On 6th April 2013, Saturday at 6 PM, I attended the Family Blessings meeting at Jesus Calls Prayer Tower, Singapore. The service started with beautiful praise and worship. The anointing was beautiful during the worship. After praise and worship, Reverend Steven Asirvatham from the Parish of Christ Church, shared the sermon on Luke 10:25-37.
25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
26 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
27 And he answering said, Thou shalt 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.
28 And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 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, and took care of him.
35 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.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Reverend Steven mentioned that as Christians we must love the people also as God loves the people. John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
From the parable of Luke 10:30-37, we read about 3 different attitudes of 3 different people:
- The first attitude is that of the robber – What’s yours can also be mine. A person with robber mentality will exercise to make their own what’s not rightfully theirs.1 Timothy 6:6-10 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Luke 12:16-2116 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich towardGod.We conclude that riches of this world cannot save the soul. The people with robber mentality also have this attitude that – I can earn money in whatever way I want but if I give it to God, it’s qualified. It is good intention but does not justify the means to get money, said Reverend Steven. - The second group of people are the Levites and Priests. What kind of mindset they had? There were the religious people working in the temples. They displayed the mindset that what is mine is mine. They are self-centered. They care only about themselves, about their own family, about their own business. The priest and levites thought – This man is suffering not because of me, so I don’t care. They neglected the opportunity to do good. Rev Steven mentioned that when you know that you ought to do good and you do not do, it’s a sin. Faith without works is dead ! God demonstrated his love by sending His Son to the world to die for us. He didn’t just say I love you. God demonstrated His love by sacrificing His only begotten Son. The priests and levites, knew they were supposed to do good but they refused. Do we have such mentality? If you do love, demonstrate your love to those around.
- What kind of mindset the Samaritan man had? What’s mine can also be yours. That’s why the Samaritan took time to help the people. If you want to impact non Christians, you must take time, not only by praying but in actions. The Samaritan took time and used his own goods to help the injured. He was willing to spend the money. When God puts us in such situation, we must not only spend the time, but also money !
After the sermon, people queued up to be prayed by Rev. Steven Asirvatham, for their needs and miracles. It was an awesome time as he prayed for each one individually.
Praise God for an awesome time 🙂
