The Proportionality of Love

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Well, we've come to do just that, to rejoice, to return to the source of our joy, to be reminded and reoriented around what brings us joy.

It's not our efforts, it's not our behavior modification, it's not our moralistic therapeutic deism.

It's none of that, God.

It is just you, God, and the gospel.

The good news of Christianity that finds us and unwinds us and makes us into the kind of people, not just the people what we want people to think, but makes us into the kind of people who we really want to be, but we can't get there on our own.

We need a power greater than ourselves to make us loving people.

We want to be loving until somebody cuts us off in traffic.

We want to be loving until someone gets the spot in the parking lot that we had our eye on.

And so, Lord, in and of ourselves, we can't get there.

But you, God, and the gospel can get us there.

Help us see today in your word and by your spirit how we become more loving people as we think about the proportionality of love.

This is our prayer, God, make it our experience.

We ask in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

You can have a seat.

You can have a seat.

If you got a Bible, I want to invite you to take it.

Open up to Luke chapter seven.

Luke is one of the gospels in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, uh, and then John.

I want to talk to you, as I said in the prayer today, about the proportionality of love.

And so before I read the text in Luke chapter seven, I want to do two things.

I want to define a couple of things, and then I want to explain to you the context of what we're going to read.

Because let me be the first to tell you.

Sometimes you may read things in the Bible and you're like, that doesn't make any sense.

What does it mean there?

But if you understand the context within which it happens, then it's like, oh, okay, I get that.

And so let me define, first of all, the big word proportionality.

Here's the Webster's definition for that.

It is the quality of corresponding in size or amount to something else.

I know, I know, you're you're overwhelmed.

Let me read it again.

Proportionality is the quality of corresponding in size or amount to something else.

Did it help the second time?

Say yes.

Not really.

Yeah, see, there's one honest person back there.

Rest of yard lying.

You're like, yeah.

One guy's back there, like, dude, you can read that 10 times.

I still wouldn't get it.

Uh, here's my definition for proportionality.

Look at me.

Got a visual.

This is what it is, because this is what it is.

These two things are proportional, they're in proportion to each other.

This is what it is.

Like loving, being a more loving person.

You this is the way you get there is because of this down here.

But most people don't want to do this, they just want to do this, and they never become more loving.

They become more guilt-ridden, more determined, more uh uh disciplined, but it didn't work because the way you become more loving is this right here.

So this is the the the the proportionality of love.

If you want to be more loving, the Bible's gonna tell you today you should do these things, okay?

And so here's the other thing I want to uh to to define.

Uh we'll read down in verse 47, and Jesus will say to this woman, You are forgiven.

If you're not careful, you'll think, oh, she's forgiven because she did these things, which are gonna sound crazy, which I promise you no one's ever done to you, and you've never seen done before in person.

You never have.

Because it would weird you out, okay?

Uh but if you're not careful, because Jesus, after she does these things, Jesus says, Hey, by the way, you're forgiven.

But she's not forgiven because of what she did.

She does what she does because she's forgiven.

Do you hear the difference?

She's not like, oh, I did this, and so now I get forgiveness.

No, no, no.

She's already forgiven because when Jesus says you are forgiven, it's in the perfect tense in the Greek language.

New Testament was originally written in Greek, and the perfect tense in Greek is used to describe a completed action which produced results, which are still in effect all the way up to the present, to this moment.

Again, it's something that happened, it's already done, but it still has an effect on this person.

And so when Jesus says you're forgiven, that's in the perfect tense, okay?

And then finally, let me give you the context.

Uh, we're gonna read a story in Luke chapter 7.

Luke 7 · chapter mention

True story actually happened.

Uh, a religious guy called a Pharisee invites Jesus to dinner.

You do it's safe to invite the preacher to dinner because preachers have good manners.

They're like, Thank you very much.

I leave the peace of Christ on your home.

Jesus is off the chain.

He says crazy stuff at dinner, okay?

He whips your kids and tells you you should whip your kids more.

I mean, you should invite Jesus to dinner because then it's just really, you're like, oh my gosh, this happened, all right?

So they they had a regular, like a private meal.

You close the door, everybody's in there, it's you and your family and Jesus.

It's great.

But then they had what was called a special meal, a special public meal, excuse me.

And when they had a special public meal, they would leave the door open.

