A Word to the Church
God in the House
Luke 7:36-50
* (READ TEXT) A few weeks ago, I heard a preacher say these words (with which I concur); “As believers, we are told to tell other people about what Christ has done for us, in us, and through us. After we tell them and win them we bring them back into the church family for discipleship & growth, but the question is this; ‘what exactly do we bring them back to?’ Do they come to a place where people are seeking God or seeking their own? Do they come to a place where they continually sense, see, and feel God’s presence? Better said, to they come to a place where “GOD IS IN THE HOUSE?”
* My daily prayer for us is that every time we gather, God is present. God’s presence should be on the minds of God’s more than anything else. Too often among church going people there is much concern about other things (I.E. what’s she wearing, what’s he singing, did someone get my seat, someone get my parking place, etc) The list goes on and on and yet, if gathering in the name of the Lord will ever equate to touching heaven, it will be when GOD IS IN THE HOUSE.
* The scripture we have just read is a story of Jesus (God) being in the house! Think about why Jesus comes & the result of Jesus coming.
a) When God is in the house – He has been invited. The scripture says clearly that the Pharisee invited Jesus to eat. Why did a Pharisee invite Jesus? We could guess many different reasons, but taken into context with the history of the Pharisees, it could be well stated that it was to watch Him, check Him out, and find fault. But watch this, ‘when Jesus is invited, many times, He will show up.’ Generally, He will not show up if He is NOT invited.
b) When God is in the house – People know it. – A Pharisee invited HIS close FRIENDS and yet the word got around! People know when God is in the house.
c) When God is in the house – People want to be there, they show up. – God has placed into the heart of mankind to be where He is. Woven into our DNA is the desire to find God and commune with Him. Conversely, I wonder if we can discover in this the reason so few come.
d) When God is in the house – Lives are changed. – In this lies an eternal truth which seems to be missed today. No person can encounter God and remain unchanged. “That’s the way he is” is no longer acceptable.
* If we know that people know it, respond to it, & that lives are changed when God is in the house, the question becomes ‘how can we invite God into this place?’ Or better said, “What kind of worship is it that we can offer which attracts God to this place?” To hear from our Lord and grasp the answer to these questions, let’s return to our text and from the story, consider 5 parts of having GOD IN THE HOUSE!
1. Desperate for Jesus – If you look at the text, you discover that the Pharisee threw a party for his friends, and oh by the way, Jesus was invited. Why did this religious leader invite Jesus? Was he looking for answers? Was he hoping to find the way of life? Was he looking for God? OR did he want to get close enough to Jesus to discover his faults, failures, and the like to use against him? While a Pharisee’s motives are always suspicious, the woman was altogether different. She came to see Jesus because she was desperate for Him. Her courage is demonstrated in her coming as an uninvited guest. How long has it been since you have been ‘desperate’ for something?
* Picture the scene: It is in the recreation room of a Californian retirement facility. Four ladies are playing bridge and chatting and keeping an eye on the flow of people in and out of the area. Soon an elderly gentleman wanders into the room. They all recognize him for a newcomer and they all perk up. One of the ladies says, “Hello there. You’re new here, aren’t you?” He smiles and replies that he is, indeed. He had just moved in that morning. Another one of the ladies says, “Where did you live before you moved in?” He says, “I was just released from San Quentin, where I spent the last twenty years.” A third lady perks up at this and say, “Oh, is that so? What were you in for?” He says, “I murdered my wife.” The fourth lady sits up in her chair, smiles and say, “Oh, then you’re single?”
* This woman was desperate to see Jesus. How long has it been since you have been desperate for Jesus? Jesus is the one who takes a defeated life and brings victory, He is the one who looks beyond your fault and sees your need, and He is the one who takes a life on the road to hell and redirects that life toward heaven. Jesus takes a life that is not connected to the Heavenly Father & connects them. But there is an interesting note here and it speaks to our next quality:
2. Diagnose your own condition – If you don’t diagnose your condition, others (and not friends) will do so. Read how Luke identifies this woman as a ‘sinner.’ Many theologians think she was a prostitute, but whatever she was or was not, Luke simply calls her a sinner. Think about how unusual this is. I suggest that one of the reason Luke, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, did this was because it was her own diagnoses of her life that pushed this lady to the place of being desperate for the Lord. How long has it been since you knew this?
