What's The Good Word (Luke 8:16-18)

[This sermon was preached at Folsom Community Church on April 29, 2012 by Tim Lewis]

What’s The Good Word?
Luke 8:16-18

Introduction

There once was a poor rice farmer. Each year his crop was poor, and as planting season was approaching, he had no hope that this year would be any different. Still he rode his tractor—his kuliglig-to the rice field he worked. When got there, he was amazed to find it was already planted, the healthy, seedling rice plants perfectly laid out in rows. He tried to figure out what had happened, but couldn’t figure out who had planted in his field.

He could not believe his good fortune. The crop was healthy, and his harvest yielded more kilos per hectare than any rice crop he’d ever seen or heard of. But what to do with this big crop? If his neighbors, or worse yet, his in-laws knew about his good fortune, they would certainly be coming to ask, ask, ask from him. So he determined to not tell anyone, and threshed it at night, and stored it in jars and baskets under his house. For once in his life, there was no pressure. He had enough bigas (rice) for two harvests! So he slept in, sneaking rice from his hiding places when he thought no one was looking, growing plump and enjoying his hammock through the next season. But then he noticed a problem. The weevils and mice were enjoying his rice, too. By the end of the season, so much was rotten, moldy or eaten that he had to borrow money for his daily food. He dreamed of another big crop, but at planting time he went to the field and found it dry and empty. So because he squandered his blessing selfishly, the blessings dried up. What will you do with God’s ‘good news’ towards you?

Is God’s word good? And, if it is good, then how good is it? We’ve been studying the life of Jesus as it is recorded in the Bible. In chapter 8 of the book of Luke, one of the four biographies of Jesus in the Bible, it records a new period in Jesus’ ministry:

¹After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him,

The ministry consists of the message: the ‘good news of the kingdom of God’ which included both his miracles and his sermons, the Messiah: Jesus, and the community: the twelve disciples and others who traveled with them. 

When people asked him about this ‘good news’ he often told stories to describe what the he meant. And last time, we learned how the good news means that we can change; that we can be new and improved when we are humble and welcome God’s word.

¹⁵But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

God can change us. God does change us. He changes out attitudes. He changes our habits. He changes our want-to. He changes what we hope for. He changes what we dream about. He changes our relationships. He produces love, joy, peace and patience in our lives (Gal. 5:22-23)

But what is the change for? Why did he change you? Now some of you think this is a trick question. Jesus died on the cross to fix me, to remove the sin which he hates and which corrupts every decision I make, so that I can be truly “healthy”. And that’s true. But why did he do that?

In the next few verses-verses 16-18-of Luke chapter 8, Jesus explains further using a different picture. But even though we are not talking about ‘seeds’ and ‘crops’ we are still talking about the same topic. We are still talking about the change that results from God’s word active in our life. Let’s read together:

¹⁶“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. ¹⁷For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. ¹⁸Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”

We Are God’s Projectors

In order to get his point across, Jesus uses a sort of ridiculous picture. Look at it again, in verse 16.

¹⁶“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.”

He says “Can you imagine?” Can you imagine lighting your candle, but then sticking it in a pot or a stuffing it under the mattress. How ridiculous? So what do you think about God? Did he make a mistake with you? “That Tim, he’s wet wood. A lot of smoke. A lot of sputtering. But no fire!” No way. He has set the spark in your life to start your world on fire.

Did you see? “He puts it on a stand” He is going to put you out there, where the new and improved you can shine the brightest. We don’t need the flashlight in here. Why do Christians end up in the worst and most difficult situations? Because the light shines brightest where the darkness is deepest. Because the light shines to greatest effect to those who are lost in that darkness.

⁸For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light ⁹(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) ¹⁰and find out what pleases the Lord. – Ephesians 5:8-9

You know, you are like this projector. The cable on the back of the projector, that’s where the signal comes in. The cable carries the message. But there is something in the projector, the light, the bulb which gets combined with the message to show it large. The projector is a message amplifier.

And we are God’s message amplifiers. He gives us the signal, and he lights us up and we shine his message around us.  Some of us are content to show off in well-lit Sunday churches. Frankly, if we all just sit around and point our lights at each other, we never see what God wants to say and we just blind each other.

We are God’s projectors in dark world.

We Are God’s Reflectors

But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Listen to what he says next:

¹⁷For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.

Do you remember what Jesus was doing? Back in verse 1 says Jesus was going around proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The good news is not about me. Incredible! Hey, the good news is not about you, either. Impossible? No…the good news is about God! It is his kingdom.

Back in verse 16, what was supposed to shine? What was not supposed to be hidden? It was the word of God. It was the good news. It was God himself. But now look at verse 17: there is nothing that is hidden that will not be disclosed, there is nothing concealed that will not be known.

You can’t hide God. He’s too big. You try to stuff him down, hide him, squeeze him, he starts bulging out and showing up in expected places, in unexpected ways. Sort of like those boxes people ship back to the Philippines, the balikbayan boxes. The manufacturer’s specification says they are 18x18x18, but I swear duck tape and desperation adds an extra 100 cubic bulging inches to their dimensions. I worry that they are like mines—one touch and that box will explode with gifts all over.

