NEAR TO THE HEART OF GOD

Luke 7:11-17

I like this sermon from Lee Eclov – I’d stick with the theme found in pt.1 (Walking with God…)  Change the other points to match this.  May need a little more research also…

Introduction:

A. Illus.: When I was a kid in the mid-50s Parker Brothers came out with a game just for

church families like ours. It was called “Going to Jerusalem.” Instead of your playing

piece being a top hat or Scottie dog, like in Monopoly, in this game you got to be a

real disciple. Little plastic guy with robe, beard and staff. You started in Bethlehem,

and made stops at the Mount of Olives, Bethsaida, Capernaum, the stormy sea,

Nazareth, Bethany—and if you rolled the dice well—all the way to a triumphal entry

into Jerusalem. Never got to the crucifixion or resurrection. Along the way you‟d look

up answers in the little black New Testament provided with the game. It was the kind

of safe gaming adventure perfectly suited for a Christian family on a Sunday

afternoon walk with Jesus. Hold that thought.

B. Our text today, which you‟ve heard read, is Luke 7:11-17, the story of Jesus raising to  life the only son of a widowed mother from the little town of Nain. This story is in our Bibles for two reasons, I think.

1. The first reason is to show how Jesus was establishing his credentials as the Messiah the nation of Israel had been awaiting. That‟s what makes the exclamation of the people in v.16 so significant... Immediately after this story, John the Baptist’s disciples come with a question from John: “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” And Jesus points to the evidence: v.22-23...

2. The second reason this story is here is to give us as Jesus‟ disciples a picture of what it is like for us to represent Jesus in our world today. In John 14:12 Jesus told us as his disciples that we would do greater works than he did. I wouldn’t have guessed back then when I was playing “Going to Jerusalem,” leaning over the card table jiggling the dice in my hand, that traveling with Jesus wasn’t meant for plastic disciples looking up verses in a little black Bible. If we’re gong to walk with Jesus as his disciples in this world we may need to change our expectations. Let’s step into this story.

V.12... Oh, this is very awkward. A Jewish funeral was very loud—piercing cries and wailing. The crowd with Jesus probably heard it before they saw it. They grew quiet as any of us would. We move to the sides of the road out of respect. Bowed heads. Averted eyes. But it is even sadder than it seems. The woman, draped in black with an ashen face, was already a widow. She had already made this journey once before following the casket of her husband. And now, her son—her only son—has died. They say a parent should never have to bury their children. There may be no grief on earth quite so profound. She has no one left. The whole town felt her sorrow. V.12 says, “A large crowd from the town was with her.” Quite a coincidence, isn‟t it? That Jesus should happen to meet this crowd, this mother, this casket. Had Jesus been a few minutes earlier the mourners would have still been at the house. A few minutes later, the body would have been laid to rest in the cemetery. But in the providence of God, Jesus and his disciples happen to meet the death march. It is no coincidence that...

I. WALKING WITH JESUS WILL BRING US FACE TO FACE WITH HEARTBREAKING NEEDS (7:11-12)

A. Most of us, I suspect, try not to run into sorrow on the street. We try not to meet beggars and broken people. I have it on the testimony of many, many people that when someone’s life is broken, when sin has steamrolled over someone, or pain has barged into a life, or death has looted a home, it seems like their friends avoid them. Who of us hasn’t discreetly sidestepped someone else’s heartbreak? “They want to be with their family,” we tell ourselves. Or, “I‟ll call in a few days.” Or “I wouldn‟t know what to say.” Or “We weren’t all that close.” And that’s with people we know. In our story, we watch that widow’s grief as complete strangers. And frankly, when we draw near such sorrow, we’re relieved to be strangers. Not my problem this time. There are enough tears in life without stepping into them uninvited.

B. But the Spirit of Jesus will surely lead us to harassed and helpless people. Remember what Jesus told us in Matt. 9:36-38...? You know, we tend to think our faith is on the line when someone questions what we believe. My generation of Christians, especially, are inclined to see the front lines of the gospel as

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arguing the evidences of our faith. But where our faith is really on the line is when we meet the harassed and helpless. The proof of our faith comes in the way that Jesus touches the lives of broken and needy people.

