34] But a Samaritan. As he journeyed. Came to where he was. And when he saw him. He had compassion. When he went to him.

[18:45] And bound up his wounds. Pouring on oil. Pouring on oil. And wine. Then he set him on his own animal. And brought him to an inn. And took care of him.

[18:57] And the next day. He took out two denarii. And gave them to the innkeeper. Saying. Take care of him. And whatever more you spend.

[19:08] I will repay you. 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.

[19:20] The one. Who showed him mercy. And Jesus said to him. You go. And do. Likewise. Amen. May the reading of God's word.

[19:34] Be blessed. To us. We'll continue in our praise. By singing. And sing. Psalms. 92. A. You'll find that on page. One.

[19:45] Two. Two. Two. Of the blue book. Psalm. 92. A. One. Two. Two. And we'll sing.

[19:56] From verse. March. Five. How great. Are all your works. Oh Lord. Your thoughts. How deep. And grand. The senseless one. Does not perceive.

[20:07] The fools. Do not understand. Although the wicked. Spring like grass. The foolish. Do not see. That all who flourish. In their sin.

[20:18] Will die. Eternally. But Lord. You are forever more. Exalted. Very high. All evil doers. Will be crushed. Your foes. Will surely die. You made me.

[20:30] Strong. As any ox. With oil. Anointed me. I've seen. My enemies. Defeat. And I. Have heard them. Flee. Like palms.

[20:41] And cedars. Flourishing. The righteous. All will be. And planted. In the house. Of God. Will grow. Abundantly. We'll stand together. And sing.

[20:52] Together. To God's praise. How great are all your works. O Lord. How great are all your works.

[21:09] O Lord. Your thoughts are deep and grand. The senseless one.

[21:20] The senseless one. Does not perceive. The senseless one. Does not perceive. Whose do not understand. Although the wicked spring like grass.

[21:34] The foolish do not see. That all who flourished in their sin. The foolish do not see. That all who flourished in their sin. Will die eternally. The wicked. The wicked spring like grass. The foolish do not see.

[21:47] The foolish do not see. The foolish do not see. That all who flourished in their sin. That all who flourished in their sin.

[21:58] Will die eternally. The foolish. Will die eternally.

[22:09] But Lord, you are forevermore, exalted, very high.

[22:30] All evil doers will be crushed, your foes will surely die.

[22:49] You made me strong as any ox, with oil anointed me.

[23:07] I've seen my enemies defeat, and I have heard them flee.

[23:25] Like hands and seaters vanishing, the righteous all will be.

[23:43] And planted in the house of God, will grow abundantly.

[24:01] I can turn together back to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 10.

[24:15] And we'll look tonight at the parable of the Good Samaritan. And for their text, we'll consider what the lawyer asked of Jesus.

[24:32] Saying in verse 25, Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? What shall I do to inherit eternal life?

[24:47] I wonder, did any of us do anything last week that would have justified someone saying of us that, well, you're a good Samaritan.

[24:58] Did we do anything for anyone that was not expected of us? And there are many of us here who know this story, this parable.

[25:13] And even if we don't know the story, we are quite familiar with people saying of someone that does a good deed, that they are a good Samaritan.

[25:26] Or, what you did, you are like a good Samaritan. In what you have done for someone, or in doing something for the good of someone else. And maybe this account, we have known it from our youth, and can be guilty of saying that it is one of these stories that we know.

[25:48] And we've become so familiar with it that we can skiff over it when we read it. We know what happens in the parable. We know the outcome.

[25:58] We know it's a lesson to love our neighbour. And it echoes where, elsewhere, it is taught in the Gospel of Matthew. So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.

[26:15] And this idea and teaching, it's beneficial for everyone, I'm sure we'll all agree. It's undeniably good, but undeniably, if we're honest with ourselves, we struggle to do the things that we would think a good Samaritan would do.

[26:33] And very rarely, we are the good Samaritan. We tend to look after ourselves more than we care for the needs of others.

[26:45] And there are many people in this world who would totally disregard this idea. Of looking out for others. And only to look after their own wants and their own needs.

[27:01] And for those who want or desire to be as the good Samaritan, it is a continual learning for us.

[27:15] For us to love our neighbour as ourselves. And I think it would do us good, every morning if we were to pray, that we would know how to love our neighbour as ourselves.

[27:32] And I'm sure that in every day we would find a new way to do that, or to fulfil that in some way.

[27:43] And as we look at the account and the parable that we have before us, we can see that there are two distinct characteristics that come out clear to us.