And if the door is open, anybody walking down the street could walk in and they would sit against the wall and listen to your special guest, and they could ask for food and they could beg for leftovers, just like your sister-in-law, who's coming to your house for Christmas, is going to do, okay?

And so they had a special meal, and this was a special meal.

And now, here's the last thing I'm gonna tell you, then we're gonna read.

They would recline at the table, they would lay on their side with their feet pointed away from the table.

Here's why: because they walked, they wore sandals, it was an arid, dry, dusty area.

And so no one wants your nasty feet at the table.

And so you would lay on your side, on your elbow, with your feet pointed away.

Now, a rich person would have a uh a servant at the door and they would wash your feet when you walked in.

I want to go to that dinner party.

They would wash your feet, and you'd still point your feet away from the table because it was disrespectful.

Recline on one arm and sit there.

The table was about this far off the ground.

You just reach up and get stuff and just eat.

And so, this is the context of what we're gonna read.

It's a special meal.

A lot of people are there, and get this visual in your mind.

The walls are lined with people who are not invited.

It'd be like leaving the door open at Christmas meal, and all of a sudden just see who shows up.

This is what's happening in the Bible.

Luke chapter 7, verse 36.

Luke 7:36

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him.

And he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table.

And behold, a woman of the city who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Now, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.

Jesus, answering him, said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you.

And he answered, Say it, teacher.

A certain moneylender had two debtors.

One owed him 500 denarii and the other 50.

When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both.

Now, which of them will love him more?

Simon answered, The one I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt.

And he said to him, You have judged rightly.

Then, turning to the woman, he said to Simon, Do you see this woman?

I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven.

For she loved much, but he who has forgiven little loves little.

And he said to her, Your sins are forgiven.

Then those who were at the table with him begin to say among themselves, Who is this who even forgives sins?

And he said to the woman, Your faith has saved you.

Go in peace.

Translation, get out of here, lady.

You don't want to become like these religious people who sit around and talk about everybody else.

Yes, yes.

And so let me just go back and I'm just gonna point to a few things in the text I don't want you to miss because if you read the Bible some, it's easy to kind of get accustomed to it.

And it's like music, and it's music that they play in Target while you're Christmas shopping.

You're not really paying attention.

You know it's there, but you couldn't name that tune if they pressed you, okay?

So let me just go back and point to a few things.

Like in verse 37, it says, And behold a woman of the city who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment.

Now, how many of you know what a flask is?

Say amen.

How many of you have one in your boot right now?

Say amen.

Yeah, a flask back then was just like a little, like a it wasn't like what you have.

It was like a bottle, very ornate.

They kept olive oil in it to anoint the sick and pray for stuff.

But this was like special.

This wasn't the E V O O that Rachel Ray cooks with, okay?

This was like it was scented, it was perfumed, it was for a special occasion, very ornate bottle, this flask.

And so what's happened is that the woman she heard Jesus teaching at temple before this, and and she understood the gospel and that she could be forgiven because remember that the the religious guy said, Oh, he thought to himself, which is the second thing I want to point out.

Verse 39.

Now, when the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, now get that.

He said to himself, he didn't say that loud, he just thought, you ever think things and you're glad?

I'm glad.

And you ever think a thought that is so dark, so mean, so negative, so just not good, that your second thought is, I'm glad nobody knows what I'm thinking right now.

Yes, no?

Yes.

Well, this guy thinks that to himself.

Look at the next sentence.

He he he think he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of a woman who it this is who is touching him.

For she is a liberal Democrat who watches CNN.

Amen, sinner.

Yes.

Now, if you're on the left right now, you're really bothered, so let me make it up to you.

If you're on the left, you're thinking, I bet she's got Fox News on all day at her house while she cleans the house.

She probably thinks Donald Trump should run for president again in 2024.

Wicked sinner.

There, did I offend everybody?

I mean, the guy's just thinking to himself.

And then look at verse 40.

And Jesus answering said to him, How would what does it make you?

I mean, does it freak you out that Jesus could answer your thoughts?

He'd be like, uh, uh, see what it was.

See, I didn't want to.

This is why you don't want to invite Jesus to dinner.

Verse 42 is the crux of the whole thing.

When they could not pay, Jesus tells this parable story that this moneylender he loaned money.

By the way, one of them's two months' wages, one of them's 21 months' wage.

