Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
Reflecting Jesus: Love, Compassion, and Living an Approachable Christian Life
Living an approachable Christian life is crucial, and we highlight personal stories and examples to demonstrate this. Through the story of a pastor who maintained integrity both at home and in the pulpit, we illustrate the power of consistent, uncompromised living. We emphasize the importance of embodying Christ-like qualities such as kindness, compassion, and respect, allowing others to witness Christ within us. Join us as we encourage a life that reflects Jesus’ unwavering integrity and invites others to experience God’s love through our actions.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Okay, we're still in the book of Luke, so if those have got their Bibles with them, if they'd like to open up to Luke 7.36, now through to 50. Now this is Luke 7.36. Then one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went to the Pharisee's house and sat down to eat. Now, behold a woman in the city who was a sinner when she knew that Jesus, sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, bought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil and stood at his feet behind him, weeping, and she began to wash his feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair on her head, and she kissed his feet and anointed him with the fragrant oil. Now, when the Pharisee who was inviting him saw this, he spoke to himself saying this man, if he were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answered and said to him Simon, I have something to say to you. So he said, teach it as it is.
Speaker 1:There was a certain creditor who had two debtors One owed 500 denarii and the other 50. And when they had nothing with each to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will you love him more? Simon answered and said I suppose the one who forgave more. And it goes on. I could read the whole lot of it, but I want to just focus on that for a moment and then we'll look at a few other scriptures as well. Jesus had a unique way of loving and relating to people, so that both sinful secular people as well as righteous religious people were drawn to him. He had a wonderful way of helping people feel welcomed and valued in the eyes of God, that indeed them to him. How can we live our lives in a similar way so that people are drawn to Jesus through us? Now, this is probably going to how should we say? It's probably going to get some sort of reaction from people who believe that they are totally righteous in the eyes of God and other people that feel that they are falling short of this, but you just don't really want to admit it. So sometimes Christians are living dangerously like the world, and other times Christians are living in a Christian bubble with no influence on the world, and other times Christians are living in a Christian bubble with no influence on the world. They try too hard to protect themselves and their family.
Speaker 1:Now, when I was first born again, right, my wife's uncle for a time was he was just like that for a time where he was just like that. He would even buy movies, he'd watch them and then he'd edit them all the secular parts that he didn't think that he wanted to expose his children to before he would allow them to watch it. But what he didn't realise is that he was actually absorbing all of that himself and even though he was editing it for his kids, he was already exposed to it, so he didn't want his kids influenced by bad things that were going on in the world. But sometimes, you know, you look at this, both extremes are wrong In this message. I hope and I pray this helps all my listeners out there to understand about finding the balance Jesus had that in such a way that people were always drawn to him at all times.
Speaker 1:Now, simon, how am I going to put this? Okay, simon, jesus and the unnamed woman. This story is, we know, is in the book of Luke, and there's a very similar story found in the other gospels, but it is not the same. The other story spoke about a woman who also brought fragrant oil to a dinner party, but that particular dinner party was at the home of Simon the leper dinner party was at the home of Simon the leper, who was different from Simon the Pharisee. I know it's sometimes pretty hard, for when you hear the same names all the time, you get confused about which one is which. This is why it's important to actually read your scriptures and to focus on them. So this is Simon the Pharisee. So if you read Luke 7.36 and you go right through to the start of Luke 8, you'll get a better understanding of who Simon really is.
Speaker 1:So within Judaism, just like the denominations in the Protestant Christianity these days, there are different sects. Pharisees are known for their strict adherence to the Masonic law. There's nothing wrong with wanting to obey God's law, except when being right is more important than doing the right thing. There's a big difference. Now, in Matthew 23, 1 to 36, this is where Jesus calls out the Pharisees in three specific areas. Now I can't read the whole lot of it because it's, like I said, it's 36 aspects of it, but I just want to read you the very, very start of it, and I encourage you to read this because, basically, jesus is speaking from Matthew 23, 1 right through until basically chapter 24.