[27:56] There's two hearts, in a sense, of two different people. We have a heart of contempt, and we have afterwards a heart of compassion that comes.

[28:09] So we'll use that as points. The heart of contempt and the heart of compassion. So beginning with the heart of contempt, this heart will be applicable to the lawyer that we meet at the beginning of the passage.

[28:28] It's also applicable to the priest and the Levite. But really it all comes back to the lawyer. Because this story was told in relation to him.

[28:42] And to feel contempt, well contempt means to feel despised towards something, or someone, or to dishonour them in some way. Even to feel them as worthless.

[28:55] That's what contempt means. To despise someone, dishonour them, to feel them as worthless. And that is something that we can see comes through in the parable that Jesus teaches.

[29:08] And something that we can firstly pick out in the lawyer himself who comes. But as before we do that, it's always good when you look at these passages just to go back a wee bit to see if there's anything that we can pick up that helps us to understand the passage.

[29:26] And if you look at verse 21, it says, this is prior to the account, it says that, in that same hour, he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children.

[29:47] Yes, Father, such was your gracious will. Particularly hidden these things from the wise and understanding because then, just a few verses later, in comes this lawyer, in verse 25.

[30:01] And he would have been a Jewish lawyer. So we can understand that the Jewish people used the Bible, Old Testament, as their law.

[30:12] This Jewish lawyer would have been in charge of their religious laws as well as their civil laws because they would have lived according to the laws of the Bible. So if there was ever a person that would be wise and understanding, well, here he is, standing before Jesus.

[30:32] He knew the law of God on his fingertips. And it would seem that, well, maybe he would agree that he was wise and understanding because it says that he came to put Jesus to the test.

[30:50] And straight away, even in that, there is contempt towards Jesus. There is dishonor towards Jesus because he's saying, straight away, my wisdom and understanding is greater than yours.

[31:09] I can put you to the test and I'm pretty sure I'll catch you out. But the truth of Jesus' words soon becomes clear.

[31:20] And it is fulfilled in front of the people's eyes that the wise and understanding don't get it in a sense. So we need to be careful ourselves.

[31:33] When we think we've grasped the Bible or there are puts in the Bible that we understand because, well, in my experience, and I'm sure others can say likewise, that you can be surprised by what you learn in passages that are so familiar to you.

[31:59] Not that I'm saying that you learn anything new tonight. Maybe we will. What does Jesus ask of the lawyer?

[32:12] No, what does the lawyer ask Jesus? What was his first question there in verse 25, our text? Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

[32:24] This wise and understanding man comes and he asks, well, really the question of all questions. What must I do to inherit eternal life? A million dollar question.

[32:39] If there was one that we could answer tonight, I'm sure we would love to know the answer to it. there's something in our desire to have eternal life that we kind of want to have eternal life.

[32:59] There's something that, no matter how bad life is, there's something that wants a continuality, a continuous of what we have to continue.

[33:11] And it says in Ecclesiastes that God has put eternity into man's heart. It's a desire for something more or something to continue.

[33:26] But you'll see in the question that he asks that there is actually a small error in it. He asks, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

[33:38] Because there is nothing that we can do to inherit eternal life. There's nothing we can do to gain a space or a spot in heaven in our doing as he came to ask him.

[33:56] And it seems to me like if you were there listening to this conversation, it would be quite an interesting and maybe entertaining place to sit or to stand.

[34:10] This wise and understanding man's come along and he's asked the million dollar question to Jesus, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And they'd be thinking, well, this man's pretty high up there to attain eternal life because of the man that he is.

[34:29] And you're just wondering to see, well, what's he going to say and which way is this going to go? And Jesus just seems to play along with this question, teacher, what shall I do?

[34:42] He doesn't make a thing of that. He just plays along with him. And he asks of the lawyer pretty much saying to him in verse 26, you're the lawyer, you're the wise and understanding.

[35:00] What is written in the law and how do you understand it? How do you read it? And the reply that he gives comes straight from the word of God.

[35:13] Deuteronomy 6, verse 5, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind. And then he goes to Leviticus, your neighbor as yourself.

[35:28] You may have references in your Bible to these verses. Where they come from. But if you were to go to Deuteronomy and look this passage up, there's some error in not what he's quoted, but in a sense where he stops.

[35:49] Because if you would continue in reading what it says in Deuteronomy 6, verse 5, it would continue and say that all these words that I command you to do shall be on your heart.

[36:02] they shall be on your heart. And it's as if this lawyer is coming with all these things in his head. They haven't made an imprint into his heart because he's looking for ways to attain his salvation by what he can do.

