Label Me Forgiven

Label Me: forgiven

Text: (NIV): Jesus anointed by a sinner

Focus Statement: Jesus changes sinners to forgiven.

Function Statement: Embrace the label of “forgiven.”

Introduction:

ME:

Good Evening! I am grateful for the opportunity to share with you all tonight. When it comes to church, whether it is a Sunday morning or a youth night, there is something I am convinced of and that is that God draws His people in to worship Him and to teach them. With that said I am convinced that no one is here tonight by accident. As we are open to his Spirit he will speak to us and forever change us. So you all have seen me around youth group the last few months and may have been wondering, “who in the heck is this guy!” or maybe you were just wondering what on earth I was doing here. Well My name is TJ and I have been here to show support to my friend Derek and to let all you guys know that you are loved by this church and God willing you will continue to see me around here.

So a little about me I wear lots of different labels. I am a dad have 3 energetic and cool boys. I am a husband have been married to a wonderful lady for 14 years. I am a brother I have 4 sisters and 2 brothers. I am a Church kid I grew up going to church. I work for Lowes as a trainer. I am a student at Nazarene Bible College preparing for the ministry that God has called me to do. I recently received a district minister’s license and that paper labels me as Licensed Minister.

Those are all labels I am pretty happy about. But, some labels I have carried have not always been as nice as these though. In 5th or 6th grade I had a friend named guess He noticed that I would often hang out by myself so he started calling me Loner. I didn’t really care at the time I thought it was all in good fun. Then one day Mark calls my house for some reason or another, and when my dad answers the phone and Mark says, “Hi, is loner there?” I realized Mark didn’t know my name.

I have been, nerd, loser, dork, but mostly unnoticed, and anonymous. When I was 19 and got my girlfriend pregnant I had to confess to the youth group I led, my parents, her parents, and my pastor. The label I wore was disappointment. And nine months later when we lost our son I was broken-hearted, hurt, and angry with God.

WE:

The labels we live with are powerful things. They identify us for a particular moment and some times those labels have lasting impact on our life. We all have various labels. Brother, Sister, Son, Daughter, Friend, Smart, or maybe you wear the label of “not smart”. Maybe there are hurtful things people have called you that have seemed to stick; loser, loner, Slut, and Screw up. Sometimes the labels that are the most damaging are the ones we tell our self; Alone, Nothing, Fraud, Better off dead. Where and how we form our identity is a powerful thing. The question is what do we do with all of these labels.

Transition: What if I told you that labels are not a new thing? What if I told you that people have been dealing with the pointing and whispers in the crowd, dealing with labels from others for thousands of years. And most important what if I told you that the Word of God has something to tell us about the labels we wear?

Tonight lets look at a story of a woman with a label found in the book of Luke Chapter 7: verses 36-50

When one of the Pharisees (Pharisees were important religious leaders of the day. Think: pastor or priest) invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life (she likely was a prostitute) learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, (If this man had an honorable label like ME!) He would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” ( See It! here it is here is the label. this woman was a sinner. Sinner isn’t simply saying she did bad things but that she was contaminated and a social outcast she was not welcome among the normal, regular folks and certainly not among the good church people)

40 Jesus answered him, “Simon (that is the Pharisee’s name), I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 (Now here is a key point) neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you (here comes another Label), her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”

50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (NIV)

So Let’s talk about what happened in this story there was a very specific event: an interrupted dinner party and Jesus used the opportunity to teach a lesson.

A Pharisee invited Jesus over for dinner. We do not know why the Pharisee invited Jesus to his house there is a hint in verse 39 (If this man really were a prophet) that the Pharisee thought he was doing his spiritual duty. As a leader in his community it was his duty to test this new teacher out. Now in those days it was normal for people of the community to come in and out of peoples houses at dinner time. Especially in leaders homes and especially when they had a special guest. People would come in line the walls and listen to the conversation.

Now I am sure there are many ways to imagine this story but this is how I picture it. I imagine the woman was out and about in town she was thinking about the teacher she had met and how he changed her life. She decided to give up her life as a prostitute. But she was hungry, her rent was due, she needed money and she didn’t know what to do. I think it is possible that maybe she decided she was going to sell her only possession of value, her perfume. But wherever she went people were not interested in doing business with this sort of person. Some perhaps wanted her to return to her life as a prostitute. She felt desperate she didn’t know what to do. She looked down at the bottle of perfume in her hand and began to weep. And as she sat there weeping she heard murmurs and whispers in the crowd. Word was spreading through the town of the dinner and word came to this woman that has been labeled a SINNER. We don’t know her name we just know she is labeled a Sinner

Jesus was in town. Jesus had helped her once before maybe just maybe He can help her again. So she went to the house where Jesus was. She wanted to just blend in with the other people there she wanted to listen to the words of Jesus. And I can imagine that as she quietly entered the home there were a lot of stares and whispers. She immediately knew she didn’t belong. She knew she wouldn’t be able to blend in. She heard all the names people were calling her. She heard all the labels and they shook her to the core and echoed through her entire being. She tried to hold back the tears she tried desperately to mask the pain. She wanted to run for the door she thought she had made a terrible mistake. and run she did However, she ran to the feet of Jesus instead.