Speaker 1:Now I don't want to dwell on this, but I want to make sure that you understand it. This is just the very start of it. Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to obey, to observe. Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, saying the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to the works, for they say and do not do. Now, if you read the whole lot of it, you'll understand it. But the main thing is it ends up at 35 and it says that on you may come all of the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteousness Abel to the blood of lot of it. You'll get a better understanding. But basically this is it in a nutshell.
Speaker 1:Matthew 23 1-36 is when Jesus is. Basically he's telling off the Pharisees for lording their authority over people, for seeking public recognition and strictly adhering to every minute part of the law, while at the same time neglecting the more important aspects of the law, such as justice, mercy and faithfulness. Now, the Pharisees were always in conflict with Jesus because they didn't think he was as religious as they were, which was really the only thing they got right. I'm saying that jokingly, of course, because the Pharisees rejected Jesus, claimed that he was the Messiah, and the one reason was that he being Jesus saw as important, was different. So you can see very clearly that you have two different classes of people and unfortunately, there's a lot of Christians like this.
Speaker 1:Do you adhere rigidly to the scriptures and exactly what they say and exactly how you should operate, or do you actually look at it from? What would Jesus do? Was he being you know? Are you being just? Are you having mercy? Are you having faithfulness, or is it more important to be obedient to like hypothetically, say, the Ten Commandments? Now, we know the importance of the Ten Commandments, but what I'm saying is that we live in this world but we're not of it. But by saying that, we also need to be aware of that there are things that we can do, because we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But you've got to get the balance right and that means sometimes is getting out of your comfort zone of being in the church and going out into the world and seeing how you can help other people.
Speaker 1:When I run the community outreach program, I'm not sort of big noting myself or anything here. I just wanted to give you some clarity that I always had the ability to be able to talk to anybody on any level. It didn't matter whether they were a child, they were a teenager or a young adult or they were a mature age person, but people were actually drawn to me because they saw that there was something on me that they wanted to know more about. I never understood this for a very, very long time, so I did the best that I could to be able to actually help in any way possible. And you don't look, you know it's just.
Speaker 1:The old saying is don't judge a book by its cover. You can see somebody that is wearing daggy clothes and they look like they're living on the street, but they've just had a rough life and things are going not according to their plan, but they need help. So what do you do? I mean, I don't want to harp on this for too long, but I think you need to understand the importance of, like, say, clarifying this unnamed woman. So Jesus was reclining at the table and that was the custom of the day, which is why, in Luke 7, 38 tells us, the woman came and stood at his feet behind him. Luke 7.39 tells us that this unnamed woman was a sinner, which probably meant and I'm not sort of like singling it out, but in that day, when they spoke of a woman being a sinner, it was probably because that woman was a prostitute.
Speaker 1:This uninvited woman came to the dinner gathering with an alabaster flask filled with fragrant oil. It is believed that the reddish-coloured fragrant oil came from India. It was a single flask and this oil would have cost probably a year's salary in those days. This woman was broken in spirit and she brought a remarkable gift that demonstrated her ordination or adoration for Jesus. Not only did she kiss his feet, she wiped the tears that fell on Jesus' feet with her hair. When the guests at Simon's house saw a prostitute anointing Jesus, or a sinner not wanting to be judgmental here with this expensive fragrant oil, there was no doubt that everyone stopped eating to watch what was taking place.
Speaker 1:One of the things from this story that I want us to see is not only what Jesus did, but what Jesus didn't do, and what he didn't do was drawn from her. He didn't withdraw from her, he didn't recoil, he just allowed her to touch him and he allowed her to do what she was doing. But this would have been normally something that otherwise would have been a very awkward moment, except not with Jesus. This woman was now so remorseful and repentant about her life that she had ever known as a prostitute. There were men that had abused her, taken advantage of her and rejected her. Perhaps for the very first time she met a man who genuinely, sincerely loved her and not rejected her. So what? Jesus didn't do what was important and he did do what she thought was important. Flooded with emotion, that was probably a combination of remorse, repentance and regret over her sin and, on the other hand, overwhelming love and gratitude and adoration for the only person who could forgive her of her sins. The shame that bound her was broken by the love that found her when she had this encounter with Jesus. She began to realize that her past and her sin and the guilt of it and the shame of it and the weight of it, the dirt of it, all of that was being washed away miraculously by the encounter with Jesus. What a very special moment.