And he forgave the but the debt of both of them.

Then Jesus asks, here's the central question.

Now, which of them will love him more?

The reason you're not more loving or as loving as you should be, and you say, You don't know me, man.

You can't judge me.

I don't think any of us are as loving as we could be.

Not should be, but could be.

But the reason is that we don't ponder the immense nature of our debt.

We do not ponder, oh my gosh, there's no way I could ever pay this back.

This is the central question.

Which of them will love him more?

And the guy gets it right.

He said, I suppose the one whom he canceled the larger debt.

Then that in verse 47 and 48.

This is why I told you, I'm you're like, I don't care about the perfect tense in the Greek.

Remember, if it refers to a completed action, that something happened in the past still has consequences in the present.

Jesus said, Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, you're right, you religious weasel, her sins are many.

You shouldn't think so much about her sins and more about yours.

You'd be a more loving person.

But you're right.

Let's stay on topic, Jesus says her sins are many.

And the difference between her and you is hers are actually forgiven because she realized what a big sinner she is, and you think you're a little sinner, so you don't even need forgiveness.

And then Jesus tells her, Get out of here.

I don't want you to be like these people.

They're religious, but they don't have a relationship with me.

So I wanted you to see all that.

Now, here's how you become a more loving person, okay?

It's not what we've told you.

Preachers try to teach you how to be, they give you tips and techniques and smile more and be more positive and compliment people and just be quiet.

Here's how you actually become a more loving person according to the gospel.

Number one, you think about your sinfulness and your actual sin.

Yes, you say, What do you mean?

Take some time between now and the new year.

Not don't do it this week.

You got to bake and cook and clean your house and get ready to go to grandma's, whatever.

But between now and new year, take some time to think about how screwed up you really are, what you're capable of, and what you've actually done.

Not just what you're capable of, because most of us stop there.

If you've been in church a long time, like I had a preacher in my truck the other day, I didn't want to have him in there, but he got in there and we're driving down here, and there's a lady, young lady right down here at 99 and 90, has a sign every day, begging for stuff.

And he says, out of his little religious mouth, uh, but there, but for the grace of God go I.

And I just said, What does that mean?

And he goes, What do you mean?

I said, Oh, but for the grace of God, there go I.

I mean, I would never beg or anything.

I said, Then you don't need the grace of God as much as that lady does.

He goes, Well, I mean, oh, bro, I didn't mean to offend you.

I'm not offended.

You just said some pointless religious thing that preachers say, there, but for the grace of God go I.

You see, you think you sound humble, but you don't sound humble.

You sound pointless.

Don't say things like that.

By the way, I'm available to go to lunch with you this week, too.

And he's like, dude, why are you hating them?

I'm not hating on you.

It's just, are you aware that we as preachers can say stuff that makes us sound so humble when we're really not humble?

You just say it, but you don't have to be it.

You think when she was in the third grade and her teacher said, get out of get out a piece of paper and write down what you want to be when you grow up.

You think she wrote this?

Well, I mean, you don't give her money, do you?

I said, No, I don't, because most people, not all, but most people, what they're really doing is trying to get drugs.

I have a friend that works at Star of Hope, and he's like, dude, do not give homeless people money because they know where to get uh uh shelter, but they don't want accountability.

And he's like, Well, I mean, uh, we got to the restaurant.

He goes, I mean, are we good?

I said, Yeah, we're good.

I just don't want that to be there, but for the grace of God, go I.

Then you said you would never do that, so you don't need the grace of God.

So why do you say that?

Because you want to appear humble.

Dude, can we just eat?

Absolutely.

Not humble person, anyway.

But see, here's my point.

You see how uncomfortable it is to focus on your depravity?

Think about your I I got I got better Christmas words.

Think about your wickedness, your selfishness, how you slander other people when they're not around, how you lie just to fit in, how prideful you are, how mean you can be.

I mean, basically, in and of yourself, apart from Jesus, you are a hot mess.

Yes or no?

Yes, and you should ponder that more.

This is how you become more loving.

You should say to your wife, men, make a list and then read it to her.

Here's all the ways you say, I want to be more loving, I want to love my wife more.

Here's how you become a more loving husband.

You make a list of all your sins just from this year because you ain't got that much time, and then you say to your wife, here's all the ways I think I've sinned against you this year.

