Last week I was ministering on the story of the Samaritan. It wasn’t really about the Samaritan but more about what he offered. While he played a significant part in the story and he certainly was the vessel for what happened, I believe if we look deeper into the story, we will find that what, or rather who the Samaritan offered was Jesus. I believe in the transforming power of Jesus Christ to take someone who is battered, beaten, robbed, and left for dead and give them life!

Let me just point out something before I go any further. Many of us have been left for dead. Satan thought he could kill us, but he couldn’t. You see, that same Jesus that was left for dead in a tomb could not be really killed. There’s a difference between life and LIFE my friend. This breath that we breathe was given by our Creator and only He can take it back. There is a physical breath that all of us breathe as long as God says so but there is a bigger “breath” that goes beyond what we do physically. When God breathed into man, scripture says he became a living soul. My life is more than the oxygen I take in and the CO2 I exhale. Your life is more than the routine exchange of elements and gases. You are more valuable than anything else God has created!

Because of your value, God has given you the best gift He could give you, Jesus. What many see as His gift of eternal life has been reduced to merely a measure of time when eternal life means so much more. Scripture says that in Him “we live, move, AND have our being.” I heard one minister say that He loved us so much that He would rather die than live without us.

So, onto the Samaritan. The story says that when he found the man by the roadside, he poured in oil and wine. Maybe you’ve heard about what others have said they symbolized. This became very real to me and I pray it become real, or revelation, to you also. Reading it, I saw God’s mercy and grace being poured in, not on someone. We don’t need a superficial application but the all-powerful living God being poured INTO our lives. What this man received was JESUS! You don’t need to go to church to get a superficial patch to give you temporary relief. What we all need is the life-giving, all-consuming, ever-present life of Jesus. One of my favorite writers wrote this prayer and it speaks volumes to me.

Gracious One, Im tempted to let Christianity become something I talk about–like the weather, or the ball game, or the upcoming election–rather than a life-changing relationship with the divine. But your marriage proposal is nothing like a new world view, or tradition, or a religion. And I’m really not sure how we’ve managed to reduce it to those things. If your story doesn’t stir me, if your truth doesn’t change me, then the disease in my soul is more severe than I thought. Do whatever it takes. Unafflict me!

The wine represents His blood. The cleansing properties of the wine washes away all of the dirt that was inside. The Blood of Jesus washes away ALL of the darkness of sin. Scripture says that His blood cleanses us from all unrighteousness. What could wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Then there’s the oil. The oil is something that becomes part of you. Shepherds would pour oil over the ears of their sheep to keep the bugs out. The anointing oil was something that was smeared onto a person. Holy Spirit is poured over our lives and becomes a seal, or a guarantee and yes a deposit on our lives.

Then there’s more. I believe that the time of Christ’s return is very soon. I believe a time is coming that will be unlike any other time in earth’s history. There will be things happening that make me glad I won’t be here. Yes, I believe the church will be gone during this time. However, in the midst of the pain and suffering, read something that excites me. Mercy and grace will still be here. In Revelation 6, John writes about the seals being opened. On the third seal, a famine is released on the world. Verse 6 says something you need to hear. “And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” Did you see that? In the midst of a famine, God gives a command that the oil and the wine, mercy and grace, are not to be touched. Friend, I’m telling you today that as long as there is life on earth, until all sin is abolished, there is mercy and grace for your life.

Whatever you’ve been through. No matter what the thief has done in your life. Regardless of whatever decisions you’ve made. THERE IS STILL MERCY AND GRACE FROM GOD AVAILABLE TO YOU!!! You haven’t gone too far. Whether you’ve been redeemed or not, we all need it. If you’ve come here and need the free gift of salvation, let me tell you that I can only offer it but it’s not in my power, or by anyone else except Jesus Himself. None of us can be reconciled to Father without the blood of Jesus. Contact us and we will pray with you and introduce you to our God that is full of mercy and grace. If you’re a believer and find yourself in need of oil and wine, let us know how we can pray with you. Either way, receive it today as a gift of God.