How Hungry Are You? – A
How Hungry Are You? – A
Luke 7:36-50
To hunger after the things of God is a very personal longing. We’ll want to bring Him our very best, and give Him our all. Nothing can satisfy us more than a personal relationship with the Lord.
To hunger after the things of God is a very personal longing. We’ll want to bring Him our very best, and give Him our all. Nothing can satisfy us more than a personal relationship with the Lord.
Chapter this morning.
Luke chapter 7 verses 36-50 in our time in the word of God this morning together.
And the title of the message is, how hungry are you?
How hungry are you for the things of God?
When a baby is born, when a baby is brought forth into the world, the health of that child is often determined upon that child’s appetite.
You can always tell when someone’s not feeling well because they won’t be hungry when someone is sick or they don’t want to eat.
But the question this morning is how hungry are you and the things of spiritual development regarding the Lord.
And I want to really have you consider that. How hungry are you? And I cannot answer that for you.
You cannot answer it for me. You know, I stand alone on that, on that question.
I stand alone before God and I can only answer for me regarding that question.
How hungry am I for the things of God?
You cannot this morning be here and say, well, I will just draw off my friend’s hunger for the Lord.
That’s impossible. Can’t do that. Is your husband more hungry for God than you are.
Is it your wife that’s more hungry for God than you are?
What about your kids or your parents? Are they more hungry for God than you are?
The Bible tells us over and over again.
And Jesus said it in the great sermon on the mount revealing the nature and characteristic of the true believer in Christ, that there’s a longing for the things of God and a longing for the Kingdom of God.
And when he spoke in the sermon on the mound, he was speaking about those who long for the kingdom life.
And I’m wondering if that’s us this morning to really long for the things of God.
There’s so much out there in the world pressing upon us to have us long for those things.
It could be the Madison Avenue hype or the things of the latest show or whatever is going on.
But the world would have you to lust for the things of the world.
And yet God would have you to lust for the things of Him.
That word lust, meaning a strong passion and undeniable hunger. We all lust for something.
But is it the things of God?
And Jesus said in Matthew five verse six, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.
And Christian, that’s the challenge this morning as we see this wonderful event that is before us.
In Luke chapter seven verse 36 follow along with me in our Bibles together there, it says verse 36.
Then one of the Pharisees asked him, Jesus to eat with him and he went to the Pharisee’s house and he sat down to eat and behold a woman of the city who was a sinner.
When she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an Alabaster flask of fragrant oil and stood at his feet behind him weeping and she began to wash his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and she kissed his feet and anointed him with the fragrant oil.
Now, when the Pharisees who had invited him, who saw this, he spoke to himself, noticed the Pharisees thinking in his mind, this man, if he were a prophet would know who and what manner of woman this is, who’s touching him for.
She is a sinner. And Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you.
And he said, teacher say it.
There was a certain creditor who had two debtors, one owed him 500 or 500 dane and the other 50.
And when he had nothing with which to repay, he freely gave forgave them both tell me therefore, which of them will love him the more.
And Simon answered and said, I suppose the one whom he forgave the most.
And he said to him, you have rightly judged.
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, do you see this woman?
I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet.
But she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
You gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in.
You did not anoint my head with oil. But this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil.
Therefore, I say to you her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven.
The same loves little. And he said to her, your sins are forgiven.
And those who sat at the table with Jesus began to say to themselves, who is this?
Who, who even forgives sins? Then he said to the woman, your faith has saved you go in peace.
That’s a great story. Wouldn’t you love to see this happen?
I tell you, you’d love to see it happen.
If you could see yourself as this woman saw herself, then you would love to see this happen.
You say, well, Jack, I kind of get the drift here in the message that what we just read.
This ain’t a good lady. You’re exactly right about that.
In fact, we’ll see in a moment that she is a notorious sinner.
The word means in the Greek, everybody knew who she was but what she did.
But this is a wonderful story.
If you can see yourself in need of what she is in need of. It’s not a good story.
If you view yourself as someone who loves little, you don’t need to love much the things of God.
You don’t have to hunger much for the things of God because frankly, it’s not that big of a deal, the things of God, you believe in them, but it’s not an urgency.
