Grace Haven Church

0:00 So today I want to talk to you about one of the great stories in the Bible.

0:04 Gospel of Luke is a great gospel because Luke puts a lot of undesirable people in the story of Jesus.

0:11 He put children in there and because children back then were a non-issue.

0:16 In other words, they weren't considered something of importance.

0:20 So Luke puts them in there.

0:21 He puts a whole lot of women in there.

0:23 And again, back in the ancient culture of Jesus' day, women weren't a big deal.

0:26 You could be wealthy, but you didn't have an opinion about anything.

0:30 Or no one listened to you.

0:31 The law courts wouldn't listen to you.

0:33 So there was a lot of things that women had working against them.

0:37 But in Luke's gospel, he puts women often in the story of Jesus.

0:41 He puts a lot of messy people into the story.

0:43 He puts a lot of broken people into the story.

0:46 He puts a lot of dishonest people into the story.

0:49 And so I think Luke's gospel could apply to a few of us in Berlin.

0:55 If there had been any tattoo people, he would have talked about it.

0:59 Maybe.

1:00 So I want to call today's message the best dinner party ever.

1:05 So the best dinner party ever, Luke 17.

1:08 A Jewish religious leader named Simon asked Jesus to his home for a dinner party.

1:16 Jesus accepted the invitation.

1:20 When he went to Simon's house, he took his place at the table.

1:26 Now in the neighborhood, there was an immoral woman known to as a prostitute.

1:33 When she heard about Jesus being in Simon's house, she took an exquisite jar made from alabaster, filled it with the most expensive perfume, went right into the home of the Jewish religious leader, knelt at the feet of Jesus in front of all the guests, broken and weeping.

1:52 She covered his feet with the tears that fell from her face.

1:56 She kept crying and drying his feet with her long hair.

2:01 Over and over, she kissed Jesus feet.

2:05 Then she opened her flask and anointed his feet with costly perfume as an act of worship.

2:12 When Simon saw what was happening, he thought to himself, this man can't be a true prophet.

2:20 If he were really a prophet, he would know what kind of sinful woman is touching him.

2:26 Jesus spoke up.

2:28 I have a word for you, Simon.

2:30 Don't you hate that when people basically know what you're thinking?

2:35 How does he know that about me?

2:36 Did you tell that about me?

2:40 No elbows moving right now.

2:45 Simon, I have a word for you.

2:47 Go ahead, teacher.

2:48 I want to hear it.

2:50 Sure you do, Simon.

2:55 Like Jesus, the greatest storyteller ever, he begins with a story.

3:01 It's a story about two men who were deeply in debt.

3:05 One owed the bank 100 ,000 euros.

3:11 Do you even know what a denarius is?

3:12 I don't.

3:13 I had to Google it.

3:15 But for the example of illustration, one man owed the bank 100 ,000 euros and the other one owed 10 ,000 euros.

3:25 When it was obvious that neither of them would be able to pay or able to repay their debts, the kind banker graciously wrote off the debts and forgave them all that they owed.

3:40 Tell me, Simon, which of the two debtors would be more or most thankful?

3:46 Which one would love the banker most?

3:50 Simon answered, I suppose it would be the one with the greatest debt forgiven.

4:00 You're right.

4:00 Jesus agreed.

4:01 Then he spoke to Simon about the woman still weeping at his feet.

4:07 Don't you see this woman kneeling here?

4:10 She is doing for me what you didn't bother to do.

4:13 When I entered your home as a guest, you didn't even think about offering me water to wash the dust off my feet.

4:19 Yet she came into your home and has washed my feet with many tears and even drying my feet with her hair.

4:28 You didn't even welcome me into your home with a customary kiss of But from the moment I came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.

4:39 You didn't take the time to anoint my head with fragrance oil, but she has anointed my head and feet with the finest perfume.

4:47 She has been forgiven of all her many sins.

4:50 This is why she has shown me so much extravagant love.

4:57 But those who assume they have very little to be forgiven will love me very little.

5:06 Then Jesus said to the woman at his feet, all your sins are forgiven.

5:13 All the dinner party guests said amongst themselves, who is the one who can even forgive sins?

5:20 Then Jesus said to the woman, your faith, your trust in me has given you life.

5:29 Now you may leave and walk in peace.

5:35 The best dinner party ever.

5:41 Now I don't even know if you read the Bible.

5:42 I don't even know if you realise the context, but the narrative of the Bible is always the same, the pride and humility.

5:52 When God always does something through Jesus, his own son in storytelling, he always talks in a way that allows us to see ourselves in the story.

