His Anointing

I would like to ask the Lord this morning what He wants me to do to be an effective part of His plan.

Personally, I can say I do not want things to become routine for us. I hope we all have come here for the same reasons. We are hungry for God.

It is important that we study God’s Word closely.

We believe in God’s Word for direction and instruction.

The Apostle Paul said it so well in his letter to Timothy,

“…I know Whom I have believed…”

This short statement should define for us our relationship with Christ. It has a twofold meaning. Believing God, and knowing God are different from one another.

Many of us may believe earnestly in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But do we know Him?

I want to encourage each of us to simply do this:

Know Whom you have believed.

Believing is critical to living for God.

Believing will establish your faith and salvation.

But to personally know Jesus will change your life.

I want to take us to a story that I believe will help us to better know Jesus. This story will illustrate for us just how we can reach out to our Father and minister to Him.

Text: Luke 7:36 thru 50

Let each of us desire to see Jesus this morning, but consider this - we are living in a world of spiritual darkness. We cannot always see things as they are.

There is a spiritual blindness we struggle with.

If I were to walk into a dark room, I would instinctively reach out to find the wall switch to turn on the light.

Likewise, we live in a dark world, and we need to see Jesus. But we may need to first reach out to Him, and to touch His shining face.

For some, touching Jesus may only mean that person is looking for a touch from God. You may need a “touch from God” today. You may be hoping the Lord will reach out to minister to your soul. You may say,

“Jesus, do something for my problem.”

I would propose to you that knowing the Lord is much more than having Him fix your problem. For the woman in our text, it was all about her ANOINTING THE LORD.

We must also learn to minister to the Lord.

The Lord desires you to touch him, to anoint Him and bless Him. Your relationship with the Lord involves Jesus being anointed and touched by you. Personally.

This is one of the most common oversights in churches of our day.

Many times we are told to linger in the presence of the Holy Spirit and wait on the touch of the Lord.

We patiently wait for the hand of the Almighty to touch us and for the Holy Spirit to come upon us. I have preached that all of my Christian life.

Folks, you must know that I live for His touch. I love it when He bathes me and cleanses me with His touch.

But perhaps it is time for us to reconsider what the Lord is wanting from you and I.

We need to stretch our hearts and thinking to a deeper understanding of what the Lord wants from us.

Our Lord and Savior wants from you and I what He was given by the woman in our story.

Let us consider this story as a comparison.

TWO THINGS WE SHOULD NOTICE:

1) Expect the unexpected (with the Lord).

How shocked the disciples must have been when Jesus accepted the invitation of the Pharisee, Simon, to come to his home for a meal. It is apparent that Simon was very religious and judgmental. Nevertheless,

Simon was actually a recovering leper that Jesus had healed.

Even with Simon’s miraculous recovery, Simon –

1) Was still caught up in the do’ and don’ts of religion.

2) Had the audacity to judge and condemn sinners.

3) Didn’t understand the forgiveness & mercy of God.

How shocked Simon was when the adulterous woman showed up at his home to see Jesus.

Simon knew who she was. Religious people, like Simon, learned to stay away from people like her.

The fact of the matter is the disciples must have felt a little uneasy with her being there also.

Surprisingly, none of this mattered to the woman. She wasn’t too concerned what people thought or said about her. There was only one thing on her mind when she came to the home of Simon.

What do you suppose that was?

This woman wanted to see Jesus!

You and I have a lot in common with this adulterous woman. She wanted exactly what you and I want.

This woman came to see Jesus in spite of her sins.

Nothing else matters when you want to see Jesus.