So how hungry are you? Now? I know it’s for service.
You guys probably ate this morning or you’ll eat after afterward. You’re quite content.
In fact, look at you, you had an extra hour of sleep today and I’m quite fine.
Thank you. And, but listen, how hungry are you?
And Jesus said, for those who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, there’s nothing that can fill them and satisfy them.
But the very presence of God, the things of God.
Number one in our study this morning, jot it down Bible student. If you would.
It’s in verses 36 to 38 asking the question, how hungry are you hungry enough to want to be with Jesus?
Is that how hungry you are? Number one, hungry enough to want to be with Jesus.
And I’m asking you this morning to divorce yourself from all the preconceived notions and judgments about who Jesus is.
That’s this woman had to do. And that’s what this pharisee could not do right now.
This morning, this message will fall into your lap and you will have to decide, are you like this woman or are you like this pharisee?
I’m happy to tell you that I want to be just like this woman because as we look to this enough to want to be with Jesus church, it is high time that ministries, pulpits and Christians announce the urgency of Christ and the need for him in our lives.
There is nothing that is going to satisfy us in this life. Nothing.
And we begin to think that something could be, maybe something will satisfy me.
Maybe it’s pleasure or maybe it’s achievement or maybe it’s our education or maybe it’s this, that or the other.
Not. So how so number one hungry enough to be with Jesus, jot it down then invite him into your life.
That’s what we see taking place here this morning.
There’s an invitation by a pharisee to bring Jesus into his house.
And yet that very pharisee misses the true encounter with God. It says in verse 36.
Then one of the Pharisees, oh, will you mark that bible student?
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him and Jesus went to the Pharisees house and sat down to eat.
Number one, it’s not the point, but number one is precious to me.
Jesus goes personally, I would not have gone. Why? Because I’m not Jesus.
I would have been angry at the Pharisees. You guys have been going through this Luke study with us.
Have you not seen the consistent rejection of the Pharisees regarding the miracles and the message of Jesus all along the way, constantly refusing him, constantly challenging him, constantly making it hard for him.
All of a sudden there is a pharisee who is one of them.
Oh, this is not a Nicodemus type moment.
This pharisee we strongly believe from the way the message is given And the parable that Jesus offers to the pharisee, we understand that this pharisee is one that has set up a situation.
And you’re going to say, well, Jack, that’s reading a lot into it, isn’t it? Not at all?
When you begin to understand the context of what we’re looking at, he invites Jesus into his house, but there’s something that both happens and doesn’t happen.
This is none other than a convenient invitation about a man who may be a curious about Jesus or B setting Jesus up.
Something is going on here.
This man will either come to faith in Christ or reject Christ and God who knows all things is working in this, so to speak, convenient invitation.
And so Jesus goes, yes, the food is there and the fire is going and the imitation has been given.
But there seems to be a cynical curiosity about Jesus Christ in the heart in the life of this pharisee.
And so when we talk about being hungry enough to be with Jesus number one, it begins with an invitation.
Listen, you may be here this morning.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you if it’s your first time here.
You may have been invited here today or you may have just come here today.
And I want to ask you, don’t answer, but I want to ask you in your heart, why have you come?
I hope it has nothing to do with me or the worship group or this place.
I hope it has nothing to do with that.
I hope it has everything to do with Jesus, the man, Jesus, the savior.
I hope it has everything to do with the fact that you find yourself this morning hungry and thirsting though.
Maybe you haven’t put it into those words.
You want to know the things of God or on the other side, it would be that you feel, you know what?
I just need to add this to my life.
I spoke to a man last week in Washington DC who said he was a Christian.
Actually, he didn’t even say that he said he was a follower of Christ.
And I assumed for a moment, I made that mistake. I assumed for a moment that he was a Christian.
I said, how, how is it that you came to the Lord?
And he said, well, I was born and raised and a lifelong Buddhist.
And a lot of people asked me, well, didn’t I have to give up so much to come to Christ.
He never mentioned the name Jesus by the way, but it was come to Messiah, come to Christ and he said, I didn’t have to give anything up in Buddhism to come to Christ.
I just added Christ into my life and that caused me to be a little bit uncomfortable.
He has kept his Buddhism, but he’s just added Christ.
Maybe you’re an atheist this morning or you’re an agnostic or you’re this or that, hey, maybe you’ve been to Calvary Chapel all your life and that’s what you’re trusting in.
But now you’ve decided to add Jesus. Wait a minute. It’s Jesus first, not Jesus second. It’s Jesus first.
He’s not an add on. He’s not a module. He’s not a convenient download.
He’s not sign up and get, you know, an automatic upgrade.
Jesus changes lives and he takes us and he starts all over a fresh ane, but it begins with an invitation.
So, how hungry are, are we this morning for spiritual things?
Is it enough to invite him into our lives?
So, we’ve got this situation where it’s very beautiful and yet very frightening.
We have an official man, a religious man inviting Jesus into his house.
This invitation is going to be crashed by a woman who was not invited.
And yet at the end, she comes out the winner and the one who gave invitation comes out to be the loser.
We need to be very careful. You know, we’re nearing Christmas again.
You always get into, have you noticed it must be close to Halloween because all the Christmas displays are up, the magazines are going to come out soon.
You guys get ready. They’re drawing them up right now. There’s no doubt about it.
Their articles are being written, Jesus Christ and Christmas. The topic is going to be everywhere.
And can we say Merry Christmas?
Is it going to be legal again to say it in certain areas or a store is going to display Christmas stuff or is it happy?
Everything else? And as I put that for to you this morning, I’m wondering to invite Jesus Christ into your life.
We are approaching the season when it is the most wonderful time to consider inviting Christ into your life.
I was listening yesterday, literally putting this message together and finalizing it and I had background music playing in my house.
It was a great moment. Everybody was gone.
The dogs were sleeping and I had this classical music playing in the background and then the computer changed and went to a different mode of music and you know what it did, it went into Christmas music and I started playing Christmas songs and I paused for a moment because I heard the little star in Bethlehem and this guy singing this song and I listened about our Savior being born and this guy is not a Christian, he’s just singing good old traditional Christmas songs about Jesus being born, who crushed Satan’s power and has given us life.
And we receive this morning this great day, our Savior Christ, the Lord. This is a secular song.
It’s a Christmas jingle and Dean Martin singing it.
And I thought this morning or that morning yesterday, how somebody would want to rush in and now cancel that song.
He said, I wonder what Dean Martin would think about that. Ok.
Dean Martin could care less. What does God think about that?
Oh, we want God, come on in God. We just want God our way we interpret.
We will translate what God ought to look and ought to be like. But listen, not.
So Jesus is here, Jesus is everywhere you go and He’s waiting.
If you have not yet invited him into your life, he’s waiting for you to say, come on in Jesus.
And it’s listen, necessary to be the Jesus of the Bible, not the Jesus I make up or the Jesus you might make up.
It’s the Jesus that invites people to come in. Look at verse 37.
Are we hungry enough to be with Jesus? If that’s true.
If we say yes, I am Jack, then bring him your best.
We should be bringing God our very best.
And it says in verse 37, behold a woman in that city who was a sinner.
Can you circle that I love this?
She is a sinner when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house.
She brought an alabaster flash of fragrant oil. We could go in many directions in this verse.
We’ll stick with one. And it is this, this woman is a notorious sinner. She’s well known.
She’s a heavyweight sinner. She’s well known according to the construction of this word and the usage of the words.
She is a notorious sinner. Everybody knows who she is.
And it is from this portion of the Bible that we understand that she is probably there’s a high probability that she is either a, a prostitute or she is someone who just gives sex away.
We don’t know. But it’s from this verse, that tradition for the last 2000 years has caused us to understand that she was involved in sexual immorality and she brings her alabaster’s fast.
What is that? Very quickly? It is a very, very beautiful ornate fragile vase or a container.
Take if you would in your mind’s eye, a Coca Cola bottle and heat, heat it up at the neck and stretch it out like a glass blower.
Might stretch out that glass and you can almost see through the neck of that glass stretch so thin and then it’s a little bit wider at the top.
That’s exactly what it looks like.
It’s very fragile and that’s where she would store her fragrant perfume or oil.
That was a very, very costly thing which she would, if wanted to, would use for her wedding some day if she ever chose to get married.
But who would marry a prostitute and if she’s not a prostitute, then who would marry a girl who’s very, very loose.
But she has this thing and by the way, she could pour out of that flask ointment to sell.
It’s very lucrative. This is her bank account. Are you with me? Everybody. This is her thing.
This is where she saves the money paid in ointments that cannot be traced.
You know, from her night time or day time encounters, this is her wealth and she brings it to Jesus.
Her wages, her income, her ill gut and gain is stored in that bottle. Everybody knows this.
We would call it today a corrupt money or sinful money, tainted money.
So here’s this woman. She is dirty and she’s got dirty money, so to speak in this little vial.
But look at verse 38, she not only comes to Jesus and bringing him her best, but she comes to give all.
She stands verse 38 at his feet behind him.
Picture this weeping and she began to wash his feet with her tears and wipe them with the hair of her head and she kissed his feet and anointed them with fragrant oil.
Now, listen, everybody let me have your attention. Doesn’t this sound awesome? It’s beautiful. Wow.
What an amazing moment. I need to worship Jesus like this.
I need to approach him and worship and see myself like this.
I don’t have that long hair to let down.
But, and I don’t often cry if ever in worship.
I don’t carry any perfume with me.
She comes and she brings all that she can muster.
She’s got what she’s worked for. She’s got what she has in her heart by emotion.
She’s got her body, her hair, her tears, her hands, she comes with all to give her love and adoration unto Jesus Christ.
Do you know him like that? Do you know him? Do you say this morning? I love him.
Do you love him like that? Do I love him like this enough to give all?
There’s a great contrast in what’s taking place here, Simon the pharisee.
We say we’ll see that that is his name. We know that from reading it.
And this woman, by the way, note this, this woman comes in and does all this now watch this.
She is giving him her all. Did Simon give Jesus his all in fact, get a load of this.
None of the common hospitality that were not only acceptable but required in that culture were offered to Jesus.
In our story, the customary kiss on the cheek.
Jesus didn’t get one, the customary washing of the feet before dinner.
Jesus didn’t get one and listen when you came into someone’s home in that part of the world at that time, after all that was done.
You greeted them with that kiss and you had their feet washed, your servants would wash their feet.
You gave them perfume to anoint them so that the table would smell wonderful in this gathering of friends.
Jesus got nothing. You know what you don’t read in this.
It’s a parent that when Jesus says you didn’t do this for me, she did Simon. You didn’t.
Jesus is not complaining. He doesn’t need Simon’s offer church. Listen, I don’t mean to offend us.
I say us, Jesus doesn’t need our offering either. He would like it. It would bless him.
It’s precious. But do you and I care enough to give it to him.
Simon would have had to given it to every one of his guests at the table for them to be seated.
That’s the point that is so hurtful in my mind.
Everyone sitting there has been treated with high honor except one Jesus and yet he’s the guest of honor because you know who he is.
Simon had seen his miracle. Simon had heard his message and yet there is this blatant omitting of Jesus being blessed and serviced by the servants of Simon.
Do you hear this? Everyone, do you see this?
There’s something very, very nasty going on before us and it has nothing to do with this lady.
It is a stark contrast of who is hungering for God and who’s playing with God.
He doesn’t offer him any of the common courtesies.
Pastor and bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on real Life radio with his message called, how hungry are you?
We’re so glad you joined us today. You know, how hungry are you?
As part of Pastor Jack’s series called The Gospel of Luke, a series on the book of Luke and the unveiling of Jesus Christ to this world.
And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
My friends as we are now, just as it were our days into the new Year.
Let’s just make sure we do what I’m about to do with you for the entire year ahead. Ok?
And it’s this Lord, your Bible tells us in Psalms 65 11 that you crown the year with your goodness and all of your paths drip with abundance.
So father, we ask you now that you would bless every husband, every wife in their relationship, together, every son and daughter.
We pray that you bless grandparents, extended family.
God that you might pour out upon this nation, a revival in the word of God among your people.
And if that happens, there will be an awakening among the lost in this world and in this country.
So God, we pray, we ask you to use us this year as we dedicate ourselves to you in every way.
Lord, we want to leave certain things behind us, never
Luke chapter 7 verses 36-50 in our time in the word of God this morning together.
And the title of the message is, how hungry are you?
How hungry are you for the things of God?
When a baby is born, when a baby is brought forth into the world, the health of that child is often determined upon that child’s appetite.
You can always tell when someone’s not feeling well because they won’t be hungry when someone is sick or they don’t want to eat.
But the question this morning is how hungry are you and the things of spiritual development regarding the Lord.
And I want to really have you consider that. How hungry are you? And I cannot answer that for you.
You cannot answer it for me. You know, I stand alone on that, on that question.
I stand alone before God and I can only answer for me regarding that question.
How hungry am I for the things of God?
You cannot this morning be here and say, well, I will just draw off my friend’s hunger for the Lord.
That’s impossible. Can’t do that. Is your husband more hungry for God than you are.
Is it your wife that’s more hungry for God than you are?
What about your kids or your parents? Are they more hungry for God than you are?
The Bible tells us over and over again.
And Jesus said it in the great sermon on the mount revealing the nature and characteristic of the true believer in Christ, that there’s a longing for the things of God and a longing for the Kingdom of God.
And when he spoke in the sermon on the mound, he was speaking about those who long for the kingdom life.
And I’m wondering if that’s us this morning to really long for the things of God.
There’s so much out there in the world pressing upon us to have us long for those things.
It could be the Madison Avenue hype or the things of the latest show or whatever is going on.
But the world would have you to lust for the things of the world.
And yet God would have you to lust for the things of Him.
That word lust, meaning a strong passion and undeniable hunger. We all lust for something.
But is it the things of God?
And Jesus said in Matthew five verse six, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled.
And Christian, that’s the challenge this morning as we see this wonderful event that is before us.
In Luke chapter seven verse 36 follow along with me in our Bibles together there, it says verse 36.
Then one of the Pharisees asked him, Jesus to eat with him and he went to the Pharisee’s house and he sat down to eat and behold a woman of the city who was a sinner.
When she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an Alabaster flask of fragrant oil and stood at his feet behind him weeping and she began to wash his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and she kissed his feet and anointed him with the fragrant oil.
Now, when the Pharisees who had invited him, who saw this, he spoke to himself, noticed the Pharisees thinking in his mind, this man, if he were a prophet would know who and what manner of woman this is, who’s touching him for.
She is a sinner. And Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you.
And he said, teacher say it.
There was a certain creditor who had two debtors, one owed him 500 or 500 dane and the other 50.
And when he had nothing with which to repay, he freely gave forgave them both tell me therefore, which of them will love him the more.
And Simon answered and said, I suppose the one whom he forgave the most.
And he said to him, you have rightly judged.
Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, do you see this woman?
I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet.
But she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.
You gave me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss my feet since the time I came in.
You did not anoint my head with oil. But this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil.
Therefore, I say to you her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven.
The same loves little. And he said to her, your sins are forgiven.
And those who sat at the table with Jesus began to say to themselves, who is this?
Who, who even forgives sins? Then he said to the woman, your faith has saved you go in peace.
That’s a great story. Wouldn’t you love to see this happen?
I tell you, you’d love to see it happen.
If you could see yourself as this woman saw herself, then you would love to see this happen.
You say, well, Jack, I kind of get the drift here in the message that what we just read.
This ain’t a good lady. You’re exactly right about that.
In fact, we’ll see in a moment that she is a notorious sinner.
The word means in the Greek, everybody knew who she was but what she did.
But this is a wonderful story.
If you can see yourself in need of what she is in need of. It’s not a good story.
If you view yourself as someone who loves little, you don’t need to love much the things of God.
You don’t have to hunger much for the things of God because frankly, it’s not that big of a deal, the things of God, you believe in them, but it’s not an urgency.
So how hungry are you? Now? I know it’s for service.
You guys probably ate this morning or you’ll eat after afterward. You’re quite content.
In fact, look at you, you had an extra hour of sleep today and I’m quite fine.