That’s the gospel: just waiting to explode. And the primary path of detonation is your life.  He is too big to hide!

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. – 1 Thessalonians 3:12

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13

It is natural for the good news to overflow. Compassion and truth should be the natural result, because that is what is being poured into us.

Starting at 5:15pm on May 20^th of this year, Sacramento will get a front row seat to an unusual event for nearly 2 hours. During that period, instead of white and glowing, the moon will appear black. Normally, because the moon is relatively shiny and high in the sky, it collects the sun’s light and reflects it down to the surface of the Earth where we can see it. But, for these few hours, the moon appears black because, during that period, it will stand directly between the sun and the Earth. That shouldn’t be a big deal, right? I mean, the moon is 64 million times smaller than the sun.[1] But given the right placement, it blocks 87% of the sun’s light. 87%.

We are designed to be sun reflectors. We don’t give off light of our own, but when properly positioned we reflect God’s light, his compassion and truth, to the world. But when we are out of position, we block or deflect people’s vision. We are mirrors for God. We are the moon, to His sun. We are reflectors.

God’s Neglectors

We’ve already looked at how God wants us to be projectors, and reflectors. But what if we don’t? What if we do eclipse God? What if we are God’s neglectors? What happens? Look at verse 18:

¹⁸Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.”

What happens when the moon blocks the sun? The moon gets moved.

If you have a pen or a pencil, find those words “consider carefully” and circle them. When Jesus tells you to ‘consider carefully’-to pay attention, you’d better sit up straight, because it means that He is about to say something important. Consider carefully how you listen.

At work, when the boss tells an employee to do something, and that employee doesn’t do it, or isn’t careful about the instructions, what does the boss do? The first step is bypass. The boss stops talking to him, and starts telling someone else to do it. During this period, the employee either notices he or she is out of the loop, and talks to the boss. Or the employee says: life is good, my job is easy and I still get paid. If they do that, then the boss takes the second step: bye-bye. Now the employee is un-employed.

Now look at what Jesus said: if the good news you are hearing is stopping with you, do you think God is going to let your deaf-ness stop the gospel? No, of course not! The good news must get through. So maybe he bypasses you, and gives the good listener more good news. Or maybe he says bye-bye and stops telling you the good news. It’s like the farmer and the field. If the field stops producing a crop, why waste more good seed?

So how can I be a better listener?

1.       Get used to the sound of God’s voice. A lot of people have strange ideas about what God really sounds like and what he would do. (John 10:4b) But God left us thousands of pages of recordings so that we can get used to his style. So that when he does give you directions, his voice cuts through the noise. (Acts 17:11)

2.       Get alone where you can hear him. 10 minutes, 15 minutes alone, no cell phone, no TV, no distracting voices. Precious minutes that provide enough space for God to say something through his Spirit. Talk to God in prayer, but then silence is ok.

3.       So, God’s Projector, God’s Reflector or God’s Neglecter. Jesus says you have to get serious about the good news.

Conclusion           

The seed and the spark, they are both from God.

You know, sometimes I hate sermons like this one. Why? God has been good to me, and my family. Normally, that would be a good thing. But Jesus tells me that God’s goodness is supposed to have a result. I am God’s projector. I am not allowed to be a God’s black hole, sucking the light in! I am God’s reflector. I am not allowed to be God’s superstar. He is the star. I am the shiny rock.

But I am the shiny rock through which flows the brilliance of the love of God:

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. – Romans 5:5

I hate sermons like this one because I am a coward. Sometimes, I prefer the bland, mediocre life, because no one notices whether I am good or bad or irrelevant. But I know the truth: God is real, his kingdom is expanding, Jesus is the rescuer of the world and my life is irrevocably changed by his grace. Because I don’t like the wishy-washy part of myself, so I wrote some resolutions for myself, just for this week. Paul did this also, when he started a church:

²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. – 1 Cor. 2:2

I share them with you, because I am determined that the good news, in all its forms, should not stop with me this week. And you can help me. And you can join me. And we can rejoice together.

Resolution #1: I resolve that the when someone asks what I did this weekend, I will talk about my time at church.

Resolution #2: I resolve that someone will find out I’m a Christian this week, who doesn’t know.

Resolution #3: I resolve that when someone has an expected need this week, I will help meet it without drawing attention to myself.

Resolution #4: I resolve that when I hear about big news in someone else’s life, good or bad, I will offer to pray about it. [Elden Shepherd’s job]

Resolution #5: _________________________________

Be a God projector. Be God reflector. Not a God neglector.