* I think of the Philippians Jailer in Acts 16 asking, “What must I do to be saved?” He had just witnessed the singing of Paul & Silas in jail, had watched them refused to run away from their incarceration, and saw in them something he didn’t have. Admittedly, the Holy Spirit was using all these circumstances to speak to his heart, but instead of resisting and rejecting the work of God, he responded by diagnosing his need.
* Today, there are those here who need to respond to the work of God. Every time we gather God sends those here who need a divine touch and He places it in our heart to respond to Him. He does this every time He is in the house. This woman knew she was a sinner and was heartbroken about it. So she courageously came to Jesus to offer Him her worship as only she could. She began to adorn His feet & the Pharisees didn’t like it. We only know this because of an almost humorous part of this part of this story. (Read Luke 7:39-40) This reminds us that whatever we think or say, God knows. But you know what she did in her worship, kept right on doing which says;
3. Dismiss ungodly criticism – Even when Jesus confronted Simon and she knew what Jesus was saying, she ignored her host and continued to focus on Jesus. When you think of Worship, Serving, and focusing on the Lord, you know that they’ll be folks critical of you. In the words of one well-known pastor, “We don’t do that here!” “We don’t worship like that.” In the office yesterday I pulled up my email to find this story sent from Steve Sellers of the Alabama Baptist Children’s home;
* My husband and I went to see our six-year-old granddaughter participate in a school field competition. One of the events was the 100-yard dash. Some of the youngsters, including my granddaughter, did not reach the goal or receive a prize because they were constantly looking back rather than concentrating on pushing forward. They were thrown off course; the ground they had gained on those behind them was lost, and they did not reach the goal. The same thing happens in our spiritual life when we constantly look back and become preoccupied with mistakes of the past. Holding on to memories of past sins can cause us to lose heart, and we do not reach our objective.
* How often do we begin a fresh walk in a fresh way with our Lord only to receive criticism about how or what we are doing? And how often is it that the voice we listen to is that of the criticizer as oppose to the voice of the crucified? Jesus is the one to whom our allegiance, our hearts, our souls, and our passions belong. If the world is to ever know of His love and His grace, it will be when His people have the courage to dismiss ungodly criticism and determine to give the best to Him.
* Between dismissing ungodly criticism and determining to give your best falls one less in this story which is critical. When Simon, the Pharisee, is confronted by Jesus about his ‘status’ thinking, Jesus gave a strong statement and story which should permeate every heart here.
4. Discern your own forgiveness - To discern is to ‘notice something, especially after thinking about it carefully. While the Pharisee, as Pharisees do, was condemning this ‘sinful woman’ in his mind, Jesus turned the tables by telling him a story and asking a question. (Read Luke 7:40-48) Who has been forgiven more? What a question! When I think back to my teenage (young) life, I am amazed that Jesus loved me enough to save me. To think that He would call a low “C” student who knows how to murder the King’s English to a ministry of writing & speaking is still amazing to me. Throughout the years there have been several songs written which says “I Stand Amazed”. I submit that when each of us sees ourselves in light of HIS holiness, we should stand amazed. However, there exists the real possibility that many measure ourselves by the wrong standard and thus, misunderstand our position before God. This woman knew who she was, what she was, and how unworthy she was of His love, grace, and forgiveness. And it was & is from this attitude that the words are heard, “Your sins are forgiven.”
5. Determine to give your best – Nothing invokes and invites us to give our best like “Jesus in the house”, but exactly how does this play out in our story? We learn much from this woman! Several things jump out at me. First, I see her tears. These are indicative of her repentance. She knew, those in the house knew, those in the community knew, and Jesus knew, her condition. She was a sinner. She was lost apart from the grace of God. I wonder about those who give a witness of coming to Christ and display no godly sorrow about their condition. She wept profusely. So much so that her crocodile tears were enough to wash the feet of our Lord. Get this picture; scripture says that she stood behind Him weeping. It would seem at some point that she was so overwhelmed by her emotions that she dropped to her knees and began to soak His feet with her tears. Then she offers her hair. Paul tells the Corinthians that a woman’s hair is her glory! This lady offered Jesus that which was considered her Glory, the best she had. Think about the personal gift of her glory. Finally, she offered the fragrant oil. This was possibly one of the most expensive items she owned. It was probably sitting on the shelf and she picked it up as she went to see JESUS! It was the best she had. This is what we do for HIM.