Thank you. And, but listen, how hungry are you?
And Jesus said, for those who are hungering and thirsting for righteousness, there’s nothing that can fill them and satisfy them.
But the very presence of God, the things of God.
Number one in our study this morning, jot it down Bible student. If you would.
It’s in verses 36 to 38 asking the question, how hungry are you hungry enough to want to be with Jesus?
Is that how hungry you are? Number one, hungry enough to want to be with Jesus.
And I’m asking you this morning to divorce yourself from all the preconceived notions and judgments about who Jesus is.
That’s this woman had to do. And that’s what this pharisee could not do right now.
This morning, this message will fall into your lap and you will have to decide, are you like this woman or are you like this pharisee?
I’m happy to tell you that I want to be just like this woman because as we look to this enough to want to be with Jesus church, it is high time that ministries, pulpits and Christians announce the urgency of Christ and the need for him in our lives.
There is nothing that is going to satisfy us in this life. Nothing.
And we begin to think that something could be, maybe something will satisfy me.
Maybe it’s pleasure or maybe it’s achievement or maybe it’s our education or maybe it’s this, that or the other.
Not. So how so number one hungry enough to be with Jesus, jot it down then invite him into your life.
That’s what we see taking place here this morning.
There’s an invitation by a pharisee to bring Jesus into his house.
And yet that very pharisee misses the true encounter with God. It says in verse 36.
Then one of the Pharisees, oh, will you mark that bible student?
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him and Jesus went to the Pharisees house and sat down to eat.
Number one, it’s not the point, but number one is precious to me.
Jesus goes personally, I would not have gone. Why? Because I’m not Jesus.
I would have been angry at the Pharisees. You guys have been going through this Luke study with us.
Have you not seen the consistent rejection of the Pharisees regarding the miracles and the message of Jesus all along the way, constantly refusing him, constantly challenging him, constantly making it hard for him.
All of a sudden there is a pharisee who is one of them.
Oh, this is not a Nicodemus type moment.
This pharisee we strongly believe from the way the message is given And the parable that Jesus offers to the pharisee, we understand that this pharisee is one that has set up a situation.
And you’re going to say, well, Jack, that’s reading a lot into it, isn’t it? Not at all?
When you begin to understand the context of what we’re looking at, he invites Jesus into his house, but there’s something that both happens and doesn’t happen.
This is none other than a convenient invitation about a man who may be a curious about Jesus or B setting Jesus up.
Something is going on here.
This man will either come to faith in Christ or reject Christ and God who knows all things is working in this, so to speak, convenient invitation.
And so Jesus goes, yes, the food is there and the fire is going and the imitation has been given.
But there seems to be a cynical curiosity about Jesus Christ in the heart in the life of this pharisee.
And so when we talk about being hungry enough to be with Jesus number one, it begins with an invitation.
Listen, you may be here this morning.
Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you if it’s your first time here.
You may have been invited here today or you may have just come here today.
And I want to ask you, don’t answer, but I want to ask you in your heart, why have you come?
I hope it has nothing to do with me or the worship group or this place.
I hope it has nothing to do with that.
I hope it has everything to do with Jesus, the man, Jesus, the savior.
I hope it has everything to do with the fact that you find yourself this morning hungry and thirsting though.
Maybe you haven’t put it into those words.
You want to know the things of God or on the other side, it would be that you feel, you know what?
I just need to add this to my life.
I spoke to a man last week in Washington DC who said he was a Christian.
Actually, he didn’t even say that he said he was a follower of Christ.
And I assumed for a moment, I made that mistake. I assumed for a moment that he was a Christian.
I said, how, how is it that you came to the Lord?
And he said, well, I was born and raised and a lifelong Buddhist.
And a lot of people asked me, well, didn’t I have to give up so much to come to Christ.
He never mentioned the name Jesus by the way, but it was come to Messiah, come to Christ and he said, I didn’t have to give anything up in Buddhism to come to Christ.
I just added Christ into my life and that caused me to be a little bit uncomfortable.
He has kept his Buddhism, but he’s just added Christ.