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[1] The sun is 1.409 x 10¹⁸km³. The moon is 2.1958 x 10¹⁰ km³. That’s 64,167,957 times smaller. http://www.smartconversion.com/otherInfo/Volume_of_planets_and_the_Sun.aspx, retrieved on April 28, 2012

The Church of the New and Improved (Luke 8:1-15)

[This sermon was preached on April 15, 2012 at Folsom Community Church by Tim Lewis]

The Church of the New & Improved

Luke 8:1-15

Introduction

First Filipino flag

Some of you may recognize this flag. This is the 1^st flag of the Philippines, created by the secret society called the KKK: the Kataas-taasan, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ngBayan (Supreme, Most Honorable Association of the Children of the Nation). This secret society was dedicated to independence from the Spanish occupation through revolution. It was first formed by Bonifacio, Plata, Diwa and others on July 7^th, 1892 when the national hero, Jose Rizal, was exiled to Dapitan.

Over the next four years, these brave men and, later women, plotted and planned for the day when the people would rise up, cast out their oppressors and stand together as free people. Their message of independence was broadcast through the newspaper Freedom (or Kalayaan). The secret society was discovered in 1896 by the Spanish and the revolution began.

In many ways, we see a similar tension 1900 years before with the people of Israel, during the Roman occupation. The oppression, the crippling taxation, injustice—all of it was there, and Jesus, as a popular teacher and healer, was being watched carefully. But we also see, in the 8^th chapter of Luke, that Jesus was forming something new, something that had never happened before:

¹After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, ²and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; ³Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

Here we see three important elements:

1. The spreading Message of the kingdom of God. Jesus went from “one town…to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” God is moving. That’s good news. His kingdom is retaking territory.
2. The Messiah, Jesus. He was the center—the message was about him and it was for him.
3. The Community of Changed-Lives. Around Jesus were people whose lives had been radically renovated by Jesus; Peter left his boats, Matthew left his job; Mary left her demons; Joanna and Susanna left the sickness. Key indicator: they spent their money on Jesus and other people (notice it says the women supported ‘them’)

These same elements will show up later when the church gets going later. And these are these same elements that are the foundation of the church today: expanding God’s kingdom, Jesus at the center, lives changed by God’s power.

The Bible says that Jesus proclaimed the good news. But let me ask the question that always bothers me. Here’s the one that messes with my brain: if the news is so good, why don’t more people accept it? Here is Jesus, the best teacher who ever lived and, still, the Bible records that people told him “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (John 6:60), they “grumbled” (John 6:61) and “…many disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” (John 6:66)

If the news is so good, why don’t people react like it is good news. They act—we act—like it is boring, irrelevant, narrow-minded and even dangerous. Shouldn’t God just be winning, if the message is so convincing; so fool-proof; so certain; so impact-ful? If the gospel is so powerful, so life-changing, why so few lives changed? Why the same sins, habits, struggles? Why? Why are there so few changed lives?

Jesus is going to tell us, in his next story, the story of the farmer and his seeds, that it is not the message or the messenger but the messaged. Some people, when they hear something, they don’t want to be messaged, they want to be massaged! If they are not prepared for change, real life change, it will not happen.

[Empty pot, held upside down; seed lands; birds steals it.] ⁵As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. No time with God.

[Empty pot, held right-side up; fill with rocks; seed lands; wilted tomato plant.] ⁶Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. When the tough times come, we’ve never really connected with God.

[Full pot, filled with weeds; can’t find the tomato plant.] ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. We don’t listen to God, because we listen to anybody and everybody.

[Full pot, filled with health tomato plant.] ⁸Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.

You know, I had always assumed that Jesus told these stories to make it easier to understand things. My Sunday School teacher even called them, “earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.” But, according to Jesus’ own words, he actually told these parables for a different reason, a reason that often made it harder for people to get his real meaning. Look at Luke, chapter 8, starting in verse 10:

¹⁰He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’

Did you catch that: “so that…they may not understand” Why would he do that? Within Jesus’ audience there were people at different places spiritually, like the soils in the story. When Jesus preached, his words were like a spiritual EKG—they tested to reveal the true heart conditioner of each person who was listening. Jesus’ words were not just knowledge. They were a test of willingness to change.

Did you know that each good seed planted in the ground is a test? It is a test of soil condition. Likewise, each word spoken by Jesus is a test. It is a test of heart condition. It is not enough to know the truth. We know lots of smart people who are terrible people. It is not enough to do the truth, because people can pretend to be good without having the truth inside them.

He was so provocative and outspoken that after one sermon, it says, “²⁸All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.” – Luke 4:28-29

Hearing the truth, but being unwilling to do anything about it is dangerous.

#1: This grid shows two different reasons that people don’t ever change. Along the top, there is an arrow that represents “knowledge” or “truth” To the left are the ignorant, and to the right, the well-informed. Along the left, there is an arrow that represents “doing” or “action”. Towards the top are those who don’t act on what they know, while towards the bottom are those who are active putting what they know into practice. All of us fall somewhere on this graph in the different areas of our lives. For our purposes, we divide this graph into four sections.

#2: So what do you get when someone doesn’t know anything, and doesn’t do anything? The Bible calls this kind of person a fool:  “Every sensible person acts knowledgeably, but a fool displays his stupidity. “ (Proverbs 13:16, HCSB) Ignorance is bliss. The fools never know what to try and never try what they know.