Would you add anything to the list?

That's your wife laughing right now.

She's like, We'll be we'll be well into 2022.

Yes, and then, ladies, you look at him and say, You know, I've forgiven you, I don't hold any of that against you.

That's how your husband becomes more loving.

It's just because he's just that's the proportionality of love.

You think about what a damnable wretch you are.

Not just that you could be, but you actually are by nature.

Like I was eating at Lopez with a friend of mine this week, and then Enchiladas Verdes came out and I said, Let me pray.

And I just say, Jesus, we should be burning in hell right now, but instead, we get to eat good Mexican food.

Amen.

And my friend went, Yeah, works for me.

Yes, because look at me, I think this every chance I get.

I think some of you are like, You you're you're always in a good mood.

Um I don't try to be in a good mood.

I I I think about who who I was by nature, and then that God loved me and forgave me, makes me a more loving person.

So you should ponder your depravity on a consistent basis, not for the sake of self-hatred or self-exaltation.

You say, What do you mean, self-hatred?

No, it's not like, oh, I'm just a worm in the dirt.

That's self-hatred.

But the other side of the coin is self-exaltation.

I'm the greatest sinner.

Let me tell you what I did when I was in college.

That's not that.

Look at me, it's about self-awareness, it's realizing who you are.

The love of God.

And say, unless you do this, the love of God's a shallow intellectual exercise, unless and until it reaches down to the depths of your depravity and your sinfulness, and not just what you're capable of, but what you've actually done.

The procedure you had in college, because the guy said he loved you, but he didn't want that responsibility, that too.

And God says, I forgive all of that.

See, you got to go there to get here.

Most people don't get here because they never go there.

This is what the gospel teaches us.

And until we live, as if God, unless you go there, you live like God's only loving you because he doesn't know what you're really like.

And he does.

He does.

Here's the second, the second step in this process, this beautiful process, is you think about what you deserve for your sin.

You actually think about what you deserve for your sin.

Once you think about it, don't just go, oh, I'm gonna get away from that now.

That's negative.

I need to be positive.

I'm not talking about being negative or positive, I'm talking about being self-aware or clueless.

What do you mean?

Think about what you deserve.

The Bible says the wages of sin is death.

It says the soul that sins will surely die.

Basically, all God has ever owed you is hell, and he could have paid you off at any time.

Merry Christmas.

Aren't you glad you shaved your legs for this?

That's all he's ever owed you.

He didn't owe you a second chance, he didn't owe you forgiveness, he didn't need anything.

Because it look at me.

If you don't get this, you're gonna be Simon the Pharisee and not the sinful woman.

And I've been Simon the Pharisee.

Would you like to hear about when I was Simon the Pharisee?

Some of y'all are like, I don't know, my kids are with me.

How bad is this?

No, no, uh, I'll say it like this.

Um, you ever get around people who think differently about their sin than you think about yours?

Does that question make sense?

People, you just think, I think that cat thinks about his sin in a different way than I think about mine.

Uh for me, I I used to be critical.

Now I'm just evaluative.

But back when I was critical, you hear the difference, don't you?

Back when I was critical, a friend of mine, there's a church in Chicago, actually in South Barrington, Illinois, on Algonquin was the road it was on called Willow Creek Community Church.

Great church back then.

Uh 1991, a friend of mine's in the pastoral internship program.

I'm going to the leadership conference.

He says, Come up a few days early, and you can see behind the scenes.

It's great.

By the way, we're walking around, and behind the stage at Willow Creek back then, there was a door and it had a sign on it that said the tunnel of conflict.

And we were walking around.

I said, What is that?

He goes, Oh, if you're on the outs with anybody in staff, you have to text them or email them and say, Hey, I need to meet you in the tunnel of conflict.

It's just a long, skinny room, and you go with a couple chairs, you go in there, you don't come out until you're at peace with each other, and you've forgiven each other.

And I said, What's that like?

He goes, That thing's covered with the blood of each other.

I said, Excuse me.

He said, We have decorated the inside of that thing with the blood of each other in love.

I was like, memo to self, we need a room like that.

No, but we're walking around 19 months.

It was so long ago, I sat in a small group with Bill Hepels, the pastor at the time.

Just right there.

Now, what's it got to do with you being?

Because I used to be Simon the Pharisee, just critical of everything.