[36:23] And the second reference in Leviticus, where his father question comes, he says, to love your neighbor as yourself.

[36:40] To love your neighbor as yourself. And when you go to Leviticus, you need to go back to these passages just to get a clearer understanding. When you go to Leviticus, it says, and references the sons of your own people, when it speaks about your neighbor.

[37:00] So, if he's a Jewish lawyer and he's thinking that he needs to love his neighbor, and it references beside that in Leviticus, the sons of your own people, he's probably, he needs clarity on it, but he's probably thinking either that this is his family, his own people, it could be the tribe, this right tribe of his own people, or maybe even the whole people of the Jewish nation.

[37:33] So, he comes along with this other question of who is his neighbor, desiring to justify himself, and that justify himself means to clear himself, to prove himself just in all that he did, and in all that he loved, trying to work himself that space and what he can do to attain that place in heaven.

[38:17] He has a query over where the line comes in of his neighbor, who do I need to love, and where does my love, where can I stop?

[38:31] Hence, the Samaritan. Because this is the last person he would have had on his list of neighborly possibilities, on people that he would have wanted to love, because the Jews and Samaritans had a kind of deep hatred between each other.

[38:56] He couldn't imagine loving this Samaritan, or even being loved by this Samaritan. But we leave the Samaritan just now.

[39:08] We're not quite ready to go and meet him. We've seen the lawyer. Let us look at the parable. The story is told when we read from verse 30.

[39:24] Jesus said, Jesus replied, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among the robbers who stripped him and bit him and departed, leaving him half dead.

[39:36] Now by chance a priest was going down that road and when he saw him he passed on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

[39:49] We have a man who had a plan for his day. He was going from Jerusalem to Jericho and he was likely a Jew and why he went we are not told but he was robbed and left for dead.

[40:11] Now there's a possibility here that this man well what I read was that the it's quite likely that the priests and the Levites would stay in Jericho and then they would come into Jerusalem to work and one of the people I read I can't remember who it was but said that it's possible that this person who was going to Jericho could have been a religious priest Levite someone of that order but he was robbed and he was left for dead and along came a priest who you read passed by on the other side as if pretending not to see him and so comes the Levite does exactly the same thing not wanting anything to do with him in a sense turning a blind eye to his desperate need that was evident they have contempt in their hearts they see this man as worthless even if it was someone of his own people and I believe

[41:22] Jesus is maybe speaking to this lawyer in a way like that was this priest Levi someone that he would associate himself with more closely than others but a point in passing also is that when it says that the Levite and the priest saw him there's more to it than just see and carry on in a way it's a different word than what is used in verse 23 when it speaks about blessed are the eyes that see what you see the word that's used about the priest and the Levite when they saw him it's more than seeing it's actually perceiving and understanding so they saw and understood the plight of this man but they continued on their way which makes it worse in a sense that they just saw it and carried on and there are suggestions why the men reacted like this that if maybe they came into contact with this man and he died there would be certain

[42:38] Jewish laws that they would have to go through and purify themselves and you can imagine if they're in a sense you can't well I don't know if this is right but you can kind of imagine they've been in Jerusalem and now they're off duty they're going home to Jericho and they see this man in desperate need at the side of the road and it can be almost that well this has nothing to do with me now this is going to be a great inconvenience for the plans that I have while I'm off or the plans that I have for this even if this man if I administer care to this man and he dies so all these selfish things the love of themselves they would have to purify there would be an inconvenience for them to help this man and if he were to die to purify themselves this may well be the reason we don't know we can't actually say but they are both men that have been set aside for the works of

[43:42] God the priest and the Levite ones that the Jews would have looked up to and as we said one that this lawyer probably found association with easier than if it was anyone else that Jesus had said Jesus seems to make the case of maybe what you're not doing you know you're wanting to draw the line on what you can do and it's not about what you can get off with not doing there's no lines to loving your neighbour there's no limit to loving your neighbour and maybe today it speaks to the Christians that are gathered here under myself whoever we are we can often fall into traps of selfish desires selfish ambitions of what we want to do and we don't want to get involved in things that we can say that's got nothing to do with me stuff that will consume my time stuff that will be an inconvenience to me things that are going on in our nation that we don't want to get involved with because they're going to take up so much time and it could be such an inconvenience but there is something maybe worth mentioning in passing as well which