 #3: What about someone who knows a lot, can talk about the truth, but their life tells a different story. We call that person a “fake” Or the Bible word for it: a “hypocrite”.  Jesus had a lot to say about these fakes. For example: “Woe to you…you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” (Matthew 23:25) These people knew the truth, were even the professors of the truth, but their life tells a different story. These people are dangerous because, in their hands, truth gets a bad name. Or, as Paul warned one pastor: “[they appear] having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.” (2 Timothy 3:5)

#4: What about someone who doesn’t know much but does it vigorously. We call this person a “fanatic” Or the Bible word for it: “zealous” These people are dedicated, hard-working, enthusiastic, and disciplined, but they don’t have the truth. The Bible says: “For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.” (Romans 10:2) These people are dangerous, because, in their hands, commitment and hard-work get a bad name.

#5: This is the powerful life: when truth comes together with willpower, when knowledge comes together with action, then there is a real changed life. When we see someone like this, we say they have integrity, they are authentic, they are “for real”. The Bible says they must be together: truth on the inside, action on the outside “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22)

The Catch

But here is the catch: we will never experience true life change without God’s help. Real life change requires knowing the right things and having the will-power to do them. But we don’t know the right things. And we don’t have the will-power. The Bible says: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23, NASB). That word, ‘sinned’ means to miss the mark like a target. “for all have missed the target and fall short of the glory of God.” Our life is like a game of Angry Birds, but we can never get to the next level because our slingshot (our smarts, our strength) is too small to hit the target: God’s perfect knowledge and perfect will-power. But if we replace our slingshot with the cross of Jesus, we can reach the next level.

Conclusion

If someone was to ask, “What is the one key to the new and improved life that God wants for me?” I would have to say humility. Humility is admitting, I am not enough. But Jesus is enough. The humble person admits they don’t know, so they are willing to learn. The humble person admits they cannot, so they are willing to be helped. People who are full of themselves cannot be used by God. The Bible says: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, the he may lift you up in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6)

This humility is not a one-time act, it is a life-long attitude which assumes there is always more to learn, and always more strength needed that what I have.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. – Micah 6:8

Dr. Jose Rizal, the writer and national hero of the Philippines, once wrote, “Why independence, if the slaves of today will be the tyrants of tomorrow?"[1] His death on December 30, 1896 sparked the Philippine Revolution. With cries of freedom and patriotic fervor, those revolutionaries tore up their tax certificates, signifying their independence, and fought for freedom. But what happened?  Rizal, their inspiration and moral center, was dead. They achieved freedom from the Spanish, only to trade it for conquest by the Americans.

Rizal is dead. But Jesus is alive. The Romans saw a threat in a provincial preacher, Jesus, and worked with collaborators to bring him to an unfair trial and a criminal’s death. And with that death, all of our failures were placed there with Jesus, on the cross. “It is finished.” They are gone.

Because Jesus came back to life, he can offer us a victory, a freedom, a change, that can be offered by no other. But with that freedom, we must be careful not to fall into the tyranny of another.

The good news is that it is possible to have a changed life. A new and improved life. But are you ready to do what it will take? You cannot go with God and stay where you are. The good news is that this new life is available, not to the smart and sophisticated and strong, but to the humble and willing. The good news is that this new life is abundant.

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. - Luke 8:15

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[1] The Reign of Greed (a complete English version of El Filibusterisimo from the Spanish of Jose Rizal), tr. Charlse Derbyshire (Philippine Education Company, Manila, 1912), p. 361

One Left Forgiven (Luke 7:36-50)

One Left Forgiven
Luke 7:33-50

Introduction: How Much  Do Things Cost

[Pride, when I first went to Helen’s office, her initial impression of me was extremely negative because of my pride. Eventually, I discovered what a fascinating person Helen was, I had to change, otherwise there was no hope.]

We’ve been slowly working our way through the book of Luke, that story of Jesus’ life found in the Bible. One thing is clear about Jesus: he was never boring. I am always amazed in movies about Jesus’ life that he appears about as interesting as plastic pizza: he walks stiffly, he talks in a monotone. But that’s not what I see when I read the Bible: I see a man of intensity; I see a man of passion; I see a man who laughs and is amazed and cries and spills over tables. And if you read the life of Jesus, there was one thing that consistently ticked Jesus off. And there was another thing that was consistently praised by Jesus. Let’s see if you can pick them out of this section of Jesus’ biography, in Luke, chapter 7:

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said.

“Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.  Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”  

Here is the key idea of what I’m going to say today: How much you feel you need God controls what kind of person you become.

Two people came to Jesus that day, but only one left forgiven.

Let’s step back here and look at what is going on at this point in Jesus’ ministry. John the Baptizer is in prison for publicly denouncing the king’s—Herod’s—marriage to his brother’s wife. And that is really the trigger for the beginning of Jesus’ public role. Immediately, people begin to compare them: Oh, John was like this and Jesus is like this. John dresses in sack cloth, and Jesus dresses in nice clothes (remember, they gambled at Jesus’ death to see who would get his clothes). John eats locusts and Jesus eats steak. John gets away from the sinners, but Jesus eats with the sinners. John’s disciples are very careful religiously but Jesus’ are uneducated and not so careful. Lots of comparisons. Lots of comparisons. Kind of like the Republican nomination. Every detail about what they say, what they do, who they hang out with and even who likes what they say. Lots of comments. And they had two different styles of ministry: John called them out to the desert, Jesus went into their homes. And both John and Jesus were criticized. Jesus was criticized by Fox News for being too liberal and John was criticized by CNN for being too conservative.

This is the background when Jesus gets a dinner invitation from the local religious leader, Simon, a Pharisee. The Pharisees were both a political and a religious group. They were sure that the reason God wasn’t blessing Israel was because the people were not being careful about obeying God’s laws. They felt that the reason the Romans had come in and stomped on their freedom was because they weren’t serious enough about the law. And, if they were serious enough about the law, then God would have to come in and rescue them. Have to. So they spent a lot of time watching their neighbors and politicians and rabbis to see if those neighbors and politicians and rabbis were the reason God hadn’t come to the rescue.

Now, Simon probably heard about Jesus and his miracles, and wants to see for himself—to see if Jesus is the real thing. Perhaps he met the rabbi Jesus at the city gate and invited him in for dinner, or perhaps heard Jesus speak at the synagogue. In those days, for dinner, they would have reclined on a couch, like a day bed, with their food on low tables in front of them.  Simon would be at the center and then Jesus at his right hand and all the disciples and many guests arranged around them to the right and left. They would eat, and talk, and discuss the urgent topics of the day.

Two people came to Jesus that day, but only one left forgiven.

If you don’t feel like you need God, you will become proud.

I imagine Simon was feeling pretty good about himself, the important miracle-working rabbi having dinner in his house. But, as this is all going on Simon notices that a woman, a woman who he recognizes, both by sight and by reputation comes in and makes an incredible display. Let’s look at it again:

…she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

We don’t know how she heard Jesus or what it was he said, but we do know that when she heard that Jesus was dining with Simon, she had to go. She had to get closer to Jesus. She was not an invited guest. She knows her own past. She knows her reputation in town. But she has to come close to Jesus. And he doesn’t care what they think. She must get close.

But how can she get close? She notices that Jesus feet are dirty. She notices that no one else has offered this act of hospitality to Jesus. So she takes the job that was normally given to the lowest house slave, to wash the feet of the guests.  But she doesn’t care what job it is, as long as she can get close.

But how can she do the job of the slave? She has no basin for the water, so she wets Jesus feet with her tears. She has no towel, so she dries them with her hair. Everything she had, even her expensive perfume, which had been reserved for her shameful lifestyle was now re-purposed and dedicated to Jesus. She needed Jesus and she was willing to take on the role of a slave, expose herself to ridicule and give even the most precious of what she had, to be close to Jesus.

Contrast her with Simon:

I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, ... You did not give me a kiss, …. You did not put oil on my head

Simon, he has the house, he has the friends, he has the water, he has the oil, he has the rabbi. But they were tools to make him look good—to redirect the attention to him. He thought he was the one doing the favor for Jesus.

He didn’t feel like he needed Jesus, so he became proud. Just like us. If we don’t feel like we need God, we will become proud. Everything starts being out me, myself and I. Even our relationship with God can be like that: “God, help me (I deserve it). God, use me (I’m the most qualified).”

Two people came to Jesus that day, but only one left forgiven.

If you don’t feel like you need God, you will become judgmental.

So Simon notices what is going on, and here’s what he starts to think:

“If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

When you don’t need God, you start to set yourself up as the judge and jury of the people around you. First, he judges Jesus: “If this man were a prophet…” He is saying, I am a connoisseur of prophets and frankly, I’m disappointed. I give him a D-. He went down his own checklist of “prophet product features” Then his pride moves it: “How clever I am to detect a fake prophet. Can’t fool me!” Here is Jesus, sitting to dinner with him and he can’t see it. Why? Because he has put God in a box. He has stopped watching what God is doing, because he thinks he’s got it all figured out. But God is not tame. God is a God of surprises who makes fun of those who think they know it all.

But Simon doesn’t stop there. Next, he comments on the woman’s character: “what kind of woman she is” What is the hidden assumption behind this statement? The hidden assumption is that he is better than her. If we asked Simon, he would list all the good things he has done. Pharisees were known for their careful attention to God’s laws. Pharisees were known for their careful behavior. Pharisees were known for fasting and praying and giving money.

But we all need God. If we don’t feel like we need God, we become judgmental, because we ask “How can they be like that…” But no one can please God without his help. None of us is better. Even if, by God’s grace, we start to make progress in our lives, even if we start to erase some of the old habits, even if we start showing the fruit of the Spirit, we can’t take credit for it because it is solely sourced from God’s grace. When we start taking credit for it, we start ranking the people of the world, with us somewhere near the top (under Jesus, Moses and Mother Theresa) but certainly better than them.

Two people came to Jesus that day, but only one left forgiven.

If you don’t feel like you need God, you will become unloving.

Jesus hears Simon’s snide comments. Hard to hide what you’re thinking from the Son of God. And, as he often did, Jesus used a story (a type of parinig)to get his point across. The story was about two men who found themselves in a difficult situation: they owed money. One owed more than one month’s pay; the other owed more than one year’s pay. Now the day comes for them to repay the banker, but they cannot pay. But on that day, there is a surprise: the banker cancels the debt. Both men had walked into that banker’s office under an unpayable burden of debt and now both are free.

So Jesus turns to Simon and asks a question:

“Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

“I suppose”?! “I suppose”?!  Jesus goes on to describe how Simon had snubbed him: not even offering the standard elements of Jewish hospitality: a kiss on the cheek, the ceremonial washing of the feet, the anointing with oil. And Jesus finishes ripping apart Simon with these words:

But he who has been forgiven little loves little.

If we feel like we don’t need God, we become unloving. Love does not come from a position of strength—it comes from recognition of a shared position of weakness. It comes from a recognition that stand equally in need of God’s love and grace. That position of weakness lets us love God because we see how much we have been given. That position of weakness lets us love other people more, because I recognize that we share that we share that weakness, that we share the desperation of grace, that we share the same potential of renewal and revival.

Two people came to Jesus that day, but only one left forgiven.

If you don’t feel like you need God, you won’t get him.

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” 

Randy Frazee, pastor of Pantego Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas, shared this story:

I remember seeing a picture of a husband and wife in a gentleman's office. I said, "Nice picture." I turned around and looked at the man, and he had tears in his eyes. So I asked him, "Why are you crying?"

He said, "There was a time in our marriage when I was unfaithful to my wife, and she found out about it. She was so deeply hurt and injured she was going to leave me and take the kids with her. I was overwhelmed at the mistake I had made, and I shut the affair down. I went to my wife in total brokenness. Knowing I did not deserve for her to answer in the affirmative, I asked her to forgive me. And she forgave me.

"This picture was taken shortly after that. When I see this picture, I see a woman who forgave me. I see a woman who was willing to stand with me in this picture. So when you see this picture you say, 'Nice picture.' But when I see this picture I see my life given back to me again."[1]

You can choose who you want to be in this story:

You can choose to be one like one of the other guests—the crowd. Notice what they say: “Who is this who even forgives sins?” What they mean is: we can accept a miracle worker (he provides our needs), we can accept a rabbi (he is a wise teacher), but we can’t accept Jesus is the forgiver of sins. Jesus will not accept a demotion, from a holy God to a mere preacher or miracle worker. The Bible tells us that we all need forgiveness (“we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”). But if you don’t feel like you need that forgiveness, then you won’t get God.

You can choose to be like Simon. “I think I’ve got this religious thing under control.” Didn’t need a disruptive God. Give yourself this test: am I more irritable? Am I more impatient?  Those are signs that you are trying to earn the favor of someone who is willing to give it willingly. (Rom 8:2, Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

You can choose to be like the woman.  She doesn’t have it all together. But she does know that she must be close to Jesus. “It does not depend, therefore, on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” (Rom. 9:16)

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. – Psalm 63:1

Peace, love, joy result.

Two people came to Jesus that day, but only one left forgiven.

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[1] Randy Frazee, pastor of Pantego Bible Church, Fort Worth, Texas, from sermon preached 6-24-01, "Uncommon Confessions"

Sermon: Don't Waste Your Life (Luke 7:18-35)

This sermon was originally preached on February 26th at Folsom Community Church by Tim Lewis.

Don’t Waste Your Life

Luke 7:18-35

Introduction: The Saddest Verse

In the Pixar movie “Cars” do you remember the lead character, Lightning McQueen?  He said, “I’m a precision instrument of speed and aerodynamics.”  He was designed for the NASCAR race track. So much so that, part way through the movie, you realize that he has no real headlights, they are just stickers. Then there’s Mater, the beat-up ol’ tow-truck. Not the brightest car on the lot.  “I am a precisional instrument of speed and aromatics.” But you find out that he is an expert a driving backwards, using his rear-view mirrors. Pretty useful for a tow-truck. Why were Lightning McQueen and Mater so good at their jobs? Because they were purpose-built. Doc Hudson and the dirt track, Luigi the tire changer, Mack the 18-wheeler. Each was uniquely put together; designed for a specific job.

Did you know that “We are made by God for a specific purpose”?

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10

From now until the day that you did, there is a Plan A for your life.  “We decide whether we will cooperate with that purpose.” Or we can choose Plan B. God will do what he wants to do—no one stops God—but we have a choice as to what part we will play: Plan A or Plan B.

“No one is an expert on God’s purpose except God.” The Bible says that, left to our own choices, we will wander.  (Isaiah 53:7) People say “Just follow your heart.” But our heart lies. (Jeremiah 17:9) It is like following your nose: the direction changes every time you turn your head. 

We were purpose-built by God for an amazing purpose. We are the Lightning McQueens (ka-chow!) of the spiritual world, we just need some help finding the right racetrack.

This afternoon, I am going to teach you one of the saddest verses in the Bible. If you were just browsing through the book of Luke, you might miss it. But there it is, tucked away right in the middle of the 7^th chapter. By the time you leave, you will know this verse and, more importantly, you will know the first step for anyone who wants to find God’s purpose for their life. Ready?

It says:

But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. – Luke 7:30

So sad. They rejected God’s purpose for themselves. They rejected God’s purpose. They rejected God. They took God’s plan and decided, somehow, to give it the big thumbs down. So many questions. Why did they reject God’s purpose? Do we do the same thing?

Four parts:

1.       But…

2.       The Pharisees and the experts in the law.

3.       Rejected God’s purpose for themselves.

4.       Because they had not been baptized by John.

Let’s break this down and talk through each part. Let's memorize it and its message together.

But

The first part of the verse is “but”—one word.

But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. – Luke 7:30

Now for those of you who remember your grammar, this is a conjunction (not a noun!) It connects and contrasts this rejection of God’s purpose with what has been going on before. Jesus’s ministry is really taking off. Just in this chapter, he healed the Roman commander’s servant and brought the widow’s son back to life. But as Jesus’ star is rising, John the Baptizer’s ministry has hit a snag. Called by God to get people ready for the Messiah, he was doing great right up until he told the king that sleeping with his brother’s wife wasn’t kosher in God’s eyes, which earned him a do-not-pass-go-do-not-collect-$200 trip to jail.

So John sends a pair of his disciples to Jesus to ask, “Are you the one or should we expect someone else?” (vs. 19) What a loaded question! When you are in jail, can’t see very much and John really wants to know: “Did I do my job? Did I fulfill my purpose? Did I do the job God had for me? Or did I just waste my life and tell off the most powerful man in all of Judea for nothing?”

Here is the key point: God is at work all around us. Sometimes we imagine that God is passive; that he needs a rest or maybe he doesn’t care enough to get up and intervene. John was in prison. If the kingdom of God was really taking off, should one of the star players be on the bench, on prison. But John is wise enough to know he does not have the whole picture. And, like John, we can’t always see God at work. We need help to see what is going on, because the work of God does not consist of buildings and programs and budgets; instead it consists of healed lives, of restored vision, of mended relationships—of Good News. These don’t make the headlines; but they are what matter most.

So Jesus connects the dots—shows John the bigger picture of how God was at work.

So that’s the first part of the verse. But. But what?

The Pharisees and the Experts in the Law

The second part of the verse is “the Pharisees and the experts in the law”. “But the Pharisees and the experts in the law.”

But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. – Luke 7:30

Here is the key point: God invites us all to join His work. He doesn’t have favorites based on family background or religious background or economic background or political beliefs. So what does God care about?

Who were the Pharisees? They were a faction within Jewish social life who acted like monitors for political and religious correctness. They monitored public morals, to make sure people were acting the way that God’s people should act.  These were good people. If I had a daughter, I’d be looking for a young Pharisee boy for her to marry. They were good, upstanding, well-behaved, hands-to-themselves sort of people. What about the “experts in the law”? These were experts in Bible interpretation. When someone wanted to know what God thought about X or Y, they would pick apart the verses of the Old Testament to provide an answer.

So how did they reject God’s purpose for themselves? What’s worse, look at the type of people who were getting it right. Back up one verse:

All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. – Luke 7:29

“But the Pharisees and the experts in the law…” Why were the good citizens and the Bible readers out and everyone else in the kingdom of God?

God has a plan and the job description for people he wants to work with did not consist of how many Bible verses they had memorized or how many church services they had attended or how many rosaries they said, or how they didn’t do any of the big bad sins. No, it was this: they “acknowledged that God’s way was right.”

The problem that the Pharisees and the experts in the law had was that the Bible should have prepared them to hear God’s message of repentance and Good News through Jesus, They were so worried about the “other” people that they missed the growing hardness of their own heart. In the mean time, those who would have been considered the least likely members of Jewish society to be ready for God’s message—like tax collectors—were all over Jesus’ message.  

[Missionaries to the Philippines. Talk about how I and my wife Helen felt we were really qualified to be missionaries to the Philippines, but it was exactly that attitude that led to us not being able to go so that God could work on that entitlement attitidue in our lives.] Any time we look at ourselves or someone else and think, “What an asset I am to the kingdom of God!” That is the time to watch out. God once decided that his prophet Balaam wasn’t doing a good enough job, so he had a donkey speak the truth instead.

God invites us all to join His work. It doesn’t matter where we’ve come from, as long as we are willing to say, “God, your way is right. Forget my way, God, your way is the highway”

Repeat with me: “But the Pharisees and the experts in the law…”

Rejected God’s Purpose for Themselves

The third part of the verse is “rejected God’s purpose for themselves”.