Now I want to point out this is simply the story as I imagine it. The Bible doesn’t give us all the details. Though it does give us the important ones. See we do not know the reason the woman cried, but we do know where her tears fell. Scripture says her tears rained or poured down on Jesus feet. Then maybe slightly embarrassed she begins to wipe away the tears from Christ’s feet. And as she is doing that she remembers in her hand is the perfume. It was a tool for her in her sinful life it was a means for her to bring in money and she decides right there and then she is going to give it all to Jesus.

It was an incredible display of love, but it was in the eyes of the Pharisee it was improper. So the Pharisee sat at the table silently judging the woman and judging Jesus. He knew now what kind of Man this Jesus was he was a friend of sinners. He allowed a sinful woman to touch him! It was obvious Jesus was no prophet.

The Pharisee was right about that Jesus was no Prophet. Jesus is God made flesh. says that Jesus was God in the flesh living in our neighborhood. So yeah while a prophet may have run from the sinner Jesus son of God runs toward the sinner, embraces the sinner and wants more than anything to change the sinners label.

Jesus Knowing Simons thoughts decide to tell a story. There are two men they both owe money one a little and one a lot. Neither could pay so the lender cancels the debt. one is more grateful than the other. THE Parable is the compass of the story. It points us to the reason why Luke told it. So I want to take a moment and pull out a few key things. A quick reading of the parable could lead one to believe one was more in need of forgiveness than other but that is not the case.

· Neither could pay (v. 42)

o The point is that neither could pay the debt

Illustration: Let’s pretend that I was holding a long jump contest. I get two people to volunteer. I drive both people to the Grand Canyon and tell them that whoever can jump across is the winner. To the first man, we will call him Derek; I tell him that they have to jump from a stand still. The second man is Mike Powell who, according to Google, currently holds the long Jump record. I tell Mike that he can get a running start before he jumps. Which of these two men will jump the furthest? If you answered that the one who gets a running start will jump further then you have judged correctly!

The thing is the Grand Canyon at its narrowest point is 600 feet that is about 2 football fields. Does it matter which one jumped further? Derek may have jumped 3 feet or maybe 5 feet. The Olympic jumper would have jumped 29 feet. No matter how far they jumped it will take them each 19.17 seconds to hit the bottom.

o Both men in the parable are in the same boat they have a debt they cannot pay!

o The Pharisee and the Prostitute are in the same boat they have a debt of sin they cannot pay. One is a prostitute and the other is a self-righteous jerk.

But there is good news for both

· Forgiveness for both (v 42)

o The only hope either of them has, the only solution available, is forgiveness.

Ok so back to our long jumpers. As their feet leave the edge of the canyon Superman swoops in and grabs them and carries them to the other side. On the way over the canyon Derek looks down and realizes that he almost just died. But the Olympic jumper gets angry and thinks that Superman just ruined what was going to be his best jump yet. As Superman drops them off at the other side Mike proceeds to yell about how he would have made it and if not he would have certainly jumper further than Derek! But, Derek in the mean time is kissing the ground and thanking Superman for saving him. Which of these two men are more grateful?

The problem with the Pharisee in the story is that he gets stuck on the “who is better scale”. When Jesus tells the story he immediately assumes he is the one that owes less. He forgets completely he did not have the resources to pay the debt. He forgets he too wears the label of Sinner This used to be me. I was so proud of all the things I didn’t do. I didn’t drink or smoke or curse, I didn’t do drugs, and I went to church 4 times a week. I had Bible verses memorized. I could find a verse in the Bible faster than anyone. I was a leader of a Christian club at school; I started a Morning Prayer circle at school where anywhere from 8-30 teens would gather in the morning to pray. I was sooo good I didn’t Think that I needed much of God’s grace. Just a little would suffice. When I read this story I thought just like the Pharisee that the point was that people are forgiven at different levels. And it was this self-righteousness that kept me from wearing the label of Forgiven. It kept me from seeing my label of Sinner and worst of all it stunted my Love of Jesus.

Just like the Pharisee I was blinded by my own goodness. Now I look back on those attitudes and I count it all as loss; as a great waste of time.

Transition: You may be wondering what this story and parable has to do with you. “So what!?” you may be asking.

SO WHAT:

You know all of the damaging labels that we have been talking about. Those mean and hateful things people say to you and that you say to yourself? [ Disappointment, Loser, Slut, Jerk, ]

The woman in our story had labels to deal with. She was a prostitute, she was an outcast, and she was unwelcome. She was plagued and defined by so many labels.