6:02 We resonate with the characters.

6:05 And so that's why Jesus is doing it through a story.

6:09 And he's contrasting great debt, little debt, great mistake, small mistake, and he's using something here to help us understand the first century, to realise why this Bible, why the Gospel of Luke, why God's Word can help us to navigate better days for our future.

6:30 I don't know about you, but I just read this story and I imagine, imagine going to a dinner party and someone just kicks off their shoes.

6:43 And they have a whole lot of, see in Jesus' day, they didn't sit on chairs.

6:48 They sat back on cushions.

6:51 And so Jesus, when he would have come in, and remember, this is, this is the Middle East and hot and sticky, 40 degrees and a whole lot of dusty feet.

6:58 So he's come in and Simon hasn't, hasn't even offered to offer him water to wash his feet.

7:05 So he's got dirty feet.

7:07 And Simon hasn't even greeted him with a kiss and a welcome that was a sign of honour and respect in that culture.

7:13 We already see in this story, for us in the 21st century, we're so removed from the culture, we don't realise it, but let me help you understand, there's a whole lot of dishonour going on.

7:23 You can't get anything from God by dishonouring him.

7:26 You can't get anything from anybody by dishonouring them.

7:29 You get something from people by honouring them.

7:32 There needs to be more honour in the house of God, more honour towards God, more honour in our society, honouring those that we consider less honourable, honouring each other.

7:43 So this religious person in the story, well, he's in the story, but he's also found himself in the story that Jesus uses.

7:53 He's like, well, she's got lots of sins, but let's not talk about my sins.

7:58 She's seen in the community as a very loose woman.

8:03 But no one knows what I do privately.

8:04 No one knows my private thoughts when I look at women and what I have and what I see and what I think, or maybe it's not just with women.

8:10 Maybe it's something else.

8:11 I don't know, but Simon's covering up a whole lot of things.

8:14 He sees Jesus do something.

8:16 He's dishonoured him.

8:17 He's disrespected him.

8:19 He's not even recognised that he is the son of God.

8:22 And this woman who is broken, who is messy, who is complicated, who's got a whole lot of baggage, comes in and she gets down and she starts to weep tears on the feet of Jesus.

8:41 And she doesn't have a towel.

8:42 She ravels her hair.

8:45 But think about the picture.

8:50 Jesus comes in as a guest having dinner.

8:54 He's disrespected.

8:55 He's dishonoured.

8:57 And this woman comes in and the society of her day, she would have everything going against her

9:06 and he doesn't stop her.

9:08 Simon passed me the hummus while she's drying his feet with her hair.

9:14 But the point I'm trying to say is, could you just see the tension that's going on in the story?

9:18 Are you willing to even acknowledge what's going on?

9:23 She's extravagant in her worship.

9:26 She's bold.

9:28 For a woman of her reputation to walk into a religious man's room and house is, it's life-threatening.

9:39 Something about her that didn't care because she was so overwhelmed by the person of Jesus.

9:50 Are we willing to make his love bigger than our mess?

9:54 Are we willing to make his love bigger than our fears?

9:58 She pours her tears of brokenness.

10:02 How many men would have hurt her?

10:03 How many people would have despised her?

10:05 We don't know what happened in her family.

10:07 We don't know if she was married.

10:08 We don't know if she's been neglected.

10:10 We don't know if her parents, children, her early days went wrong.

10:14 We don't know if someone took advantage.

10:16 We don't know any of the details.

10:17 We just know she is broken and she's weeping at his feet.

10:22 And Luke deliberately puts quite a few stories in the Gospel of Luke with other people, similar situations, weeping at the feet of Jesus.

10:32 We get the story of Mary and Martha from the Gospel of Luke.

10:36 Mary is found at the feet of Jesus.

10:39 Where you position yourself in life is so important.

10:43 And so she's drying his feet and she's weeping over his feet and she's kissing his feet and she's anointing his head and his feet with the most costly thing that she had in her life.

10:56 And I think it's an incredible picture because it just tells you so much about, I think, our God.

11:02 It tells you so much about

11:07 the heartbeat of heaven towards humanity.

11:09 It challenges you to see Jesus with new eyes, to read the Bible with a fresh revelation, to realise that God is always dealing with the same thing, pride and humility.

11:21 Simon, who has the most thankfulness and who would love God the most?

11:31 I suppose, pride speaking, I suppose,

11:41 making it abstract out there, not personal.

11:45 I suppose the one that had the greatest debt.