Just to just we're there for a couple days, and the conference starts, conference starts, it's great.

They got people swinging on ropes.

I'm not making that up.

Probably one of the most creative churches at the time, but maybe I was like, really, you need this, and bam, bam, bam, bam.

And so everything's going great, and the session starts, and we start worshiping, and all of a sudden, everybody, the band kind of steps back, and one guy steps forward with a microphone and he sings this words, okay?

Now I know you never evaluate worship.

I know earlier when the band was like, What are we at a blues club?

Watch all this hip-hop, and hey, ho, hey, I grabbed the little girl beside me and said, Rock.

So I'm sitting there, and and this guy with my microphone starts singing these words.

You did not wait for me to draw near to you, but you clothed yourself in frail humanity.

You did not wait for me to cry out to you, but you let me hear your voice calling me.

And I'm forever grateful, Lord, to you.

I'm forever grateful for the cross.

And I'm forever grateful to you that you came to seek and save the lost.

And I thought, that's good.

What's the second verse say?

No second verse.

We sang that over again and then over again and then over again.

And my inner Pharisee came out, and I was just like, dude, I mean, really?

Is this all?

It means you run out of ink that you not know what to say.

It'd be better if you had a bridge and a chorus and a second verse and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

And then About that time, I'm sitting there looking state of the art.

I mean, they got all kinds of cool stuff on the stage, and I hear across the aisle, and I look over, and Betsy Wetsy is just sobbing uncontrollably.

It's a man in his 60s, and I'm thinking, get it together, sea biscuit, toughen up a little bit.

Not that bad.

Uh, and I'm I'm a little bit put off.

I know you never look around at people in church and think, why are your hands up?

It's not that good.

You're just drawing attention to yourself because you know their heart.

And so I used to think that.

I was just like, dude.

Now I'm not talking crying like you cry.

I mean the dude's just slumped over.

Just not himself.

And my buddy's got it.

I was like, he goes, I was like, it's kind of distracted.

You have ushers?

I mean, I'm trying to look sincere.

Like I'm holding a T uh a microwave.

We go to dinner, and I got punched in the face.

This is where my Pharisee died.

Uh we're at dinner, and my buddy Scott starts talking, and he gets emotional, and I'm like, oh, great, what is going on up here?

Got these real men up here up here in Chicago, a bunch of sissies.

Uh he said, Oh, that's so-and-so, so-and-so.

He's 63.

And about three years ago, it came to light that not only was he having an affair that he'd been having for years, completely double life, but he was embezzling money from his business that he's in partnership with two other men that go to our church.

And I thought, I'd cry too.

Convict.

And he said, that was three years ago.

And when they found out he was not a believer, his two partners were.

And his two business partners said, Hey, we forgive you.

We'll set up a payment schedule.

You can pay us back.

We do not want to press charges, we don't want you to go to jail.

His wife forgave him.

He was so overwhelmed by this forgiveness.

He said to his business partners in the boardroom, Hey, why on earth would you guys do that?

And they said, We're gonna forgive you because we've been forgiven.

And the guy broke down and said, Explain this to me.

And they shared the gospel with him and he came to faith.

And his wife said, Man, I'm so mad at you.

You, you, you go live in the guest room.

But they reconciled.

And he said, Yeah, every time we sing anything about forgiveness and about that song about God finding us, he's just undone.

It was three years ago, and he's never gotten over it.

And that little voice inside of me said, When did you get over it, Neil?

When did you so get over the wonder of forgiveness that now you stand in judgment of everyone else around you?

With the uh, I'm just trying to be helpful to everybody.

The next morning at the session, you know, little conference, we sang the song again.

Didn't have new verses.

It's just like, but I sang it differently.

And we were about two rows back from where we were.

That guy was about a row up, and once again, he just kind of got emotional.

And so during the break, we were both following out to go to the bathroom, and I just said, Hey, I said, I just I just wanted to meet you.

And and he said, I'm sorry, I don't want to be distracting.

He said, I just the wonder of forgiveness.

It takes my breath away.

I wanted to say me too, but I didn't mean that.

I just said, and the Holy Spirit's like, You're gonna lie?

Really?

You stood in judgment of that man.

You heard his story last night.

Come on, bro, what are you doing?

I was like, got to my hotel after that first night, clear as the bell, the Holy Spirit's like, here's the deal.

You're Simon the Pharisee, he's the sinful woman.

He's the guy over there with the flag.

By the way, that woman standing behind Jesus at a dinner party, weeping.

I mean, the Greek, the Greek word for he wet his feet is brecho.

It's what they use to describe a thunderstorm.

So she's raining down tears on Jesus' feet.

And look at me.

He doesn't even turn around.

He's just sitting there eating, and they're all like, hello, there's a sinner touching you.

You're not a prophet.

And Jesus' like, not only do I know her, her junk, I know yours as well.

So this is why you have to think about your sinfulness and your actual sin.

Secondly, you have to think about what you deserve for your sin.

And thirdly, and finally, you have to live in a state of forgiveness.

This is where the proportionality of love comes in.

It's important that you not just acknowledge that forgiveness is available, because many people acknowledge that forgiveness is available, but they never experience forgiveness.

And the reason is because they know deep inside they're not done sinning.

They're just not done.

They're just like, hmm.

By the way, this is this is verse 47.

He says, Therefore I tell you, her sins which are many are forgiven, for she loved much.

She didn't love much, and Jesus said, You look like you feel bad, you're crying, I'm gonna forgive you.

No, she was for remember perfect tense?

She was forgiven way back there, and she never got over it.

She finally hears, oh, Jesus is having dinner.

It's Simon's house, and she's like, Shut your mouth.

Are you serious?

She runs home, rips open the closet, moves the boxes out of the way, gets a flask, and goes sprinting down the street.

She comes in, standing, I'm sorry.

Don't let me distract him.

And she just weeps.

She doesn't have any words for him.

If no, notice this the woman never talks.

And she says the most.

She doesn't talk.

Yes, that's somebody fantasizing about me shutting up.

No, that's somebody who gets it.

She doesn't say a word.

She's just like, and she says, look, look at me.

If you couldn't say anything, how would you demonstrate to God that you understand the wonder of forgiveness?

That you're just like, oh Jesus.

Oh man, this is now.

So Jesus doesn't look at him, verse 47, and say, hey, you look like you're really sad, like you're really mean it this time.

You didn't mean it last time, you mean it this time, so I'm gonna give it to you.

No.

She's showing up, not for forgiveness.

Look at me, for gratitude.

Oh, geez, I never got over it.

Oh man.

Woo! I tell you, I've been looking for you for months.

It's not a religious duty we perform.

We don't cry on Jesus and then he measures if we really mean it or not.

These are not tears of sadness, these are tears of gratitude.

And it's the byproduct of these three things.

This is where this kind of extravagant love comes from.

And you only engage in these kinds of behaviors, only when you engage in these kinds of behaviors are you capable of this kind of love.

It happened this past week, by the way.

I got an email uh from a social worker from the Fort Bend ISD, and she said, Hey, Dr.

Matt Sanford at St.

Mark's Episcopal over there at the mental health facility over there.

His daughter, we've got a need at Arizona Fleming Elementary.

There's a single mom with seven kids.

And his Dr.

Stanford's daughter said, Call this church.

They'll do something.

And he got that email, and I said, Oh, I said, I wrote back, what can we do?

I called her.

I said, Hey, what can we do?

What's the situation?

She's got seven kids and she's single.

Now, when I'm going to lunch with my preacher friend, he asked me, Hey, so things slowed down for you during the holidays.

I said, Not really.

I'm like a one-armed paper hanger.

I'm slinging stuff out.

I'm giving away microwaves.

I got to get gifts for something for this.

This mom has seven kids.

And he goes, Seven kids?

I mean, don't you know when to stop?

And I start fantasizing about slowing down about 20 miles an hour and just turning sideways and open the door, just kicking him out.

Wouldn't you love to be driving behind a Ford pickup and see a preacher roll out in the grass?

You're like, oh, there.

Hey kids, look, there's a Pharisee.

He goes, I mean, I'm not hating or anything.

And he goes, What's her story?

I said, I know her story.

My store, her story is it, I would be privileged to hear it, however bad it was.

But it's not about her story, it's about my responsibility and my church's responsibility.

He goes, What do you mean?

I said, We're building a$6.2 million sanctuary.

We can't do something for that family.

My whole church deserves to go to hell.

That's you, by the way.