Speaker 1:Now, simon obviously disapproved of Jesus' response to the sinful woman. And Jesus, being aware of Simon's feelings, spoke a parable about a creditor and a debtor. You see, even here, jesus does not rebuke Simon. He just uses this as a learning opportunity. We find ourselves in a situation where we have a learning opportunity, but we react the way people are expecting us to act. I think the important thing here is making sure that you react the way that Jesus would react, the way that Jesus would react.
Speaker 1:The thing is, I saw that Jesus had a unique appeal to both sinner, secular people like the prostitute, and the righteous, religious people like the Pharisees. Now, like I said earlier, the Pharisees were sort of like out to get him, but Jesus didn't condemn them for that. Think about how Jesus was able to relate to them both. What was it about Jesus that made it possible for sinners and saints to be welcomed around him? And there's the important question for all of us today, and there's the important question for all of us today If you really want to be a Christ follower, how well do you follow Jesus' example in that regard?
Speaker 1:Now, I'm not talking about this as some kind of popularity contest with you know, are you more liked or loved, and what type of people do you hang around with and all of this sort of stuff? Jesus had a certain way with people that made him both relatable and approachable, regardless of who that person was or even how they lived, of who that person was or even how they lived. Now don't misunderstand me here I'm not suggesting that, being relatable and approachable, that somehow Jesus condoned their sinful behavior or overlooked it, because he didn't. Jesus had a wonderful way of loving people and relating to people that made both prostitutes and Pharisees feel like their lives mattered. I came from a very violent, orientated life, so I saw that I needed to change and that is why I always try to be approachable by anybody. I had to completely change my lifestyle and basically flip it on its end because I had to find a different way of dealing with things, a different way of dealing with things.
Speaker 1:It takes work to find that balance in our lives where we can be relatable and approachable to those who don't or are not Christ-like or following Jesus. Christ-like or following Jesus. This is. It's not something that comes easily and forgive me if I'm bringing this across the wrong way, but the thing is the way that we, you know, I remember I used to and I've probably said this a few times in some of my messages, and I've probably said this a few times in some of my messages that it's better to actually show people that you're Christian rather than tell them, because if you tell them, they have this preconceived idea in their head of what a Christian should be like and that's based upon their exposure to other Christians, and that could be a negative thing or a positive thing.
Speaker 1:So rather than say, hey, look, sorry, I don't drink, I don't swear, I don't go watching those sort of movies because I'm a born-again spiritual Christian, and they're going to go, yeah right, I've seen the way you live your life. No, you just think to yourself what would Jesus do in this circumstance? Circumstance, how would he approach this? And how can I be approachable by others, irrespective of their background? You know so people get there and they'll see you and they'll see your actions and they see the way that you behave and they say, wow, I want to be more partying with the prostitutes living like the world, showing up at church on a Sunday and you end up being in fellowship with the Pharisees. You'll know your Bible inside and out and you'll go to church regularly, but you will have little or no impact on the world that needs him in their life, and I'm not saying that everybody is that extreme, but it's the easiest way of explaining it.
Speaker 1:My challenge to all of us and that includes me when I read this story to look at Jesus', to look at Jesus' wonderful, tactful, balanced way that he had with people who were in completely different extremes of life. We should be all challenged by this. The fact of the matter is that there are some Christians who are living dangerously like the world and there are other Christians who are living in a Christian bubble with no influence on the world. But the thing is, sometimes you're not even aware of the circumstances you find yourself in. Are you more worldly or are you more churchy, if that's a word? We need to live a consistent, uncompromised life. Jesus didn't change based on whom he was with. He was consistently uncompromised. He was consistently uncompromised Jesus who was well. He knew what he believed and he knew what the mission was. And even though their motives were wrong, their observations were right. The observations that had both about Jesus were that he was a man of integrity, he always spoke the truth and he wasn't swayed by people. If we want to live consistent, uncompromised lives, we've got to learn these three things, and that is not always easy, especially when you are rubbing shoulders with people who don't share the values and share your faith.