There is a sudden death at our next door neighbor’s. You get this call out of the blue about taking in a couple of needy kids. You make friends with a woman at work and the next thing you know she’s telling you her tale of woe. You get to know an immigrant family and before you know it you‟re eating strange food and scrounging for furniture and your Saturdays are shot to pieces. Illus.: Around 7 p.m. on the evening of Friday, May 31, 1985 an F3-magnitude tornado swept through Beaver County, Pennsylvania, where we lived. We were at church for a meeting, and when we got word of the storm, thinking the worst was over, we went to the home of some friends. He is a surgeon, and we‟d barely gotten there before one of his colleagues was at the door. The emergency alert system had kicked in and all physicians were summoned to the Medical Center. The devastation was worse than we‟d imagined. Roy ran for the car and the three of us were left standing there, wondering what to do. Then I thought, “I‟m a pastor. Maybe I should go, too.” But I absolutely did not want to go. I was frightened. “I‟d probably be in the way,” I thought. “What could I possibly do?” I thought. “They‟ve already got people lined up for these things,” I thought. But finally, with great reluctance, and in no hurry, I also went to my car and drove to the hospital. It turned out that the hospital was the only place where worried people could think to go. It was Friday evening. Kids were out driving around and parents couldn‟t find them. Phone lines were down. Traffic was choked. So people went to the hospital and sat there. Where else could they go? Many people had been injured and three killed. Occasionally, the lady in charge of the Emergency Room (a woman from our church) would come out and call, “Is there anyone from the Jack Smith family here?” But otherwise, folks sat. So having no better idea, I just started walking up to clusters of people. I‟d say, “I‟m a pastor, and I wonder if you‟d like me to pray for you and your family.” You know, no one asked me what church I served, and no one—not one person—even hesitated to accept my prayers. And I think I was the only one there doing that. It hit me that night that I am an agent of Christ‟s compassion in this world. Not because I‟m a pastor, but because I am a Christian. When others retreat from heartache and sorrow, we must step in, because we walk with Jesus.

II. WHEN FACED WITH HEARTBREAKING NEEDS WE ARE THE AGENTS OF JESUS’ COMPASSION AND POWER (7:13-15)

A. V.13 says, “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, „Don‟t cry.‟” Frankly, whose heart wouldn‟t go out to a woman in that situation? But here‟s the difference: when Jesus‟ heart went out to her she was touched by the heart of God. It is the Heart that saw the outcast Hagar and her little son and said, “Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying.” It is the Heart that said to Moses, “I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt… so I have come down.” It is the Heart that saw Hannah weeping to have a child and gave her Samuel. It is the Heart of the Good Shepherd searching for the one lost sheep, the Heart of the Father seeing his bedraggled prodigal a long way off. It is the Heart of the Savior dying on the cross for helpless sinners. That is the heart that went out to her! That is the difference between Jesus‟ sympathy and ours.

To feel sympathy here was natural, but there is something about the sympathy of Jesus that is different. Our sympathy is like a Hallmark card; the sympathy of Jesus is a wonder drug. Our sympathy has small muscles and says stupid things. But Jesus‟ sympathy is heavy-laden with power and love. If we say to the broken-hearted, “Don‟t cry,” it is insensitive and foolish, but when Jesus said to that widow, “Don‟t cry,” it was a prophecy, a word of healing, a glorious promise.

B. Then there is this breathtaking miracle: vv.14-15... In the story before this a Roman centurion had the faith to see that Jesus had the authority to order the healing of his servant from afar. Here, Jesus orders death to leave like a general dismissing a private. This story is a kind of prophecy, a miniature of something greater. Look deep into this story and you will see Jesus‟ own empty tomb, martyrs praising God at death’s door, my grandfather singing hymns from his deathbed, Christian funerals described as

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„home goings‟. And you will see the Holy City coming down out of heaven from God and hear a loud voice: “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” All that lies in the shadow of that young man’s open coffin.