And I said, God would be justified in sending them all to hell if we didn't do something.

He's like, Well, I mean, you can't help everybody, but I can help this one.

And so the ladies, I said, Well, you know, her name's Robin, that's all I said.

I said, Hey, well, and she said, I said, how about you got seven kids?

How about this?

How about like a$250 gift card to Academy, a$250 gift card to Target, and a$250 gift card to Marshall's?

Because Marshalls, they got it's good stuff, it's it's cheaper.

My wife goes twice a week.

If she doesn't go, they send her a get well card.

It's gotta be good.

And she said, any of those would be great.

And I said, Oh, we're not talking any of those.

I'm not giving you options, I'm talking all of those.

If you take$250 and divide it by seven, you don't get Jack.

And she's like, Oh my gosh.

And I said, That's right.

Absolutely.

Where are you gonna be?

I'll bring it to you on Friday.

I'm gonna be at Arizona Fleming Elementary School, right over here in four corners.

Absolutely.

Walked in, the lady's the desk said, She told me you were coming.

And I said, I am here to set the kingdom down.

What's that in your hand?

It's kingdom goodness.

Ah, this smells like Christmas.

She's like, just have a seat.

We're going home today.

We don't care.

This is the last day before the Christmas break.

Just sit down.

Sit there.

They got security doors everywhere.

She comes out.

She's like, I don't have the word.

Hey, listen, it is our pleasure.

We're so glad to know we can't help everybody, but we can help this.

My buddy, who's a good guy.

He's just he's worked at the church so long, he's forgotten what a sinner he is.

He says, Well, why don't you just get them some toys?

I said, Why don't I just buy your kids toys?

What kind of a moron are you?

And again, I'm available to go to lunch this week.

I know it's Christmas.

He goes, Well, I mean, I mean, it's just, I said, Yes, loving people's inconvenient, isn't it?

And I said, I want to bestow the dignity on this mom of picking out her own kids' presents.

I mean, what's she gonna do with those gift cards?

She might sell them and buy crack.

You never know.

He's like, Man, I don't think this is going well.

No, I don't want to be like you.

And then he said, Well, are you gonna get in trouble?

Don't you have to fill out a check request?

I said, That's Wade Burgess's job.

He goes, What?

I said, he codes everything.

He's got numbers, and we're gonna charge this to that, and that, that, be, be, be, be.

I don't, I don't know, just willy-nilly go handed money out.

But when the school calls and says, Hey, this people said that perhaps your church would help because you've helped people in the past, absolinking lutely we will help.

It's just like, oh, oh.

So you're not gonna get in trouble?

Oh, I would like to get in trouble.

I would like to get fired for that.

Wouldn't that be great?

Oh, you gave some people some gift cards for Christmas so they could bless their seven children, a single mom, you wicked sinner.

Well, now you're making fun of me.

No, I've been making fun of you all along.

And he goes, I mean, how do you get away with that?

Now, here's what you need to not miss.

He's at a church where they've got to account for every little paperclip.

And I was like, What do you mean?

How do I get away?

You act like I'm murdering people and burying them in the back in the playground up back.

I didn't get away with no, no.

I said, here's what you need to understand.

I I I've worked hard for 16 years now for our church not to be like Simon the Pharisee in Luke chapter 7.

Luke 7 · chapter mention

My church is full of people that are like the sinful woman.

We got like a tootie fruity bottle of body splash from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Where's the Oh, thank you, Jesus?

Oh, I remember when I was not who I am today, and I'm not, it doesn't have power over me, but I know what a hot mess I used to be before Jesus found me.

And I got forgiven for all of that.

Who are we to stand in judgment of them?

He's like, So, how do you let your church know that you did this?

I said, That's a good idea.

I think I'll tell them on Sunday.

So, here's my confession, and we're done.

I took$750 that whoever you are put in one of these boxes over here and bought that lady gift cards.

Then that's like a great idea.

A bunch of damnable wretches like you that deserve hell, but instead you get heaven and you get forgiveness, and you get a house you didn't deserve and a truck that smells like leather.

Is God good or what?

And so he said, So you're gonna tell.

I said, I wasn't.

I we don't like to, I'm not bragging about, I'll tell you, yeah.

So if you're visiting today, we're not a perfect church, I couldn't be the pastor.

