Open Heaven May  26 2018 – Good Neighbourliness II

Open Heaven May  26 2018 Memorise
For I was hungry and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, ye took me in:  Matthew 25:35

Open Heaven May  26 2018 Bible Reading Luke 10:30-37

³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

Open Heaven May  26 2018 Bible in one Year: 1 Kings 2, 2John , 3 John

In Matthew 25:31 -33, the Lord Jesus Christ gave us a sneak preview of what Judgement Day will be like, and it was surprising that good neighbourliness is the only standard that was used to separate the sheep from the goats in this narrative. The Lord did this to prepare our minds for the events of the last days when people will become selfish and individualism would be rife. 2 Timothy 3:1-2 says,

” This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves…”

May I announce to you that this time is upon us. We live in times when advent of social media and smartphones has drastically reduced human to human interaction, with the attendant effect that people have little or no empathy and wicked acts are the norm.

These days , people.hardly know what is going on with their next door neighbour while they are very much aware with what is going on with people thousands of miles away whom they have never met. May the Lord open our heart to what is needful in Jesus’ Name.

Good neighbourliness involves sacrifice. When you consider the parable of the good Samaritan, it is easy to imagine what was going through the mind of the priest who passed by the wounded man and did nothing. He might have said to himself that it is not in his place to help since he was not a medical practitioner or law enforcement agent. He might have poundered in his heart that the location was not safe for anyone to delay, and that  while trying to help, robbers might attack him and make him another of their  victims.

Open Heaven May  26 2018

He might also have thought that stopping to assist the wounded man would eat terribly into his time , thereby making him late for his important appointment. Although these are all valid reasons not to stop by and help, anyone who is willing to make sacrifice will set aside all these reasons and help a neighbour in distress. The church of God must fill the gap created by deficiency of modern society, which has brought about unemployment, domestic violence, child abuse, divorce, drug addiction, sexual immortality and other unfortunate situations. Open Heaven 25 May 2018

The Christian community must provide human warmth, homeliness ,lobe and care in places ravaged by individualism, loneliness and lack of trust. As modern society becomes increasingly hostile and dishumanising children of God must become increasingly accomodating, peaceful, hospitable and caring. Good neighbourliness is a very important fruit of a transformed life and confirms that we posses the nature of God.

Open Heaven May  26 2018 Action point
Plan a course of action to reach out to lonely people around us with God’s love.

Open Heaven May  26 2018 Hymnal: Hymn 12

1. O LORD my God! When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy hand hath made;

I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed:

Chorus:

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee,

How great Thou art! How great Thou art!

2. When through the woods and forest glades I wander

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,

And hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze:

Chorus:

3. And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,

Sent Him to die – I scarce can take it in:

That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin:

Chorus:

4. When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation

And take me home – what joy shall fill my heart!

Then shall I bow in humble adoration,

And there proclaim, my God how great Thou art!

Chorus.

Open Heaven May 25 2018 – Good Neighbourliness I

Open Heaven May 25 2018 Memorise
And he answering said, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength , and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luke 10:27

Open Heaven May 25 2018 Bible reading
2Kings 4:1-6

The Widow’s Olive Oil

1. The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

² Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.

⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

⁵ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring.

⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

Open Heaven May 25 2018 Bible in one year: 1 Kings 1, 1 John 5

Today’s Bible reading tells thr story of the widow of one of the sons of the prophets, whose late husband owed some money to a heartless creditor, who threatened to take away her two sons as slaves.

After listening to her complaint, the man of God said to her in 2 kings 4:3

“… Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.”

This instruction indirectly placed the solution to her problems in the hands of her neighbours, because her ability to get the many empty vessels she needed depended on how good a neighbour she had been

Among the Jewish people in the Bible days , loams were not supposed to be commercial in nature; rather, they were to be given on charitable terms. For example , interest free loans would be given to assist a peasant Farmer during a period of poverty. The primary motivation of borrowers was to obtain a relief from need rather than to further their economic enterprises. For this reason, lending with interest to the poor was prohibited in Exodus 22:25.

God’s expectation is that lending to the poor will be a form of sacrifice motivated by the spirit of mercy and compassion in obedience to Him ( Proverbs 3:27-28). Although the Bible encourages us not to deny the poor and needy who approach us for help , we determine who deserves our help and how far we are ready to go on their behalf based on factors such as good neighbourliness.

Open Heaven May 25 2018

In Acts 9:36-41, the neighbours of Tabitha protested vehemently against her death and pleaded passionately with Apostle Peter for her to be raised back to life because she was full of good works and alms deeds. In Luke 7:1-10, the elders of the Jews approached Jesus on behalf of a centurion who had a sick servant. Open Heaven May 26 2018

They pleaded with Him, saying this man deserved His assistance because he had shown his love for them by building a synagogue. Without controversy, good neighbourliness played a very big role in these cases we have considered. In the case of the widow in 2 kings 4:1-6, the fact that she went to her neighbours and got the vessels she needed indicates that she had been a good neighbour to them.

Imagine if she was the kind of person who was not known to her neighbours or if she was a proud and difficult person; she would have been denied those vessels she needed and her miracle would have been a mirage, God charged us in Romans 12:18 to live peacefully with all men, knowing fully well that apart from it being a source to us, a peaceful coexistence with our neighbours will give us the much needed opportunity to preach the good news to them.

Open Heaven May 25 2018 Action point:
Make peace with every neighbour you are not at peace with.

Open Heaven May 25 2018 Hymnal
Sing Hymn 12

1. O LORD my God! When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works Thy hand hath made;

I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder,

Thy pow’r throughout the universe displayed: