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4
Words 2 Change U Life
Luke
7:36-50
Can four words really
change your life? Sure they can!
Examples:
I'm sorry, it's cancer.
Yes, you are pregnant.
You owe one thousand. Whose bed
is this? Please take a number.
The baby needs changed.
You are being audited!
[financial equivalent of a colonoscopy]
Jesus changes lives, and
did so in our text with just four words. [read 36-43]
True story--there was a
woman who was on an overseas flight. Called flight attendant over to her and
told her she was having a heart attack. Flight attendant asked, “Is there a
doctor on board?” At that point, 67 people stood up. Obviously, they were
doctors. "Which of you is a
heart doctor?" They all remained
standing. They were headed to a
convention for cardiac surgeons.
Imagine her joy when she saw the
doctors. They were ready, willing, and able to effectively diagnose her
problem and prescribe the correct treatment. They had the knowledge, the
expertise, and the desire to take care of her and meet her needs.
Friends, I want to tell you that our wonderful Lord stands ready, willing,
and able to help you today. He is the
Great Physician and you being here is not by accident, it is by Divine
Appointment!
- He has already diagnosed your problems.
- He has
already prescribed the correct treatment through His Word.
- He has the
knowledge He needs about you because He knows everything about you, even the
things you haven’t told Him or anyone else.
- He has the expertise and
the ability to take care of you.
- The greatest thing of all is that He
has a deep desire to take care of you and see you made whole again.
Where are you in this story? Who
are you in this story?
Are you the woman? –
In those days women were not invited
to nor accepted
at banquets. They were 2nd class
citizens. Jewish rabbis did not speak to women in public. They did not eat
with them in public. A woman of this type would not have been invited to the
house of Simon the Pharisee. Though her sins are not named, we get the
impression that she was a woman of the streets w/ a bad reputation.
She was from the “red torch” district!
- She sensed a desperate
need in her life.
- She knew she was a sinner.
- She was deeply
convicted about her sin.
- She approached Jesus in spite of all the
strikes against her.
- She gave her most highly valued possession –
perfume…that which she used to wear to attract men to herself she now used
to anoint
- Her hair, a woman’s
glory, she humbly used it to dry His feet.
- She surrendered herself in
total humility.
Are you the woman?
Or are you the host?
–Simon, the wealthy Pharisee, was the host of this banquet. The homes of the
wealthy always had an open courtyard, usually in the center of the house.
Sometimes the host would allow the
public to stand around the outside of the courtyard and listen to the
discussions, especially when the guest was a great teacher or some
celebrity.
- He, too, was a sinner in great need. But he did not realize
it because his chief problem was blindness – spiritual blindness.
End of v. 39 - It was
easy for him to say, “She is a
sinner!” but impossible for him to say, “I am a sinner!” Both
phrases have 4 words, but only one is life changing.
- He was
considerate, but self-righteous.
- He considered himself better than the
woman.
- He sensed no need for forgiveness in his own life.
- He was a
good moral person – good in religion; good in outward behavior.
And sadly, the Bible says that many good people are lost and on their
way to hell, because they don't realize you can't get to heaven by being
good, only by being saved.
Which person are you? All of us are in one
category or another – either we sense our great need for salvation or we
don’t. Look at Jesus’ words in v. 41-43. The parable that Jesus told does
not deal w/ the amount of sin in a person’s life, but the awareness of that
sin in his heart.
How much sin must a person commit to be a sinner?
Simon and the woman were both
sinners. Simon was guilty of hidden sins of the spirit, especially pride,
while the woman was guilty of sins of the flesh. Her sins were known, while
Simon’s sins were hidden from everyone...except God.
THE POINT IS THAT BOTH OF THEM WERE
SPIRITUALLY BANKRUPT & COULD NOT PAY THEIR DEBT TO GOD!
There we are!
All sinners…All spiritually bankrupt…All unable to pay our debt to God…All
in desperate need…And all in the presence of the One who can forgive our sin
and set us free.
What an incredible moment when Jesus said those 4
life-changing words – “Thy sins are
forgiven” – v. 48. Listen to those words again. Say them w/ me. Take the
statement apart:
“Thy” – the pronoun of the 2nd person in the nominative,
objective case, indicating the person being addressed.
In other words,
He’s talking to YOU.
He’s addressing YOU. He’s addressing ME. He’s
addressing US. This is not some cold, impersonal, or flippant comment. He’s
not talking about someone else’s sins. He’s talking to YOU.
You can’t do anything
about anyone else’s sin, so quit worrying about them, and
start dealing with your own. Jesus is addressing YOU today.
“sins” –
Those times in your life when you have [to]
missed
the mark;
erred; offended someone; wronged someone; made a mistake; had sinful
desires; not believed; had no faith; did not trust God; were lewd in words
or actions; habitually messed up; deviated from God’s plan for your life;
failed in the performance of your duties; broken an OT commandment; broken a
NT commandment; fallen short. [a
friend of mine in the ministry always says, 'God forgive us for our
falling shorts!']
The Bible says we all have
sinned and fall short, no matter who we are.
The man, startled, said
abruptly, "I’ll have you know I’ve been a Deacon in this church for over 30
years and Chairman of Deacons for 15 years."
The little boy responded,
"Sir , it don’t matter what you done, Jesus can still save you!"
“are” – a
simple verb declaring and affirming this truth right now.
“Thy sins are
_____________” what? Fill
in the blank...
- Obvious? Hidden? Fun?
- Heavy? Weighing you down?
- Killing you? Destroying you? Destroying others?
- Waking you up at
night?
ill--James Garfield was a lay preacher and principal of his
denominational college. They say he was ambidextrous and could
simultaneously write Greek with one hand and Latin with the other.
In l880, he was elected
President of the
“forgiven”
– What a word! It means that you have been pardoned; your sins have been
canceled. You have been loosed, and set free. Your sins have been released
from you. You have been freed from the slavery to sin to become a servant of
God your Creator. You now have the ability to follow after God instead of
fleeing from Him. You now have the ability to flee from sin and run to the
Lord.
What does this mean? What are the implications for us today? To
know that your sins are forgiven means:
-
There exists the
possibility of a personal
relationship
w/ God. To have a “right
relationship” we must be right w/ God.
[just like your spouse…when feuding, you have a relationship, but
it’s not right until it’s made right…forgiveness must be obtained thru some
means!]
- Jesus’ death on the cross makes your forgiveness possible. He
paid the price. He was the perfect sacrifice, the perfect Lamb that was
slain for my sins and yours.
- Jesus’ resurrection from the grave makes a
relationship w/ God possible. If He had stayed in the grave, we would have
no Savior, no eternal life, no place in heaven.
- There exists the
possibility of a restored relationship
with God.
- There exists the possibility of restored relationships
with others.
Ill.--
There was a widow who had “Rest In
Peace” inscribed on her husband’s tombstone.
When she found out that he left her out of his will, she had the
words added, “TILL I GET THERE!”
- Because we are forgiven,
we are called to be
forgivers. Until we
do, our relationship w/ God will continue to be hindered.
And we must forgive
ourselves…some of you may need a big dose of Extra Strength “Forgiven-All”!
[slide]
Some have a hard time releasing others because you won’t release
yourself…accepting God’s forgiveness makes it easier to grant it to others
even if they aren’t worthy...either!
There was a long pause and
then, from the back of the room, a small boy spoke up, "You have to sin."
I suspect we don’t have a problem fulfilling that prerequisite.
But Jesus reveals that another
prerequisite for God to forgive is our willingness to forgive others. Now is
the time to step out of that spirit of unforgiveness, confess it to God,
repent of it, and forgive those who have wronged you.
Matthew, Jacob and Justin
Backstrom died after a man, 22 at the time of the accident, swerved into
their car on a dark two-lane road. He apparently was using a cell phone and
had been drinking that night.
"This young man has
consequences for his actions, and so I can forgive him because my God has
forgiven me," Nathan Backstrom said days after the accident. "It is my duty
as a Christian. I can't live the rest of my life carrying that anger."
CONCLUSION – Back to
the story we started with. It would not have done the woman on the plane any
good at all if all 67 doctors offered their help and assistance...if she
refused to accept their help.
- “I don’t need it.”
- “I’ll be
OK.”
- “I think I know what to do.”
- "I'll deal with it
later."
- “This heart attack really isn’t that bad. It’s not that
serious.”
She had to accept their help. She had to surrender herself to
their knowledge and expertise. She had to humble herself to admit that she
needed help! Most of all, she
had to TRUST them.
In 1830, George Wilson
was arrested for mail theft and sentenced to execution by hanging. Pres.
Andrew Jackson granted him a pardon, but he refused to accept it. Should
v. 50 – The sinful woman placed her faith and
trust in Jesus. That moved Jesus to forgive her sins and set her free to go
in peace.
- There is
great peace when we know we are forgiven and when we
have forgiven others.
Simon could have had the same forgiveness. But his faith was in himself.
What about you?
[some sermon material courtesy Jon
Daniels, SermonCentral.com]
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