Maybe you’re an atheist this morning or you’re an agnostic or you’re this or that, hey, maybe you’ve been to Calvary Chapel all your life and that’s what you’re trusting in.
But now you’ve decided to add Jesus. Wait a minute. It’s Jesus first, not Jesus second. It’s Jesus first.
He’s not an add on. He’s not a module. He’s not a convenient download.
He’s not sign up and get, you know, an automatic upgrade.
Jesus changes lives and he takes us and he starts all over a fresh ane, but it begins with an invitation.
So, how hungry are, are we this morning for spiritual things?
Is it enough to invite him into our lives?
So, we’ve got this situation where it’s very beautiful and yet very frightening.
We have an official man, a religious man inviting Jesus into his house.
This invitation is going to be crashed by a woman who was not invited.
And yet at the end, she comes out the winner and the one who gave invitation comes out to be the loser.
We need to be very careful. You know, we’re nearing Christmas again.
You always get into, have you noticed it must be close to Halloween because all the Christmas displays are up, the magazines are going to come out soon.
You guys get ready. They’re drawing them up right now. There’s no doubt about it.
Their articles are being written, Jesus Christ and Christmas. The topic is going to be everywhere.
And can we say Merry Christmas?
Is it going to be legal again to say it in certain areas or a store is going to display Christmas stuff or is it happy?
Everything else? And as I put that for to you this morning, I’m wondering to invite Jesus Christ into your life.
We are approaching the season when it is the most wonderful time to consider inviting Christ into your life.
I was listening yesterday, literally putting this message together and finalizing it and I had background music playing in my house.
It was a great moment. Everybody was gone.
The dogs were sleeping and I had this classical music playing in the background and then the computer changed and went to a different mode of music and you know what it did, it went into Christmas music and I started playing Christmas songs and I paused for a moment because I heard the little star in Bethlehem and this guy singing this song and I listened about our Savior being born and this guy is not a Christian, he’s just singing good old traditional Christmas songs about Jesus being born, who crushed Satan’s power and has given us life.
And we receive this morning this great day, our Savior Christ, the Lord. This is a secular song.
It’s a Christmas jingle and Dean Martin singing it.
And I thought this morning or that morning yesterday, how somebody would want to rush in and now cancel that song.
He said, I wonder what Dean Martin would think about that. Ok.
Dean Martin could care less. What does God think about that?
Oh, we want God, come on in God. We just want God our way we interpret.
We will translate what God ought to look and ought to be like. But listen, not.
So Jesus is here, Jesus is everywhere you go and He’s waiting.
If you have not yet invited him into your life, he’s waiting for you to say, come on in Jesus.
And it’s listen, necessary to be the Jesus of the Bible, not the Jesus I make up or the Jesus you might make up.
It’s the Jesus that invites people to come in. Look at verse 37.
Are we hungry enough to be with Jesus? If that’s true.
If we say yes, I am Jack, then bring him your best.
We should be bringing God our very best.
And it says in verse 37, behold a woman in that city who was a sinner.
Can you circle that I love this?
She is a sinner when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house.
She brought an alabaster flash of fragrant oil. We could go in many directions in this verse.
We’ll stick with one. And it is this, this woman is a notorious sinner. She’s well known.
She’s a heavyweight sinner. She’s well known according to the construction of this word and the usage of the words.
She is a notorious sinner. Everybody knows who she is.
And it is from this portion of the Bible that we understand that she is probably there’s a high probability that she is either a, a prostitute or she is someone who just gives sex away.
We don’t know. But it’s from this verse, that tradition for the last 2000 years has caused us to understand that she was involved in sexual immorality and she brings her alabaster’s fast.
What is that? Very quickly? It is a very, very beautiful ornate fragile vase or a container.
Take if you would in your mind’s eye, a Coca Cola bottle and heat, heat it up at the neck and stretch it out like a glass blower.
Might stretch out that glass and you can almost see through the neck of that glass stretch so thin and then it’s a little bit wider at the top.
That’s exactly what it looks like.
It’s very fragile and that’s where she would store her fragrant perfume or oil.
That was a very, very costly thing which she would, if wanted to, would use for her wedding some day if she ever chose to get married.
