Not My Brother In Christ

Jab 1

We are Made right and made worthy or worth anything ONLY because of Jesus Christ and his life, death and resurrection.

-We know this and yet sometimes it is forgotten and not lived out and it is plain to see that people are searching for things that will make them feel worthy

-Jobs, accumulation of wealth, diminishing those who are viewed as less than they are in social class or value.

A funny article to illustrate this

Jab 2

We’re all arrogant and deluded. At least, that’s what some psychologists believe. The better-than-average effect means that in general we think we’re above average at a variety of things when, statistically, that’s impossible.

For example, in 1976, 70% of students in the USA rated themselves as having above average leadership ability, and 25% of them said they were in the top 1% when it comes to getting on with others. Likewise, 93% of a US sample rated themselves as above-average drivers. My favorite result is that even drivers who’d been hospitalized after a traffic accident that was their fault still rated themselves as higher than the average when it comes to driving ability.

Some psychologists have attributed this overconfidence to a need for self-esteem: it makes us feel better to believe that we’re skillful. Now, researchers have revealed another motive: being overconfident gives us higher social status.

Cameron Anderson and colleagues found that overconfident individuals – those who thought their ability to be much higher than it actually was – were given higher status in a group, because they were seen as more competent.

Overconfident individuals demonstrated the behaviors that we use to judge competence; things like speaking more often, using a confident and factual tone, providing more information and having a calm and relaxed demeanor  Although overconfident individuals didn't make direct statements about their own ability (“I’m really good at this”), their behavior led others to believe that they were competent, and therefore they were given higher status.

As believers, we live at “ground zero” in a broken world. We are surrounded by people who are in peril because they don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We are called to be like first responders in an emergency: we must engage and rescue in spite of our personal risk or discomfort.

What do we use as a measuring stick of our value?

-are we looking around at others measuring ourselves up to them?

-being content or discontented depending on how we are “doing” compared to some imaginary idea we have set up in our head of what our value is or should be.

Luke 18:9–14 ESV

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This parable comes after a series of parables where Jesus is telling the people with in ear shot what the Kingdom of God is like

Lost Sheep

Lost Sheep

Lost coin

Lost son

the importance of all was found in the value of the one.

the person in each parable placed incredible value on each sheep, coin, and son ......Jesus was using this as a method to show the value of those who some may think have less or no value.

Jesus was even teaching on humility and the value of and importance of humility in chapter 14 of Luke.

Luke

Jesus also told the story of the rich man and Lazarus in chapter 16

-Lazarus had no earthly value as it was measured by his culture at that time..... and he died in his poverty and disease, but his heart was close to God’s and he was with God eternally after his death.

-Where as the rich man had great earthly value, but his righteousness was in himself and not a relationship with God and he was eternally separated from God

This specific parable was Jesus showing the obvious contrast that he was seeing between a man who measured himself against others and he was able to elevate himself in comparison to that tax collector. The Pharisee elevated himself and he did not see his need for mercy and grace because he was right in the state he was in because of his deeds.

In contrast the tax collector only measured himself in comparison to God and the tax collector elevated God and so the only way the tax collector could be made right is through the mercy and grace of a God who gave him his value and wholeness in God.

don’t forget that here that socially the tax collector was typically the most hated person in the community.

-They were working with the Roman empire (in Jesus’ time) to not only collect the money Rome wanted, but it was not unusual for the tax collector to want to make money on top of what he collected for Rome so he would demand more for HIS OWN profit as well. So the tax collectors sold out their own people for money. Because if the tax collector wasn’t happy with the amount you gave him he could have you thrown in a debtors prison till you paid off the tax. A powerful and hated person.....and here he was repenting of his sin.....

Jesus is trying to drive home a point here that nothing on this earth can make us worthy or un-worthy. The tax collector was not un-worthy because he was a tax collector.......he was seen as right with God because of the attitude of his heart.

There is another example we see in scripture that can further illustrate this point with someone we many times pose as a hero of the faith.....Jonah

Jonah 4:5–11 ESV

Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. Now the Lord God appointed a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort. So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” But God said to Jonah, “Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?”

In this snap shot of the story we see Jonah who is setting himself up to watch the destruction of Nineveh. He wants front row seats to see the wrath of God come down on these people.

Jonah who just a short time before was severely punished because of his disobedience, now wants to see how God will level a city where the heart of the people were just as disobedient, but they repented as well just like Jonah.

God used a plant to show Jonah that his heart was so callused that he was more concerned about his own comfort than the well-being and repentance of a whole city.....a pretty large city as well.

Isn’t that just like God......he can use the simple ordinary things in our lives to show us the condition of our hearts.

When we compare ourselves to others not only does that destroy our ability to be gracious to that person, but it makes them something less than human. That person becomes an issue or competition and not a soul that God is working to save.

the Pharisees righteousness or “what made him right in the eyes of God” was what he did or didn’t do

Jonahs righteousness was in what he thought God should do to be right and fair.

the only place our righteousness is found is in our continual connection with God the Father through his Son Jesus Christ.

-my righteousness is not in the fact I am a pastor

-Righteousness is not in how long you have been following Jesus

-where we are born is not our righteousness

-where we are born is not our righteousness

-If we have or have not had an abortion is not our righteousness

-our sexual orientation is not our rigtheousness

-our political views are not our righteousness

-our citizenship of this country or any country is not our righteousness

-Do we need one more celebrity Christian failure, pastor failure, highly influential person in the Kingdom to fall before we can really grasp the idea that our righteousness or our right relationship with God is in nothing of our own self

- but is wholly dependent upon him giving us that value and right relationship then we can accept that from him and no one can take that away from us

Application

Ground Zero

As believers, we live at “ground zero” in a broken world. We are surrounded by people who are in peril because they don’t know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We are called to be like first responders in an emergency: we must engage and rescue in spite of our personal risk or discomfort.

-We know what the concept of ground zero

-the place of the most focused destruction

-we have the opportunity to know our relationship with God is our anchor our measuring stick our righteousness

-disaster strikes in people’s lives we don’t have to measure ourselves and say Im glad I’m not that guy or wow my life is better than theirs

-we don’t have to prop ourselves up and find contentment and value in what we say or do because we already know what God says about us and what he already did for us through his Son Jesus Christ.

When we are right in our relationship with God and that is where we find our value then we have the freedom to rescue others.

-Similar to a fireman or paramedic if they didn’t have the background and knowledge and acceptance of their skills then they wouldn’t be able to be sent into places of need.

-We have many places in our country/world where followers of Jesus are called into ground zero and armed with nothing but His righteousness we are fully equipped to be in those places and bring the presence of God

-God calls us to be at ground zero in the lives of the people he has placed in our lives.

-as we live as Jesus did and serve, guide, pray over the people who are living at ground zero with a heart of thankfulness

-we will hear the voice of God say well done good and faithful servant.

-Can we be content with that?

Big Idea of the Message: We should delight and give thanks to the Lord when people repent.

Application Point: Don’t wish for disaster to come to those outside God’s kingdom; instead, look for ways to reach out to them with God’s love.