11:52 Again, what's going on?

11:54 People of pride, they always think it's someone else.

11:56 It's never themselves.

11:59 Always got a reason to blame, excuse or justify.

12:03 And what's going on here is something that we and I need to pay attention to in the 21st century.

12:07 How often do we justify ourselves?

12:09 Well, my sins are not that big.

12:12 Well, I'm a good person.

12:13 I pay my taxes.

12:15 I don't go to church, but I believe in God.

12:18 Well, I've been helping people who are seeking refuge and I've been sending some money to some institutions and we come up with this language in the 21st century and we still don't know what's going on.

12:28 It's the same narrative, pride and humility.

12:33 And God resists the proud.

12:36 But he gives grace to the humble.

12:39 Is there any men in the room today willing to humble themselves?

12:42 Would you even dare to get to the feet of Jesus?

12:46 You see, if you don't realise how forgiven you are.

12:50 Well, I've only kind of, you know, oh, well, I'm like, I'm 80% % good.

12:58 Well, let's talk about the 20.

13:01 I don't care if you're 99% % good.

13:04 Let's talk about your 1%.

13:07 Anyone in the room who thinks you've just got 1%?

13:09 %?

13:10 Well, I'll tell you me, my numbers aren't like that.

13:16 I think we're playing with fire when we start to play the numbers game.

13:19 Well, well, I'm 70% % and last year I was a bit low, I was a 40-60.

13:25 What does that mean?

13:26 Well, 40% % good and I was a bit off the rails.

13:29 And it's not a number game.

13:36 And this is what Jesus is doing.

13:38 He's letting a very religious man who thinks he can earn his salvation, who thinks he can buy himself into something, who can earn himself into something.

13:47 And I wonder how many people in the room today we still fall into that temptation.

13:52 I wonder how many families are here today.

13:54 And you say, I wish my husband was here.

13:55 I wish my dad was here.

13:57 I wish my boyfriend was here.

13:58 I wish this person in my life was here.

14:00 We all have the tensions of life to navigate whether it's ancient culture or modern Western culture.

14:06 But this is the question.

14:08 Are you willing to humble yourself?

14:10 Do you realise that without Jesus, we are all lost.

14:15 We are all dead in our trespasses and sins.

14:17 It doesn't matter whether you're a murderer or whether you've avoided your taxes or whether you just had a bad hair day or a grumpy boss week.

14:25 It doesn't matter.

14:26 Don't play games with God on levels of sins.

14:32 And this is what he's saying.

14:34 I've came into your house and you never once offered me water to clean my feet.

14:41 I came into your home and you didn't even greet me with a customary kiss.

14:48 I came into your home and basically you haven't even anointed my head with oil.

14:52 And all of these were part of their customs.

14:54 It was where there was respect.

14:55 There was honour and dignity inside of it.

15:00 I remember when Joyce and I came here to Berlin to build the church the first couple of years and we started it from our home.

15:05 And I remember thinking, well, how are we gonna do this?

15:07 And I felt God just say to me, just said, well, build with generosity and hospitality.

15:11 And so what I'm trying to say is this story confronts us.

15:16 It confronts our culture.

15:18 It confronts our mindsets.

15:20 It confronts our Western philosophy, our Western culture to the core.

15:27 From the moment I arrived, she has not stopped crying over my feet.

15:31 From the moment I arrived, she has not stopped drying my feet with her hair.

15:36 From the moment I arrived, she has not stopped kissing my feet.

15:41 And what is God doing with this story?

15:43 What is Jesus trying to get through here?

15:47 He said, Simon, through the story of the two debts being cancelled, none of them could pay, whether it was 10 ,000 euros or 100 ,000 euros or 10 billion thousand euros.

15:59 It doesn't matter whether you're the worst of the worst or you just maybe had a bad hair day and a little grumpy moment and you kind of went to church once every blue moon.

16:07 I'm just saying it doesn't matter when it comes to the things of God.

16:11 Is there any thankfulness?

16:13 And what am I saying today as we bring this to a conclusion?

16:16 Your advantage is your thankfulness.

16:19 Your advantage is your thankfulness.

16:22 Imagine what churches would look like

16:26 if God's people turned up with a spirit of thankfulness.

16:31 Imagine what a city would look like if there was a spirit of thankfulness in the city.

16:37 We're grateful for one of the German players scoring the winning goal and we're thankful in the moment there's a celebration and it comes and goes.