[45:12] I feel is well it's not the point of Christ's teaching here but it's just beneficial for us to note within ourselves and even myself that we can walk by things or people in our experience and we feel that we cannot help though our heart is rightly concerned for the person or their need we just feel in ourselves an inadequacy we think that maybe we hold back because we don't have a sufficient ability to help so much that we actually restrict or stop giving any help or rightful care that we have and should have for one another in loving our neighbor we feel like we're not inadequate and then we actually do nothing we don't know what to say we end up saying nothing we don't know what to do and end up doing nothing and I'm sure it's something that we can all relate to and it's something that we need to learn continually on how we must learn to love our neighbor the lawyer got his answer to the question in this story maybe it was to shame the contempt he had to love others even

[46:46] I think Jesus is maybe making a point to him and saying you're asking who do I need to love and it's almost as if he's saying to him you're like this Levite and you don't even love your own people you don't even have a love for your own to his shame and we have two people in this passage that show contempt towards this man and the lawyer himself contempt and there's only one that shows compassion so it's as if contempt in this world is far more common than the one that shows compassion so let us move to the man of compassion and this heart is applicable to the Samaritan he is our example on how to love our neighbor the story continues the parable continues from verse 33 but a

[47:51] Samaritan as he journeyed came to where he was and when he saw him he had compassion he went to him and bound up 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 denarii and gave them to the innkeeper saying take care of him and whatever more you spend I will repay you when I come back compassion was what was in his heart compassion when you look it up is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering I want you to imagine being the man who was robbed for a moment on the way you had your plan for your day all was going well and then these robbers have approached they strip you of everything you have on you beating you to leave you in a position where you likely cannot move you can imagine yourself being in the ditch on the side of the road naked embarrassed unable to do anything for yourself and you see this religious man priest approach a man you know and you think well great he'll help me but looks at you understands your need and walks on by the

[49:39] Levite just the same and maybe you think well this man's not so high up as a priest surely he'll help me but he does not he pretends not to see you lying there in the ditch but then comes this man who you've despised someone who you've hated someone who you've rejected all your life you've never had time for this man and you think to yourself maybe well maybe you can imagine someone like this well he certainly will not help me this man that I've rejected and maybe even the pride of your heart would say I don't want help from this man I prefer him just to leave me and we can have an idea of how this man felt but it's a parable after all it's a picture to help us it's not a parable about contempt for one another because we can note that the

[50:47] Samaritan has no contempt towards the man that lay there the Samaritan does not take the opportunity to kill the man because that would have been his opportunity if he had contempt against the man who rejected him a man who had no time for him he doesn't it's a parable about compassion the Samaritan was one that he knew himself would have been rejected and still had compassion greater than any law set aside the thoughts of the day and let his compassion rule in his heart because compassion was his great motivation to do that's why he did anything because he had compassion and what did he do with that compassion where it says that he burned up his wounds addressed the pain of his beatings poured on him oil and wine and uplifted him onto his own animal took him to an inn and it would seem like he spent the whole night with him taking care of him and even on his departure his compassion provided for the costs till he would come back now had the person that you had despised done all these things for you how would you feel it would probably be shame in our hearts yet thankful for all that he had done eternally grateful because really you were half dead you would have died if this man had not saved you and it is truly a lesson where evil is overcome with good and you know in yourself there is nothing more valuable in your life than to have it spared so Jesus asked to the man which of the three proved to be a neighbour and it's simple the one who showed him mercy undeserved kindness went beyond the thoughts of the day and loved his enemy

[52:52] Jesus comes back in answer to his question what must I do to inherit eternal life go and do likewise to care to love to give to supply in every way warmly willingly unreservedly to your neighbour who is even your enemy this is a challenge to us as we said at the beginning because we don't and I believe we can't just go about deciding that we're going to be compassionate today it's one of these emotions that comes from deep within our hearts and in a sense compassion has like an unlimited strength to it compassion moves us to do things that maybe we didn't think we'd ever do compassion compels you to do but where does compassion spring from where does compassion come to move us to do because if we don't have compassion in our hearts we walk by most parables have a single point this one to love our neighbour but this one seems to have a deeper level and you can get carried away spiritualising it every element that was done to this man by the

[54:25] Samaritan figure and his heart of compassion because it is so like Jesus himself see the story tells us what compassion does it does not say that the Samaritan saw him and loved him as he would himself and leave it at that as loving his neighbour as he would himself it doesn't say that it tells us what compassion does Jesus describes what compassion drives someone to do where is the root of compassion for us tonight the Lord is the Lord of compassion Isaiah 55 if you want reading for your evening the Lord is the source of all compassion and he is one that has lifted many from the depths of this life and yet there are many to be lifted by his compassion maybe we are people who were on our way and something has happened to us and robbed us because we know ourselves there is much in our lives that make us sore there is much in our lives that leaves us wounded drained injured feeling like we can't move and feeling as if we're half dead and there are many people who have looked to other men for help for their rescue and well they've done little for them