But we want to bless our community when we have as we have opportunity and the capacity.

We don't want to just build buildings and say, eh, sinners stay out.

No, real sinners come.

Big, fat, honking sinners.

Welcome here.

I still keep telling the elders, every elder meeting, I want one of those yellow signs with an arrow on top that points, put it out there by the road, and it says, real sinners live every Sunday.

And proof positive, I don't always get my way.

The sign's not up yet.

And they just shake their head, what do you mean?

You know, kind of like snake farm, you know, like real sinners, snake farm.

No, Ray Wiley Hubbard, never mind.

Anyway, yeah, that would encourage people.

Instead, we've got a sign out there that says Christmas Eve services 4 and 5:30.

Real life sinners, Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, yes, yes, Democrats.

Come on down, yes, because here's the thing, and I'm done, believe it or not.

You're one of these two people in your heart and in your behavior.

You're Simon the Pharisee.

Ah, well, if Jesus was really a prophet, he'd know what kind of a skinky woman's touching him right now.

Miserable! He's a sicker.

Or you're the sinful woman who got forgiven and never got over it.

I'm really not generous.

I just never got over being forgiven.

And consistently I ponder my depravity and all the things I've gotten forgiven for.

And I'm just like, this is unbelievable.

And it is a constant source of perspective and motivation, and that's why I talked to you about the proportionality of love on this fourth Sunday of Advent.

Because I want you to be like the sinful woman, not living in fear of people knowing.

The whole town knew, everybody knew her reputation.

And Jesus said, Hey, by the way, I want you to know I've changed her, and so you can change what you think about her and her reputation.

And so, if there's any real sinners in here and you've never been changed, the God of the Bible has the capacity, has the grace to accept you as you are, and the power to change you into who the Bible says you can be.

Let's pray together.

If you're a guest, we like to teach the Bible and then we like to think about the Bible.

And so I'll pray a brief prayer.

Some questions come up on the screen.

You don't have to try to write them down.

You can take a picture on your phone or whatever, but let's just spend a few minutes just thinking to the glory of God.

Father, thank you for the gospel that it's jagged and textured and sharp and it cuts through all our religious nonsense and gets down to the get down.

Or as Hebrew says, it pierces to the dividing asunder of joints and marrow and becomes a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Our heart is where we stand in judgment of other people, our heart is where we're really a racist.

Our heart is where we think we're sometimes superior to other people.

And so it's most like God, you say the Bible's so sharp, it gets down to your heart.

And so, Lord, our hearts are open before you today.

We do not want to be the Pharisee, we want to be the forgiven woman.

Now, Holy Spirit, brood over us while we think about that.

God, we're thankful today that you're not like the dog catcher.

You're not going around with a net trying to try to gather up strays and punish them.

You're like the ice cream man.

You got a speaker on top of that thing, and you're announcing that good news is here.

Forgiveness is real and it's available and it tastes good.

That's why the Bible says, Taste and see that the Lord is good.

So, Lord, because we've been forgiven and we understand our depravity.

That's not our identity, but it we lived there at one time, and we've not forgotten.

We're so overwhelmed that you loved us and forgave us, and you keep loving us and keep forgiving us.

Let that make us more loving people.

Not all our tips and techniques and all our behavior modification.

We leave all that to BF Skinner.

We come to God and gospel for the motivation we need to be the people we are.

We say thank you for that in Jesus' name.

And everyone said, Amen.

Amen.

If you're a guest today, and we say thanks for being here, you're always welcome, okay?

You're always welcome.

If you have any questions about anything you saw or heard today, some of our pastors will be available down front.

We'd love to meet you, learn your name, and answer your questions, or pray with you if we can, okay?

All we ask of you as our guests is you pull in those cards, those guest cards in the seat back pocket in your row, fill it out, and then just drop it in the wooden box by the door on your way out, okay?

That's also where we receive our offering.

So if you consider this your church, and today's the day you worship God through obedience or generosity, uh uh that's where you take care of that as well.

All right.

We like to uh conclude our service with a spoken blessing.

So if you would stand to your feet, hold your hands out if you're comfortable.

If not, do it anyway.

Aren't you glad?

Aren't you glad you got caught in that reckless raging fury that is the love of God?

He caught you not to punish you, but to set you free.

Be free now in the reckless raging fury that is the love of God.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Bless you.