Speaker 1:Now I just want to give you an example. Now I know this is from a pastor's perspective, but I want to look at the PK, I mean the pastor's kid. Now I went to Bible college with a girl by the name of Tammy Miller and while she was in Bible college her father visited from New Zealand. He was a pastor over there and he oversaw a few churches and everything. And I got introduced to him and got to know him and everything and it was really really great. And I said, wow, your dad's really down to earth. He's a really nice guy, and I wasn't meaning that in a derogative manner. It's just the fact that Tammy used to always talk about her parents with pride, which you should if they are leading the right example your parents. But she made a very interesting statement and I've always remembered this through my time in the ministry that she was saying that her father that you see behind the pulpit was exactly the same father that she had at home. There was no difference, you know, and I noticed that there's some people that behave a particular way when they're in church and around other Christians and all that sort of stuff. But if you run into them in the world or in the corporate sector or anything like that, they've got a total different way of behaving. The thing I loved about this is that you know Tammy was saying that you know the pastor behind the pulpit and the father at home were exactly the same person, and I think that is absolutely incredible and it's very, very hard to do. So the thing is that we need to try and have that sort of thing as an example. Now, matthew 22, 15 to 17,. It says this Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk.
Speaker 1:Entangle him in his talk, and they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians saying Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God in truth, nor do you care about anyone. Now Jesus perceived their wickedness and said why do you test me, you hypocrites? Jesus perceived their wickedness and said why do you test me, you hypocrites? Show me the tax money. So they bought him a denarius and he said to them Whose image and inscription is on this. They said to him Caesar's. And he said to them render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And when they had heard this, these words, they marveled and let him and went their way, and let him and went their way. See, you see here that even when the Pharisees were trying to trip him up, so to speak, he didn't let them do that. He wasn't judgmental of them, he just looked at their situation and told them the truth.
Speaker 1:This was Simon the Pharisee's problem. He was bothered by the prostitute who came to the house and he was disappointed that Jesus allowed her to touch him. Simon couldn't see his own sinfulness because of his own righteousness, which itself is a sin. So let me get this straight A gossiping, bitter, gluttonous person is a better Christian than somebody who might have a foul mouth, drink too much and have anger issues. In other words, there's the deal. I'm not condoning any of that. You don't look at the cover of a book too closely until you've actually seen the pages inside. What I'm saying is that a sign of a Christian and a spiritual maturity is when you are more concerned about your own sin than the sin of other people's. When you see yourselves as much in need of grace as the next person, then we won't be judgmental. Some people are bothered by people causing and cussing and swearing, but they themselves are a gossip. Now, I'm not trying to single anybody out or make you feel guilty about anything. I myself am trying to do this. So don't judge a book by its cover. Always look at how we can be better at our walk with Christ.
Speaker 1:The problem we get into is when we have a certain conviction and somebody else doesn't, and we think they should. It's that we have legitimized our attitude, which is not honoring before God. We have to make allowances for the fact that, whether you like it or not, some people will have some liberties in some areas that we don't and we have some liberties in areas that they don't. Jesus led with grace and the Pharisees led with legitimacy. Legitimacy will not be good enough for you because you are still a sister of judgmentalization. I mean, I can go on.
Speaker 1:I know I'm already over time, but let me just finish off with this. If you read through Luke 5, 27 to 37, jesus answered it and said it this way those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. We can't isolate ourselves within the four walls of a church and become inclusive in our Christian lives. It's dangerous, it's unhealthy, it's unethical and it does not help the kingdom of God. We are all called to reconciliation.
Speaker 1:1 Peter 3.15-16 says this, and this is where I'll finish. But in your hearts, set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience. I hope that helps you today to be more understanding of how we should be Christ-like, more understanding of how we should be Christ-like. Sometimes people think just going to church, spending time in praise and worship and in fellowship and reading your Bible is enough. But the word of God is for everybody and given the opportunity, irrespective of who that person is and where they come from and what their circumstances are about. You need to share God's love. Again, it is just about you showing them kindness, love and compassion, based on their circumstances, and so they can see Christ that dwells within you. All right Bye for now. Talk to you next time on Great Vine Ministries.