[56:08] I wonder do you know the compassion of Jesus Christ tonight there are many people who have felt Jesus speaking to them and maybe they have thought with contempt in their heart of maybe what we naturally do and we say to Jesus as he stands before us I don't want your help I don't want Jesus Christ to help me sometimes we feel because of who we are he can't love me sometimes we feel because of what we have been in our younger years that Jesus Christ will not care for me why would Jesus Christ save me now after all that I have done and after all that I have been there are many who have said that but I felt the irresistible compassion of Christ to lead them in their lives and to let Christ embrace them and show his love to them that they become people who love him with all their hearts regardless of what you think of Jesus tonight or what you think of yourself when we gather under

[57:45] God's word he will stand out of it and stands before you tonight like the Samaritan not in anger for all that you have been or all that you think you have been he stands like the Samaritan with overwhelming compassion for you and it is a compassion that silences every voice in your mind of the doubts and the whys of why Jesus would love me and it's as if you would see the compassion in his eyes that says let me do this for you and truly see well he is one that truly sees he perceives like the Samaritan perceived really the pains of your life like no other and understands them like no other man so that he is one that says to you

[58:54] I know that it hurts and he says did you let me bind up the wounds of your life and he says that I have an ointment and a balm to take away every sting in your experience that ointment could be his blood that takes away the sting even of death and he is one that lifts you and puts you in a place that was his a privileged place on his animal as it were and leads you to a place of refuge where all the costs are made but he is one that does not abandon his compassion drives him back to you compassion a deep sympathy of sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering and is

[60:03] Calvary not imprinted with compassion is Calvary not a witness to us of Christ's compassion for you with emotion compassion of compassion for his people as that deep sympathy and sorrow for them because he sees the misfortune that we are in a sin and he clearly perceives that in a way that we don't see it ourselves even and he sees the people as dead in their sins like the one that was dead on the road Samaritan comes Christ comes he understands your need but it's accompanied with a strong desire to alleviate the suffering

[61:04] Calvary caused Jesus and that was the doing of his compassion towards you that's what his compassion drove him to do that he would alleviate the suffering of you by taking away the sins of your life maybe it's time to stop pushing away the compassion of Christ and let him save you regardless of what we think of ourselves may Christ's compassion tonight be overwhelming to us for it is in that that we find the answer to the lawyer's question what must I do to inherit eternal life let Christ save you let Christ take you go with

[62:12] Christ let him have all of you he asks for all your heart soul and mind it is only then when we know the compassion of Christ in our heart that we have any hope to do likewise it is only after we know Christ in our experience that can we do to one another that what we can do and show compassion because Christ will dwell within your heart and I pray that he would be one that would all be overflowing in it with compassion even to love our name pray these thoughts would be blessed to us tonight we'll conclude by singing in psalm 130 psalm 130 of the

[63:19] Scottish Psalter find out on page 421 of the blue books psalm 130 lord from the depths to thee I cried my voice lord do thy hear my supplication unto my supplication's voice give an attend to you lord who shall stand if thou o lord should mark iniquity but yet with thee forgivenesses that feared thou mayest be we'll stand together and sing the whole of psalm 130 to god's praise lord from the depths to thee I cried lord from the depths to thee I cried my voice lord do thou hear unto my supplication their

[64:53] Should spark in liberty But yet with thee Forgivenesses That fear the meest king I wait for God My soul doth wait My hope is in his word For thine may that Our morning watch My soul waits for the Lord

[65:59] I say for thou live up to watch The boring night to see Let Israel open the door For with him better cease thee Unplentious redemption Is ever found within And from all his iniquities

[67:07] He is well shall redeem Conclude in prayer Lord we thank you for this time together And we pray that we would know the compassion That Jesus Christ had for us In the state of our lostness and sin And Lord we pray that compassion Be known in our hearts The one that loved us So that we may love A compassion that enables us Only truly to do likewise You are the redeemer of our souls And has shown us That's the redemption And love that you have for us In the compassion of the cross May that thought be set before us As we go into the week ahead Be with us through the watches of the night

[68:08]  And continue with us we pray All this we ask again In the name of the one who has the power Who is your son The Lord Jesus Christ Amen Amen