But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. – Luke 7:30

On my desk I have an amazing computer, quad-core CPU, 16GB of RAM, 2TB hard drive, incredible graphics, Gb Ethernet connection, high-speed cable modem. I can remember when I had 128 KB of RAM and my entire high school had to share 5MB of hard drive space. I bought the new computer with all those computing resources for my work—and a little fun on the side. But a while ago I learned a lesson, when one of the computers in my house got a virus. Suddenly, all the resources of that computer, no matter how powerful or well-constructed or well-connected were useless to me, because it no longer obeyed me, but rather obeyed the virus.  It became slower and slower, popped all sorts of complaints and was effectively unusable. Finally I had to salvage what I could, wiped the hard drive and started over from scratch.

My friends, when it comes to our life, God is the operator, with his plan and his purpose for our life. Then we have our plans—that’s the virus—that’s the sin nature. Soon all our resources are consumed by our agenda, and nothing is left for God’s.  For God to salvage something, he must do something.

We are not God. God is at work all around us. And he is not hiding—he shows us what he is doing and invites us to join. At that point, we must decide—will we keep our current life or will we choose the life God planned for us? These are not usually major life events—they are usually smaller: will I smile or frown, will I forgive or hold a grudge, will I be bold or fearful.  Key point: God’s invitation leads to a crisis of believe that requires faith and action.

 The road to insignificance is paved with a million detours from the will of God.

Look at the verse again: But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves…

Because They Had Not Been Baptized by John

The final part of the verse is “because they had not been baptized by John”.

But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. – Luke 7:30

What was so special about John’s baptism? Why did God care about the river Jordan? The river was just a river. And John was just a man. And the baptism was just a swim. How do I know all of this? Because we know from other records (Matthew 3) that, in fact, the Pharisees tried to be baptized, but John wouldn’t let them.  In fact, he told them off, calling them a bunch of snakes.

That doesn’t seem very fair. They miss God’s plan because they don’t get baptized, and when they tried to get baptized, no one would let them.  What gives? Listen to the reason John gave: “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” (Matthew 3:8)

The key was a changed heart. John recognized that they wanted baptism without the repentance—dunking without any change of heart-- just one more thing they could check off their spiritual checklist. They really weren’t interested in God’s plan or God’s attitudes. They wanted God’s blessing to somehow co-exist with the virus. Maybe if God blessed them enough, they could keep their pet virus and still function.

It seems ridiculous, but it is also what we try to do. We want  God’s guidance—but  we don’t want to listen to God.  At some point, I have to say, I am wrong. I don’t know. I am lost and messed up and hosing my life and need God just like every other person. Saying that to God and paying attention to God is the baptism. Miss that and you will miss God’s purpose for your life. Key Point: If you want God’s purpose, You must make major adjustments in your life to join God.

But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. – Luke 7:30

Conclusion: God’s Plan for You Is Unique

You know what? I don’t want to live out this verse in my life. I don’t want to be a Pharisee. I don’t want to miss out on God’s purpose for my life. Let me turn this verse around for you:

Therefore, you and I embrace God’s purpose for our lives, because we will do anything to follow God’s plan.

Are you ready do whatever it takes? Just like the virus, God must start by a complete re-install of the operating system that we have for our lives. The old pattern is fatally infected.  The Bible says:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  – Romans 12:2a (NIV)

If we do this, we are ready to listen to what God has to say, and we will know God’s purpose.

Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2b (NIV)

I wonder about my job [computer programmer] sometimes-if God can really use it. But then, a few days ago, I got an e-mail from a software engineer I’d never met; who knew me maybe because of my book or because of some conference where I spoke. He said, “Hi Tim! I am your fan…And I have a question I want to confirm with you: Are you a Christian? Because I am a Christian” He went on to say “I am glad to get response from you , it encourages me to keep grow up in Jesus faith and software tech.  Keep in touch and God bless.”

Now is the time to get serious. It is easy to float along, day-to-day, month-to-month and soon the years are slipping by. Don’t waste your life. God takes us by the collar and shakes us and says: You were meant for more than this. Why did I give you a family? Why did I give you a job? Why did I give you a place to live? So that you could squander them, fade away, and live a mostly harmless life? No! You were meant for more than this. Don’t settle for Plan B, when Plan A is right there. You were made in the image of God, to carry his name, to bring his light and life to every dark place.

So many times I start my prayers to God like this: “I want to serve you. I make so many mistakes and from selfish motives. Can you please help me?”

1.       I want to do what God wants me to do.

2.       I don’t know how to do it.

3.       I don’t want to live another day going a different direction.

Jesus, won’t you teach me.  Jesus, won’t you change my heart. Jesus, won’t you give me joy in your plan.

But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John. – Luke 7:30

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[1] Some material adapted from Experiencing God, Henry Blackaby, http://www.blackaby.net/expgod/