Unworthy

If you can turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 736 verse 36 Luke 736 and I want to begin reading and him to break this into sections. So here we go.

Luke 736 one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, speaking of Jesus. Anyone 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 the table in the Pharisee's house brought an alabaster flask appointment and standing behind him at his feet, weeping should be Jahan to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and she kissed his feet and anointing them with appointments.

Now, when the Pharisee who had invited him Saul. 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. She is a sinner and Jesus answered and said to him, Simon. I've something to say to you, and he answered say teacher I mean if you're familiar with this passive thirdhand in the year suddenly to preach. I set out to note the reason I picked this passage and I think the reason it is so important is because often we forget the fundamentals of our faith. We forget the fundamentals of the gospel that we begin to go in daily routines. We did it in a rut and we just go through our devotions. We go through church services. We go through conversations we go through repentance in this routine and we forget how broken and fallen.

We truly are.

I am tired of hearing sermons across our country of how great we are and how we can accomplish things and how we as individuals can do these things. We need the gospel and so when I worked at it when I worked at a school of a few years back I worked one year stint in the school as a guidance counselor they do tennis and a soccer coach and so they signed me up. I've never played either of those sports in my life. We want a few games but it was a very good and what you realize even with the greatest tennis player and even with the greatest soccer player when you coach, then they need to get back to the fundamentals and so this morning.

The reason I'm laying this passage out. The reason I'm teaching. It is not because is not a familiar path. I may not even teach you anything new this morning. We need to get back to the fundamentals we need to get back to why were in this room this morning why we came on a Sunday morning and worshiped's Almighty King and often I think we forget. So when I moved to the Bible Belt from Florida one thing that shook me one thing that shocked me was this idea of everybody. This cultural Christianity and to be honest with. When I got into the college and young adults group everybody knew the phrases. Everybody knew the passages everybody knew what I was an essay before I said it and so I struggle for about a year.I and I need your help reaching this demographic. So I began through the gospel of Luke.

The reason is because often I think just because we know Christ and a head knowledge. It doesn't mean that we've given our life to him to believe there's two people in this room today.

Those who have engaged Jesus intellectually.

You know the Scriptures you know the Bible you know everything to say in Sunday school class in ALG and in the woman's Bible studies that happened in the men's Bible studies. You know him intellectually or morally in the world's eyes a good person and there's another individual in this room who understands the brokenness and hasn't just engaged God intellectually, but has given Jesus Christ and our father everything if fallen at his feet and everything they have to offer is his and before you respond. I know which one I am please do not let pride creep up in your soul to assume you've given everything to Jesus. See one of the greatest travesties and the reason there is not revival in churches across the country because of pride and at Calvary we stand on the word of God. We preach it week in and week out and you know your Bible. If you been here long enough will, knowledge puffs up that I think one of the greatest sins is pride in our we have Pharisee see in this room today all of you sitting in the SKUs broken or sinful. You've heard people and you can justify and you can make excuses saying well it's my wife forwards my husband or it's my parents or if it was my upbringing. Your broken and all of us need the same thing. We need a Savior we need some we needed someone to come and address address or depravity in our brokenness and our sinfulness and if you live long enough, you understand that you are a selfish person who looks out for you and you alone and you need to have a reality check that the world does not revolve around you. I just got back from California with my two children. Once 10 weeks old and the other is 15 months and so it was a bad decision to go across the country. I'll tell you that right now but I have a suit so I did a wedding in California for one of my young adults who got married this past weekend and my son is 15 months old and grade on the flight we get off the plane is running through the airport, waving at people thinking he's the mayor of LA and then I get to a place where we rent a vehicle and I put I tried to put him in a car seat in a parking garage. The kid locks his legs close his backup grabs the back of the car seat I'd never see like he's hope these Hercules. He grabbed the back of the car seats is I'm not going in here any screaming to a point where I thought I was going to get arrested. I was like pleased to be quiet like the cops are going to be called like I'm terrified I'm looking around my shoulders. I mean it look like I was kidnapping a child from LAX airport and I was waiting for God to come and say, Sir, is everything okay.

I was going to say yes my kid is just rebellious and so you all if your parent you've all had those moments and I'll give him payback was 20 but all had those moments where you see the selfishness of your child or even in your own self, and this is a kid who was a year and 1/2 old and what we do we get older we just know how to baskets we still those temper tantrums. We still have that selfishness. We still don't do what we don't want to do when we don't want to do it in the depths of our heart. We know that were wicked, but no one wants to have those conversations in churches around the country.

We will walk out of church feeling good about ourselves and the only way you can walk out of here feeling of peace is to understand who Christ is to understand what he did on that cross. And so let's dive into this passage before we dive in this passage understand this. Simon has the Messiah in his home. The anticipated Messiah. He has him in his home and he does not see him as the Messiah and he sees him as a dirty, filthy Nazarene, and this is just an ordinary dinner or he just to have conversation with possibly a scholar or a good teacher. Simon is not amazed he is not looking at Jesus and all is not overwhelmed by who is in that living room that you sent me, so we don't need an outline were just gonna walk through the story and I asked you to look at the story of fresh you've never heard it before I ask you to allow your imagination to go like your a person standing on the outskirts of the room and watching this play out asking you to understand that these are real people in a real Messiah and a real Pharisee, and a real woman who is completely broken. I'm asking to understand Jesus as the defender of you and your brokenness, so may we get lost in the story this morning and fall in love with her Messiah. So one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, so Pharisee many of you know they are the religious sect in her self-righteous there. The individuals who put the walls in place that everyone has to obey. There are a few thousand of them in Israel.

They had a close knit community. As of this Pharisee asked Jesus to come and dine with him, and in those times, these dinners will last a long time and so they would recline at a table and they would lay on their arm and they would reach with the right hand and feed themselves with their feet, being far away from the tables of Jesus is recline the table not to lay down on stage normalcy that is reclining on the table just sitting there and these were long drawn out meals is the McDonald's. This is a long drawn out meal and they're taking their time and enjoying a meal together in the community on banquets like this would come around and they would be open doors and open windows, and they would listen to the conversation that is taking place and so this was most likely a very crowded room because Jesus had done a lot of miracles and he had a large following. And so Jesus is sitting with this Pharisee recline to the table with other death and he's eating with this Pharisee at the house and is reclining at the table and look at this and behold, a woman of the city who was a sinner that is a horrible horrible way to be defined see this this terminology in all commentators and all Greek theologians would agree that she would have been a prostitute that her career path that her chosen profession is not even worthy to be written down that she was just a woman of the city. She was a sinner and so she didn't belong there. See the Pharisees would have a list of individuals who they would consider unclean and she would have been no been one of them in her walking in this Pharisee's home would have made him unclean in his home, unclean, and that would cause outrage and probably would have thrown her in jail or beaten or humiliated in front of everyone, so she walks in this home so Marcy does not belong somewhere that she is not comfortable.

She doesn't care about the shame she will receive or the repute that she will state receipt. She just wants to see Jesus so she was a woman of the city, a sinner. When she learns he heard that Jesus was there reclining at the table in the Pharisee self. She brought this alabaster flask of ointment in this alabaster flask appointment a been a very expensive perfume, and it would be something that many of the prostitutes would've worn to. They smelled nice so they would smell beautiful so that people would be attracted to them and so is something that they would wear around with leather straps around her neck and so she comes with this alabaster flask walking into this Pharisee's house where she doesn't belong.

She just wants to take this oil and give it replace it were anointed on Savior and she begins to approach verse 38 and picture this is probably possibly dark in the room.

It's probably in the evening and there's candles and no one's recognized her. She's probably weary of approaching Christ. What if they recognize me what are people going to say I really want to do this.

Is this really worth it. So she begins to creep up on Christ. She finally gets to a place where she's close enough. She standing behind his feet just simply his feet as she begins to weep. She began to wet in this worldwide is the idea of arranging the denser rain down on his feet, tears, and this is a continual action and white and she doesn't have a towel wiped them with her hair. She lets down her hair, because all of a sudden Jesus's funeral when she sees his dirty feet you'll see this later in the passage she sees all of her tears falling down on his feet.

She's probably Nobel down on her knees before the king, and she begins to undo her hair, which would have been in the into them a very heretical thing to do which the woman let her hair down. It was causation in public for divorce to the Jews. But in the pagan culture. When women would come before their idol. They would let their hair down, and they would fall at their idle speed and begin to kiss in their hair was assignability down of humility and so she sees her beautiful Savior's fee dirty dust.

She just touches his feet, and look what it says she begins to wipe it with her hair and kiss his feet. His word kisses the same word that's used about the prodigal son when he comes in. The father sees his son. This overwhelming love my son is home. In this consistent sees Jesus's feet.

She's just weeping over his feet. She's taking her hair and cleaning it and she's pouring tears upon it and she's just kissing his feet like picture this, she begins to take the oil and she breaks open the bottle and is expensive perfume. She just begins to pour it on his feet and the aroma would have literally gone throughout the entire house and at this point, everybody's watching. They recognize her.

She's been revealed there's murmuring at the table.

There's who is this woman and they see her face and everybody says it's the sinful woman is the prostitutes with this type of woman be welcome in this church woman like this walked in the church.

What will we say see you. You need to see what's taking place here. If you are at the table if you were against the wall when you watch this transpire in this woman's reputation. You knew she was, what would you be saying what would you be communicated.

See, we have hearts of judgment. We do we have hearts were we belittle individuals.

We speak low of people and that we have a very high view of ourselves to there's pride in the depths of our soul and so Simon looks on, and no one picks the woman up. No one calls this woman down. No one goes over to caress her be like.

Is everything okay okay what takes place is that when the Pharisee who had invited him so all 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. She's a sinner like if he is who he says he is to be the Messiah teaches the prophet he would know this is why in the world would Jesus allow this type of woman to touch him.

Why would he even engage in this see this situation put Jesus in a really precarious situation. Jesus knows his thoughts and Jesus answers and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you, and he answered, saying, teacher whenever my wife says Cleo I have something to talk to you about. That's normally not a good thing does not normally yeah let's do this.

This is fun like this party at my house tonight like to start call my friends and invited them over. No, those are words where you're like oh, and Simon not being very wise of teach me something and then here is when there's a shift. Jesus tells a parable, a certain moneylender had two debtors 10 him 500 denarii and the other 50. So 10 to him about a year's rage and then another out about a month's wage and when they could not pay it. That is a key verse underline that in your Bible. He canceled the debt of both. So they're both debtors they both owe this moneylender money and they cannot pay it back in this time. If you could not pay a debt back. He would've been thrown in prison until you paid the debt back.

They both have a debt and then he says this moneylender cancels both debts now which one of them will love him more.

Simon answered the one I suppose, from whom he canceled the larger debt and he said to him you have judged rightly see here is the false in all of us. Some of us by the grace of God have not made horrific decisions in our life. We have not gotten addicted to cocaine or crack.

We have not been. I lived in a mortal like a seductive lifestyle. We have not done things that have shamed us so we don't think our sin is great, by the grace of God.

God has protected you, has had his hand of grace upon you, and you gone from a child to now. Maybe in your 30s or 40s was making wood not making a giant mistake and so you think you have a small debt fine you think you have a small debt when you still have a debt you cannot repay some of you have made horrific missteps and you understand grace, and you understand forgiveness because you've come before the cross, and you understand that God doesn't see that that he sees a forgiven sinner through the blood of Christ and you will love him so much because he has shown you so much Gracie. What we have to realize is that none of us only 50% is great. I'm never once had a mother or father call me up and said can I meet with you because my son is prideful. I've had moms and dads at their wits end.

Broken over their sons or daughters having a relationship with her boyfriend or girlfriend.

That's an appropriate addicted to drugs walking away from the Lord. A drunkard, I have been calling my phone sending emails. I don't know what to do, but I've never once had a parent coming to my office and said my son is so prideful. My daughter is so prideful it's a sin we tolerate in church. It's a sin, we allow faster that we allow in the pews of churches all across our country and we say it's not a big deal. But here Jesus Christ is standing in Simon South Jeremy church boys standing in Simon South and there's two people hearing the same message with the same Savior and one cannot hear the message of Jesus because he is prideful and there's one woman was completely broken, completely devastated over said she does not care about the shame or the rebuke or the hatred that may be cast upon her by people she just wants Jesus as we cannot tolerate sin because was in our churches and pride in our churches because our prideful people. We will not reach the city will not reach our neighbors when they come to us about serious says we will not understand or empathize or have compassion towards them because we only have a small debt in your debt is way greater than mine, so I'm not going to deal with this. That is not the gospel is so if you sat down and journaled every day of your life and you realize how often you walked away and betray Jesus and how often you had pride towards his Almighty God who sent his son to die on a cross for you would be appalled by how sinful you really are, but we want to ignore its no further factors husband's and wife's in this congregation when they go home there at each other's throats. I know for factors prideful men who blame their wife for everything who raise their voice who are passive should say things they should never say to their wife and I know there's women in here who manipulate gossip and they nag, and I know there's children in here who put on affront to their parents, but all the kids in the youth group know what they're really doing see the thing about second, third, fourth and fifth generation Christians is this because Christ has become ordinary and you've lost the wonder of grace, and you forgotten how wretched of a sinner you really are and there's not brokenness over its that is all Jesus forgives me so. The thing about a debt. Someone has to pay its if I loaned you $500 and you told me you could not pay that debt is on me. I'm out $500 and see what we fail to realize is this God paid the consequence for your debts. So right now I'm begging you to have humility and own it, begging you to look in the depths of your soul and not asking the wife or the husband and nudged their spouse or their children. I'm asking you to look in the depths of your soul and be convicted. How sinful you are. See, when I was going through this passage, God broke me down the fallen man, and so this passage is meant so much to me in my lifetime because I've had some mistakes in life that I am ashamed of, but I know regardless of whoever walks away from me that Jesus loves me and I'm unworthy of that.

And so if I walk into the presence of Jesus thinking I'm worthy I'm never going to experience him and then look at this, then turning towards the woman he said to Simon, do you see this woman Simon, do you see her. I entered your house, and in Middle Eastern custom during this time it was appropriate to give your guests water to wash their feet or servant would wash the feet and it would be custom.

You go back all the way to Genesis and see this to be custom to give him a kiss on the cheek, and look what takes place. I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feats but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair like give me water for my feet and this woman began to rain down water from just the emotional about him in her presence and began to take her hair and white my feet with it gave me what she from the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feats kiss me on the cheek and sees Kathleen my fee Simon what's going on here. You can anoint my head with oil, not even simple olive oil but she has anointed my feet with expensive ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins which are many, what you guys have claimed are many, are forgiven and there's an interesting thing here. The Greeks seems to indicate that she had already been forgiven after she walks into this room because she had been forgiven, maybe a week before or the day before.

She had already heard Jesus Christ's teaching as he comes in here for Devon as she just want to say thank you to just wants to worship how beautiful are the feet of those who share the good news she just wants to say man your message is change my life. Here is my ointment that I use for prostitution.

That's on your feet. I give you my all. I give you my all. Everything I have chores I don't need my beauty anymore about your glory. I don't care what these people say about your glory and I'm holding my sin right now forgiven and look what it says for she loved much. See, this is evidence of someone who's forgiven.

This is evidence right now.

If you're wondering. Am I safe.

What evidence do you have your born-again believers given their life to Jesus. Is it simply that you go to Sunday school every Sunday morning. Is it simply you go to church every week or have you given your all Christ. Have you laid it all down at his feet. Are you overwhelmed by the cross so we need to get back to the fundamentals, but he used forgiven little loves little. See many of us the reason we have a hard time loving Christ because we have a high view of herself and were self-righteous. We don't think we need. We don't think we need his debt on the cross. John MacArthur said this the worst possible sinner. The most unredeemable of all the ones is the one who thinks he's not a sinner and does not need redemption who thinks that God is pleased with him the way he is. This is the worst of sinners is the most heinous crime of all first to treat the sacrifice of Christ with utter disdain as being unnecessary or foolish. See if were honest, there's times that we approach Christ like Simon right there's times when we just Jesus is here.

All this is worship of my devotions and we just go through the motions and we forget who were worshiping butter for saviors moments where he overwhelms us about who he is and are about about our depravity and I pray to God that you don't have to experience something horrific in life for him to break you. I'm hoping that you have ears to hear right now that you are sinner and you need a Savior and he said to her, your sins are forgiven and those who were at the table with him began to say among themselves who is this who even forgives sins and he said to the woman, your faith has saved you her faith saved her, not the work she did, but her faith. Let's look at this, the Pharisee Jesus came to give him an example Simon avoid true repentance looks like the Pharisee learn significant theological points had memorized much scripture he had rigorous self-discipline. He had tied meticulously get spent time serving God and enjoyed a reputation of being a godly man but he didn't love God and you have this woman.

She had nothing to offer except shameful sin was described by Jesus as a model of true worship. Why because she desperately knew how much she needed forgiveness and grace. Does your heart comprehend you even resonate with this passage were you too prideful to see you need to cross nobody will disappoint yourself more than yourself. And if you truly sit back and you look at the man you've become more the man your becoming, or the woman you've become more the woman your becoming, and everything was laid bare with there be shame.

See, Jesus didn't just come to reach the prostitute he came to reach the religious elite.

Some of you been doing church were really long time. There's nothing in you that loves him not given him your all and you are right now in your heart so well I've done this and this and this and you may be doing that stop is he the king of your life.

See what a true Christian. Looks like is when you wrong your wife. It breaks you and you own it.

When you wrong your kids you come home from a long day of work. You own it.

When you made working idle you, and you say to your family. I'm sorry I work too much and I haven't been here for you and you own it. When your nagging wife or gossiper, you own it in your broken over so churches across America has stopped owning their sin and start becoming a church where people who are womb victims from literally their sinful lifestyle are welcome.

But that's all of us when we get to a place as John Newton says that I'm a great sinner but my Christ is a greater Savior. You understand the gospel. If our sins were small, why did God take such aggressive measures to read redeem humanity's only layout the gospel for Genesis chapter 3 humanity revolted against God, they believe they knew better and you break down the text of Genesis 3 there to see by the serpent yet their heart desired to be like God does not not describe each one of us in the report retailed against God's one simple command I give you everything, but this one trade don't eat all that I'm not just saying one small commandment yet as man.

We don't care what God says we want to be� How dare you tell me what to do and they grabbed the fruit and sin enters the world and from that point on, there's been a fracture between us and God and that fracture has caused great travesty across this world hunger, starvation, death, broken marriages, broken children and we live in the midst of that world and God so you may be struggling, and he sent his son to address it on a cross that he created. I say this often saliva that he created man that he created crucified him because he lives us in this woman sees Christ as a Caesar said for Devon as she can even make it to him to get even hotter a word.

She's overwhelmed. I'm in the midst of my Savior as he begins to wait and write down what you Jesus. You know what type of woman I am, but you forget me again that you know what type of things that you forgive me. She is overwhelmed by the fact that this Jesus lover that should be in the depths of all of our born-again Christians, we should share this message to the broken world.

So I'm just really asking you to have a hard look at yourself and if you been playing that hypocrite stop its income before crossing understand your pride is just as great as the prostitution you just as broken as the prostitute in the drug and that we love people that way because we didn't love that way. See, this is radical and it changes how we view people, our families, our spouses and how we do life so why has the church lost its voice in our communities and our cities because we've lost the fundamental of the gospel that were broken all of us and we all need a Savior. So I'm asking you to wrestle with these facts. Linsky states this Greek theologian, stated this for myself.

I want nothing more than what Jesus gave this woman your sins are forgiven, your faith has saved you. Now go into peace forever.

That is our desire that's my heart for you.

You will walk out of this building today knowing that you are forgiven. Even though your unworthy. He will forgive you, no matter this so no matter if you go down the prodigal lifestyle. Please remember the sermon he loves you and he will forgive you matter. This got icons broken then front of the broken people asking you right now to do it work that only you can do reseal the tips of wickedness of her heart.they wish not fight against the conviction of the spirit government conversations happen at lunch between husband and wife and parents and children of just open dialogue about their failures in their shortcomings made for forgiveness be granted and may grace the extended may there be repentance turning away from what we been doing. I asked forgiveness for those moments. Unlike Simon deserve so much more often fail you often worship you in a way disrespectful, unworthy, standing in front of these people today unworthy to be even given the chance to be in paradise with you for all eternity, thank you for loving. Thank you for pursuing me to do work in our church convict parts.

This is not a message any of us want to hear such a beautiful message how much you love us and how much you forgiveness of thank you for your grace, your name and