But who would marry a prostitute and if she’s not a prostitute, then who would marry a girl who’s very, very loose.
But she has this thing and by the way, she could pour out of that flask ointment to sell.
It’s very lucrative. This is her bank account. Are you with me? Everybody. This is her thing.
This is where she saves the money paid in ointments that cannot be traced.
You know, from her night time or day time encounters, this is her wealth and she brings it to Jesus.
Her wages, her income, her ill gut and gain is stored in that bottle. Everybody knows this.
We would call it today a corrupt money or sinful money, tainted money.
So here’s this woman. She is dirty and she’s got dirty money, so to speak in this little vial.
But look at verse 38, she not only comes to Jesus and bringing him her best, but she comes to give all.
She stands verse 38 at his feet behind him.
Picture this weeping and she began to wash his feet with her tears and wipe them with the hair of her head and she kissed his feet and anointed them with fragrant oil.
Now, listen, everybody let me have your attention. Doesn’t this sound awesome? It’s beautiful. Wow.
What an amazing moment. I need to worship Jesus like this.
I need to approach him and worship and see myself like this.
I don’t have that long hair to let down.
But, and I don’t often cry if ever in worship.
I don’t carry any perfume with me.
She comes and she brings all that she can muster.
She’s got what she’s worked for. She’s got what she has in her heart by emotion.
She’s got her body, her hair, her tears, her hands, she comes with all to give her love and adoration unto Jesus Christ.
Do you know him like that? Do you know him? Do you say this morning? I love him.
Do you love him like that? Do I love him like this enough to give all?
There’s a great contrast in what’s taking place here, Simon the pharisee.
We say we’ll see that that is his name. We know that from reading it.
And this woman, by the way, note this, this woman comes in and does all this now watch this.
She is giving him her all. Did Simon give Jesus his all in fact, get a load of this.
None of the common hospitality that were not only acceptable but required in that culture were offered to Jesus.
In our story, the customary kiss on the cheek.
Jesus didn’t get one, the customary washing of the feet before dinner.
Jesus didn’t get one and listen when you came into someone’s home in that part of the world at that time, after all that was done.
You greeted them with that kiss and you had their feet washed, your servants would wash their feet.
You gave them perfume to anoint them so that the table would smell wonderful in this gathering of friends.
Jesus got nothing. You know what you don’t read in this.
It’s a parent that when Jesus says you didn’t do this for me, she did Simon. You didn’t.
Jesus is not complaining. He doesn’t need Simon’s offer church. Listen, I don’t mean to offend us.
I say us, Jesus doesn’t need our offering either. He would like it. It would bless him.
It’s precious. But do you and I care enough to give it to him.
Simon would have had to given it to every one of his guests at the table for them to be seated.
That’s the point that is so hurtful in my mind.
Everyone sitting there has been treated with high honor except one Jesus and yet he’s the guest of honor because you know who he is.
Simon had seen his miracle. Simon had heard his message and yet there is this blatant omitting of Jesus being blessed and serviced by the servants of Simon.
Do you hear this? Everyone, do you see this?
There’s something very, very nasty going on before us and it has nothing to do with this lady.
It is a stark contrast of who is hungering for God and who’s playing with God.
He doesn’t offer him any of the common courtesies.
Pastor and bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on real Life radio with his message called, how hungry are you?
We’re so glad you joined us today. You know, how hungry are you?
As part of Pastor Jack’s series called The Gospel of Luke, a series on the book of Luke and the unveiling of Jesus Christ to this world.
And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
My friends as we are now, just as it were our days into the new Year.
Let’s just make sure we do what I’m about to do with you for the entire year ahead. Ok?
And it’s this Lord, your Bible tells us in Psalms 65 11 that you crown the year with your goodness and all of your paths drip with abundance.
So father, we ask you now that you would bless every husband, every wife in their relationship, together, every son and daughter.
We pray that you bless grandparents, extended family.
God that you might pour out upon this nation, a revival in the word of God among your people.
And if that happens, there will be an awakening among the lost in this world and in this country.
So God, we pray, we ask you to use us this year as we dedicate ourselves to you in every way.
Lord, we want to leave certain things behind us, never