16:48 But I'm talking about being thankful for your salvation, being thankful for your family, being thankful the breath that's in your life, the opportunity to serve God, the opportunity to reflect His goodness on earth, the opportunity to really to help others.

17:01 And this is what I love what it says here.

17:03 Let me give you another verse in the Bible.

17:04 It says this, if I can find it, Ephesians chapter two, it says, Because of God's kindness, you have been saved through faith, trusting in Christ.

17:13 And even trusting is not of yourselves, it too is a gift from God.

17:19 Even your faith is a gift from God.

17:21 When you see His grace, He will see your faith.

17:25 You wanna be a faith man, look at the grace of God.

17:28 You cannot look at the grace of God and not be filled with faith.

17:31 It will build your trust when you know He's gracious.

17:34 I get what I don't deserve and it draws you to God.

17:38 It doesn't put you away from Him.

17:39 And this is what it says.

17:41 It says salvation is not a reward for the good we have done.

17:44 So none of us can take credit for it.

17:46 It is God Himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus.

17:52 And long ago, He planned that we should spend these new lives helping others.

18:02 Thankfulness will move you forward.

18:10 Thankfulness will grow you and thankfulness will impact others.

18:19 Jesus said it in the story.

18:21 Who do you suppose was the more thankful?

18:26 How many people in this room today and you just know you were messy, you were complicated, you were like, don't touch me, God.

18:33 I'm not one of your touchables.

18:35 I'm an untouchable.

18:36 And yet you heard the grace of God.

18:38 You saw His love.

18:39 You saw His reckless love.

18:41 You saw His absolutely coming after me kind of love.

18:45 And you surrendered to it and you were overwhelmed by it and you resisted it and you pushed it away.

18:51 But one day you fell to your knees and you realized in your brokenness, in your messiness, in your complicatedness, oh my goodness, God, you love me.

19:04 Who was the more thankful?

19:11 And what is God saying?

19:13 He's not saying that the more messy are the more thankful.

19:16 He's just saying it doesn't matter whether it's little or it's big.

19:21 But let me tell some of you that feel like, well, I'm just, I'm a good person.

19:25 I don't need Him.

19:26 Maybe you're here today and you realize you need Him, but there's a whole lot of people in our city.

19:30 There's a whole lot of people in our country and they ain't coming to church because they think they're good enough.

19:34 Well, I'm telling you, there is no good enough when it comes to God.

19:37 We have all fallen short of the glory of God and we need Him.

19:43 What is humility?

19:45 I need you, Jesus.

19:46 What is humility?

19:48 And I want you more than anyone else or anything else.

19:53 And I want you to know that woman left that home full of peace and Simon left his own home still riddled with convictions

20:06 and things and secret things going on in his life that he thought no one knew.

20:11 And I want you to know, don't have an encounter with God and pull away.

20:15 It will make you a very hard person.

20:18 And our world does not need more hard people.

20:21 You surrender to Him and He will bring out the empathy.

20:24 He'll help you to realize that you can live your life to the glory of God and help others.

20:30 So I'm asking you today, is there any thankfulness?

20:34 Thankfulness will grow your life.

20:36 Listen to me quickly as I try to bring this to a close.

20:39 When your thankfulness has stopped, your growing has stopped.

20:42 When your thankfulness has stopped, your growing has stopped.

20:44 So listen to yourself.

20:46 Ask the people in your world.

20:47 Am I pretty good at thankful?

20:49 I've done this in my home, home this week and I've set the joys.

20:51 I need to lift my thankfulness.

20:53 I'm thankful for my team.

20:54 I'm thankful for the people in our church.

20:57 I'm thankful for the opportunity.

20:58 Why?

20:59 Because I've lost my thankfulness.

21:00 My thankfulness had gone down and I wanna lift it back up.

21:03 So yes, I'm preaching to myself first.

21:05 I wanna know that my life is about thanking God and thanking Him for all that's ahead of us.

21:10 Thanking Him for you.

21:13 But I'm asking you church, how are we good with our thankfulness?

21:17 Are we willing to drop to the feet of Jesus?

21:20 Are we willing to weep again?

21:21 Are we willing to lay down and go, thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus.

21:26 Are you willing to not get up until you're moved to tears, moved to weeping?

21:32 When's the last time?

21:34 When's the last time you fell on your face and cried out to God?

21:38 When's the last time you worshiped extravagantly?

21:42 When's the last time you were so thankful for your salvation, for your goodness, the goodness of Jesus?

2018-06-26 - What's Your Advantage (Pt. 2) - The Best Dinner Party Ever - Mark Wilkinson.

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