These labels we wear are evidence of a great truth. The world is broken and sinful. These labels show that we are indeed broken, incomplete, rebellious against God. The term we use for that is Sinners. The temptation is to deny or hide these things like the Pharisee did. The temptation is to compare my list to your list and see who can jump the furthest. But focusing on each other’s lists and who is better or worse only compounds the problem.

The story does something fantastic something beautiful.

It consolidates her debts. It rolls all of her labels [prostitute, worthless, outcast] into one: she is a sinner.

I can relate to that. Because I am a sinner too! I am not a prostitute like she was truth be told my sins are probably closer to the Pharisee who seem to use Jesus as a prop or as a means to demonstrate personal status. I am the guy that invites Jesus to dinner then ignores him. That’s me I am a sinner. Your sins may be different than mine [cheater, sleeping around, lust, pride, uncontrollable anger, bullying]

And there is good news for the sinner. Jesus is a friend of sinners. Jesus is your friend and my friend. And he came to set us free from sin. He has changed the label’s I have been wearing and given me the label “forgiven.” and he can do the same for you.

AND THAT IS WHY THIS STORY IS IMPORTANT

Just as the Pharisee had a debt he could not pay

Just as the prostitute had a debt she could not pay

We. You and I, have a debt we cannot pay.

The thing is I earned much of my labels. The woman in the story earned her labels and you probably earned some of your labels.

The only hope is forgiveness. Just as forgiveness was offered to the Pharisee and the prostitute it is offered to you.

Transition: What do we do with this information?

NOW WHAT?

What did the sinner in the story do? Verse 50 shows us that she responded in faith.

· You must respond in faith.

The only solution to our problem of sin is forgiveness. Come to Chris in faith and be forgiven. Realize the label of Forgiven is available and let that erupted in to a love for God and others.

We are going to wind down here and in a moment I am going to give you an opportunity to act on what we have been talking about.

I believe there are two types of people in this room tonight. There are Pharisees who are paying more attention to people around them then they are to Christ. The Pharisee may be the person that has grown up in church and may think themselves as better than others.

But there is another kind of Pharisee it is the kind that grew up outside of the church and they look at church people with judgment and ridicule. They think they are better than that church person because that church person is a big fat hypocrite. The Pharisee is the person who is to busy comparing themselves to others to realize they are falling off a cliff of their own.

The other type of person is the sinner. It is the person that understands that all these labels sum up into one thing. We are all broken we are all sinners. These labels reflect our own shortcoming and they reflect how others are unloving towards us. Some of us sinners are ones that have already come to Christ. Some are ones that have not yet put their faith and trust in Christ.

YOU:

Here is the thing. If you are a Pharisee the only hope for you is that you switch labels. Stop trying to figure this thing out on your own. Stop relying on your own self-righteousness. You need to realize that you need Jesus just as much as the sinner does. And when you do that you are saying that yes you too are a sinner. For those of us who know that we have in many ways rejected God I am now going to ask you to respond. If you are here tonight and you have not yet put your faith in Christ to forgive your sins then that is what you need to do right now. I am not going to make everyone close their eyes and bow their heads so you can respond in secret. I think we should follow the example of the lady in the story and walk right through the crowd in front of everyone straight to the feet of Jesus. So if you are here tonight and you have not previously put your faith in Christ. Or maybe you have walked away from God and you want to pray to receive the gift of forgiveness and eternal life then walk forward right now. If you want to trade in all the labels people haven given you some of them maybe be true some of them may not all of them demonstrating how far separated we all are from God then come forward now to trade in the label of sinner for the label of forgiven. If you have already put your faith in Christ then I want to give you the opportunity to respond with gratitude just as the woman in our story did. I also want to give you an opportunity to give over to God some of the labels and things you have been holding on to. For you I invite you forward to receive the name “Forgiven.” After you have come forward to get this label then please kneel either at the altar or at your chairs and take a moment to pray and thank God for all he has done for you.

WE:

There are many different labels we carry here in this group. Some of the labels we earned by our own actions and shortcomings. The woman in the story was a sinner the Pharisee wasn’t lying about that. He was absolutely right. Some labels we wear are things said by mean spirited people and they may not be entirely true but they reflect the sinfulness of this world. Some labels are compliments and good things maybe things that have the potential to make us proud or self-righteous like the Pharisee in the story. Can you imagine what this group would look like and what your friendships could look like if we saw in each other the qualities Christ sees? If we saw in each other people that are forgiven by the love and grace of God? Imagine what your schools would look like if you guys didn’t look at others and see how terrible they were but how great it would be for them to encounter the forgiveness of Christ. I think that could be just enough to change this town.

As you finish praying think about how you can take this truth out with you in the world. If you are like me then the labels will on occasion come to you. You will feel un-loved, lonely, or like a loser, a failure, or a host of other things. When you start feeling this way think of the woman who washed Jesus feet and say yes it is true that I mess up but, ….. Label me: forgiven “Sticky” statement: Label Me: forgiven