C. As Jesus‟ disciples, filled with his Spirit, we can channel the compassion and power of Christ to the harassed and helpless people he arranges for us to meet. Illus.: I‟ve never watched that hot new show on TV called, “Heroes,” but I take it from the commercials that it is about ordinary-looking people who have superhuman skills and have to decide whether to step out of the mainstream to use them to help others. That’s what we’re like! You and I feel like we’re no different than anyone else when it comes to helping hurting people. Maybe worse! But we do not understand what it means that we have Jesus‟ own Spirit operating through us. This same Jesus, who met this widow on the road, this same Jesus whose heart went out to her and who raised her dead son—that same Jesus indwells us by his Spirit!

When we step into someone’s sorrow instead of walking away, when we step into the funeral procession, into the hospital room, into the fracturing family, into the dysfunctional life, we step into that with the Spirit of Jesus working through us. Jesus‟ heart goes out to that person through you. Even Jesus‟ power is extended to them—through you. You may not raise the dead—though there are credible stories of Jesus‟ modern disciples doing just that—but you do bring the life-giving power of Jesus to those who are dead as doornails inside. Illus.: A couple of weeks ago at Einsteins, “Charlie” decided to sit down at my table, even though I was trying to read. He is is a chatty, 72-year-old Jewish guy; a heavy smoker who has had a serious cancer scare this last year. A nice guy. He proceeded to tell me about a new health scare he had learned about the day before. Spinal surgery might be needed. He was very frightened. I listened to him, and tried to listen to the Holy Spirit at the same time. I said, “„Charlie‟, I‟m going to pray for you, if you don‟t mind.” “Yeah, we‟re all praying that I‟d get lucky this time,” he replied in his gravelly voice. “No,” I said, “I mean I’m going to pray for you right now.” I put my hand on his, bowed my head and simply started to pray. At first Charlie didn’t get what was going on so he kept talking while I started praying. Then he figured it out and was quiet. “O God,” I prayed, “you know how frightened „Charlie‟ is over this. I pray that you would protect him, give him peace of heart, and help him to know that you care for him. Lord, I pray that you would heal his back. Amen.” I strongly suspect that no one has ever done that for Charlie in all of his seven plus decades! No one has ever brought God up that close to his face. He was moved and thankful. A couple of days later he came in nodded at me across the room and said it again: “Thank you.” The other day he told me that surgery has been postponed. It’s as simple as that. Don’t keep the compassion of Jesus from people you know who are hurting.

III. WHEN WE STEP INTO PEOPLE’S HEARTACHES SOME WILL SEE THAT GOD HIMSELF IS VISITING THEM (7:16-17)

Listen again to what happened: vv.14-17...

A. The Jews there that day saw that something even more amazing was happening than the dead coming back to life. This same kind of thing had happened before in Israel’s history—900 years before. Twice it happened, in the back-to-back ministries of Elijah and Elisha. And only then. So the Jews around Jesus saw this astounding miracle, and when their heads cleared, they made the connection. “These are the days of Elijah!” they thought. “The Messiah must be near!”

B. When we bring the compassion of Jesus to harassed and helpless people, that alone will be a miracle to them. But something much bigger is happening and we have an open door to tell them about it. Do you know one of the most common questions people ask who have encountered the compassion of Christians? “Why are you guys doing this?” Christians hear that when they repair houses or rock babies or bring food. You might hear it from your neighbor when you step into their heartache. “Why are you doing this?”

It is in these moments of compassion that we can begin to tell those we’ve loved where that love comes from, that “God has come to help his people.” We can tell them that God offers them much more than one act of kindness, no matter how wonderful. You can tell them of the Lord who listens to your prayers, who is worthy of your songs, who has given you a family and a future, peace of heart and a healthy soul. C. Walking with Jesus is not for plastic disciples with little black Bibles. This week, look for the harassed and helpless. Look for the funeral processions. Listen for the cries. And don’t put your head down till the trouble passes by. You are the agent of Jesus Christ. Step into the heartache. Ask Jesus that his heart would go out to them through you. Ask him to show his power through you, however he wants to do so. There are people dying to find out that God has come to help them.

Introduction

Sermon text with italics and bold and John 3:16 and v. 20.

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Text with an outline.

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