Not a Fan Part 3. “Choosing Intimacy”

Luke 7 36 When one of the Pharisees 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 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. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” 39

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Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[c] and the other fifty. 42 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?” 41

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

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. 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, 44

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, her many sins have been forgiven— as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”

*This is a story of 2 people who encounter Jesus on very different paths. Simon invites Jesus in: 1. Doesn't wash his feet. 2. Doesn’t greet him with a kiss. 3. Doesn’t anoint his head with oil. This Strange Woman: 1. Washes Jesus feet with her hair & tears. 2. Kisses his feet. 3. Anoints his feet with expensive perfume. Let’s freeze that moment; we’ll come back to it. Illustration of a Baby: 1. From the time they come into this world they cry a lot. 2. When a baby cries that usually means that something has them upset. 3. I remember swaddling Taylor & Josiah. 4. I use to sometimes take on the challenge of fixing the cry... 5. I was the 1st one to change both Taylor & Josiah. 6. But there were times when I wasn’t able to fix the problem. 7. I think it is because I was the Daddy, not tha Momma! 8. A mother knows her Baby better than anyone else on the planet.

9. That Baby has been close to that Mother since the moment of Conception. The Baby knows the Momma: 1. Her scent is unique (No one smells like Momma) 2. Her touch is unique (Half the problem is solved right there) 3. Her voice is unique (Mother’s Voice is reassuring) 4. Though the Baby can’t talk yet, there is no one who can understand what that baby is trying to communicate better than the Momma... 5. The Mother is unique to that Baby in so many ways. 6. What a great illustration of Intimacy...

1. God Knows You Intimately Probably the best Biblical word for intimacy is the word “know.” It is first used in Genesis 4:1 Genesis 4:1 KJV simply says this: that Adam knew his wife Eve. Know: Yada - to know and to be known completely. But the NIV translates the word in context of what’s happening. Genesis 4:1: “Adam lay with his wife Eve…” You get the picture. That is our context for yada’. •This word is more than acquaintance.. •This word implies completely, intimately. •This is something God created from the beginning. •We serve a God who fashioned what it means to be close and intimate and there is something to be said about the biblical picture of intimacy that goes way beyond the scope of just physical pleasure. •One Hebrew scholar refers to it as, “The mingling of the souls.”

Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[Yada) you,     before you were born I set you apart;     I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Illustration: The difference between 2 Couples. 1. A Young Couple in love with the thought of being in love. (Crowd Participation) a. Goggly Eyes b. Unaware of whats around them c. Captivated by each other d. Talking for hours 2. An Older couple who have been married for 13+ years. (Crowd Participation) a. Sitting Quietly b. Don’t feel the need to fill every second with a word. c. Very aware of what’s going on around them. d. Fully Secure in there relationship without having to say a word. If you trace the usage of yada’ through the Old Testament, you’ll find that over and over again, this is the same word that’s used to describe God’s relationship with us. Over and over, yada’ is the word that’s used to describe how God knows you and how He wants to be known by you. This has the potential to completely changed the way we look at our relationship with God. If I compare the constant, close relationship that I have with Audra to my relationship with God, I don’t know that I have been connecting with God the way I connect with Audra. But learning this taught me something: my

relationship to Jesus is not a weekend fling. It’s not a casual encounter. It is yada’, a deep knowing. It’s intimacy. David uses the word yada’ about six times to describe how God knows us in Psalm 139. He writes: O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord. You know, You know, You know. David speaks to God in this intimate way. It says, “God, You know how I feel, You know how I hurt, You know what I’m thinking.” 2. God Wants You to Know Him • The most common response to intimacy is fear. • Intimacy can be pretty scary, because it involves allowing yourself to be vulnerable. • Many people equate vulnerability and pain together. • Many people have experienced a betrayal, or a crushing blow from someone close to them. • The thought might be, If I make myself vulnerable to God, He’s going to find some things that we’re not proud of. Thus back to the story Luke 7... A woman of ill repute, she knew she had sin in her life that made her unworthy to touch the Messiah. And because we’ve all fallen short, we know that God’s going to look into our lives and find things that he doesn’t condone. So it makes sense that many people would be afraid of that kind of vulnerability. But just as Christ proved himself a redeemer with this lady, when others were condemning her. Christ also wants to show himself a Merciful, Redeemer in your life.

• A Follower manages to push past the fear and into an open, honest, intimate relationship with Jesus. 3. Fans Choose Knowledge, Followers Embrace Intimacy If you look at the life of the 2 people from Luke 9 One man was very educated: He Was a Pharisee... Proud of his knowledge of God... Seeking to learn more... Inviting Jesus to his house to inquire of him... Open to dialogue... Open to debate... Hoping that in his learning he might get a little closer to God... Then There was an Uninvited Guest: A woman who was clearly no saint... She was not well versed in orthodox Religion... Or prophecies about the coming Messiah... She may have never stepped foot in a Synagogue in her life... She was looked at as a Sinner by the Religious eye... But it was not the Religious man who got close to Jesus It was not the Educated mind that received anything from him... The analyzer received nothing from God... Not many Bible Scholars in Jesus day received anything from Jesus... But rather it was always those who cried out to him... Those who desperately needed him and sought after him... Those who were will to be a little bit vulnerable with a Savior... So will you let Jesus know you? Will you embrace the close and intimate relationship He wants to have with you? Because with that intimate relationship comes forgiveness and yada’, something only followers truly experience. Will you be a fan or a follower???