Thank you. Good morning. Please join me in prayer. Lord Jesus, I thank you so much for this fellowship, for these dear people whom you have chosen to know you, for the goodness and the beauty of this day. I thank you for the families, for those who have chosen to be here this morning. Father, I pray that you would speak to us. I pray that you would Have your way with the words and have your way with our ears that we might hear your speak. And Lord, we need your encouragement this day. We need your word, that absolute truth that is unbending, that which can never change. Thank you for saving us as we sang, for opening our eyes to the most precious person that there is. the Lord Jesus Christ, who came and loved us and gave his life for us and rose from the dead, proving that he is God over all, one with you, Father, and the Holy Spirit. These things are a mystery to us, but we know them to be true because our lives have changed. You have given us the faith to believe, and you have touched our hearts to repent of the way we went and acknowledge that your way is right. Father, I just pray, whatever is their needs, the things that we have prayed for and those things that we didn't pray for, I pray that you would respond, Father, to the cries of our heart. And you, O Holy Spirit, interpret through those mysterious groans to the Father what is our greatest need. and answer our prayers accordingly. We pray them by faith, the faith that you gave us, in Jesus' name, for his sake, for his glory. And Father, I pray that his words, that are unlike any other words on earth, might speak to us from heaven, that we might have our hearts and minds in heaven. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, thank you. It's good to be with you. You always know when the first of the month is for a Sunday. So please say hi to Mark for me and trust that he is well. Brad asked me when he walked in the door, are we in John today? And actually, we're not going to be. But to fulfill all righteousness, I would like to turn us to one chapter in John, chapter 3. Just before we start, to have two verses, John chapter 3, starting in verse 20. Just two verses to set a backdrop for where we will be. Verse 20 says, for everyone who does wicked things, the NIV says evil, hates the light, and does not come into the light. I'm reading from the ESV. Lest his work should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light. So that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. That's the background. By human nature, we do not come to God. We are bent towards doing the wrong thing. And unless God does his work in us, we cannot come into the light. Ever since the beginning, ever since the first sin, our tendency is to hide. and to hide from others our sins so that we may keep doing evil. And we don't like light shining into our world, this is by nature now, because we wanna keep doing the things that we wanna keep doing. So that's the background. I just want us to remember again that we are Christians. If we are Christians here this morning, we are Christians solely by the work and power and grace of God. And so that helps us in our prayers, doesn't it? When we pray for unsaved relatives as we did today, our prayer has to be, oh God, work in them. We have two sons. One came to know the Lord early in life and the other one, though he was exposed to it and there was a time where he said he would have been a Christian, today would say no. And only God can break through that. But we, as having a hotline to God, can pray and ask God for his mercy and for change. But I just want us to remember that our nature is to resist the light, to hide, and to project an image to others that we are better than we actually are. Having said that, let's turn to the text we will be in today. We'll be in Luke. And I think that's somebody else's territory that comes At least Chuck, when he first broached this to me, he said, so and so will be in Luke, you'll be in John and such and such. But since they don't have a copyright on any of these gospels, I feel free to use one of them. And if he has preached in it, that's fine because why would we quit reading our Bible just because we read it once? And so let's keep reading. There's no other book like this book, is there, that we can read this every day, the same things, and expect something new and different? I've been reading the Bible for 42 years, and every day I expect God going to speak to me, don't you? And that's what's so different than today's newspaper. Even the inmates don't want to read yesterday's newspaper. It's old. This is living. So let's look at Luke chapter seven, One of my all-time, if you're allowed to have a top 10 list, Luke chapter 7 would be one of my top 10. But we're going to start in verse 28. And I'm going to read right through to the end of the chapter, so bear with me, so that we have the whole context before we comment on it too much. Jesus says, I tell you among those born of women, none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another. This is probably a childhood verse that they sang to each other as they skipped rope or whatever they did. We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge, that's a funeral song, and you did not weep. Then Jesus goes on and says, for John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine and you say he has a demon. The son of man has come eating and drinking, and you say, look at him, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Yet wisdom is justified, proved right by all her children. One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. And behold, a woman of the city who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment. a jar of perfume. And standing behind them at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, that's always the Pharisee's favorite audience, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering him, and interesting that Jesus answered him and the man just started in his head. Jesus answered and said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. And he answered, say it, teacher. A certain money lender, and here's the parable. A certain money lender had two debtors, one owed 500 denarii and the other 50. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon answered, the one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt. And he, Jesus, said to him, you have judged rightly. Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman? I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but he who is forgiven little, loves little. And he said to her, your sins are forgiven. You know, every time I read those words, I'm just drawn into the story, aren't you? Can you imagine what this felt like for this woman? He turns to her personally and says, in front of everyone else, your sins are forgiven. Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, who is this who even forgives sins? And he said to the woman, your faith has saved you, go in peace. I've only got a couple more times with you, and I feel like we can all bring what we know best, I think. And one of them is the element of having spent 40 years in prison ministry. And I actually started about 10 years ago writing down principles that I've learned. You can tell how long ago I wrote them because I started out with 30 things I've learned in 30 years of prism history. Now I'm up to 40 things I've learned in 40 years of prism history. And it's a project that's always on hold. I'm still at 30, so that's where we're at. But one of the things that strikes me so much is this concept of repentance. What does that look like? How do we respond to it? How do we know if people have truly repented? What is repentance? And that's the context overall. John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. When you went to John, you were identifying in your baptism with repentance. I'm sorry, God's way is right, my way was wrong, I'm turning around and I'm turning to God. Now, there's repentance in the sense of salvation which we often and thank the Lord, it's the one we most cherish that God gave us the gift of repentance because even repentance had to come from God. You know, the Jews, the early believers were Jewish. And they were amazed that God had, quote, granted repentance even unto the Gentiles. So that if you have turned to Christ, even your turning to Christ was something that was granted to you. I've got a young man at Chester County, and I think I shared with you before, I've got half my guys on this block. They're in maximum security. They're waiting for trial. They can't go to chapel services. They're stuck on that tier so. The Bible study has to come to them. So I go on to the tier, and they have to push their, a button inside their cell that puts on a light over their cell. And there's two in each cell. And the officer says, whoever wants to go to Bible study, push your button. So all of a sudden, I'll see these lights light up. As I'm looking up, it's two tiers of cells, two floors in an open area. So I can look up, and I can see who's pushing their button. And they'll come out. Well, right now, we've got more than half of them coming out of their cell for this. And yes, praise God. And I'd say half of the ones that are coming are Hispanic. They're from South America, different countries in South America, Argentina, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Mexico. And right now I'm in a season where only one speaks very poor English. All the others don't speak a lick of English. Usually I have an interpreter. Usually some guy just is bilingual. But right now I'm having to bring in, I got it in my car actually, a New Testament that's got English and Spanish. And so between Marco who has got the broken English and my broken Spanish, we pull it off. The problem is that you can only speak to half the group at half the time. And so it's so beautiful to see the work of the Lord among those English speaking inmates who wait while I try in broken Spanish to explain the lesson in Spanish between me and Marco. And then the Spanish-speaking guys have to wait while I talk to the English-speaking men. So they're exercising such Christian charity, where's charity, that you just see the work of God in their lives. Well, Marco, the last two weeks, has just spontaneously, he can't be more than 22 years old. And he's this delightful young guy, and his story is that no one had ever talked to him about Jesus. Now, you would be surprised at that, because South America is such a strongly Roman Catholic country, that at least you would expect that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and all the saints have been taught. But he wasn't even aware of that. I'm sure he heard the name, but he had never known the gospel. A friend said, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine. So he went over to the friend's house, and the friend that he wanted to introduce him to was Jesus. And so that's when he heard about Jesus the first time. But he left it there, came to America. I don't know whether he's here illegally or not. But he says, since I've been in jail here, God has changed my life. He is delightfully born again. He went on to tell me last week that he was actually an atheist. He didn't believe in God. Now he not only believes in God, he gives testimony to how he sees Christ working in his life week by week. He's got such a gentle spirit. It's obvious that true repentance has entered this young man's life since he's been to jail. Somewhere in that process, he repented. Look at here, there's some elements of repentance. Verse 29 of Luke 7, when all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, that's a way of throwing in the sinners. The tax collectors, like the prisoners, are looked down upon by society. They too declared God just. The NIV says they declared God's way right. So there's an element about repentance that acknowledges a standard beyond the way we used to think or believe. Wouldn't you say that's true? By coming to John, they're saying I agree that the way I was thinking and the way I was living was wrong and that God's standard is right. And so an element of repentance, the idea of turning away from what I used to believe or what I used to want to do even if I knew something was right and what I was doing was wrong, I now, not only acknowledge that it's right, that it's the right way, but I feel it in my heart. Repentance involves a, almost a sorrow, an emotional, it is a sorrow. It's an emotional response to, it's not just that I've been wrong, I've been really wrong. When your parents tell you to do something, that's the standard, right? Clean your room. The standard is just, you're big enough to clean your room, I'm your father, go clean your room, right? So if that's the standard, if to do the just thing, the right thing, and it was right to give it, I should do what? Go clean my room. If I pout and I say, I don't want to, That's going against the standard. And there usually is a punishment for going against the standard, especially if someone has all the power and the stick. They have the way to make you do the standard. But you may still not believe in your heart that it's the right thing. You'll do it because you've been kind of forced to do it, but you're not really happy about it. That's not quite repentance, that's wisdom, but it's not quite repentance. Repentance says I acknowledge that God's way is right, that the standard is right, that whatever I'm being given, I have seen it, I understand it, and I agree that what I was doing does not meet that standard, and I am really sorry that I broke that standard. In 2 Corinthians chapter seven, around verse 10, it says that there are two kinds of sorrow regarding repentance. One is godly sorrow and one is worldly sorrow. Godly sorrow, 2 Corinthians 7 says, leads to repentance, which has no regret. In other words, I'm sorry over breaking the standard, whatever it is. I've been going the wrong direction. I turn away from that and I turn towards the standard and I'm sincere about it. I have no regrets going to it because I acknowledge that not only what it was right, I was wrong, and I'm coming back. That's godly sorrow. It leads to repentance. Worldly sorrow does not lead to repentance. It leads to death. Why? Because I can clean my room because I'm afraid of getting spanked, but I'm not really agreeing that it was right to do it. I didn't like it. Does that make sense? And so worldly sorrow leads to death. When I come to a man's cell in prison, for example, I can come to, just going cell to cell, every man's a stranger, and so I listen to his situation. I can come to two men who would be there for the identical thing, and both of them are crying. Both of them are shedding tears. Both of them are feeling the ouchie. Both of them are very sorry that they are in pain. It looks to me like they're, Broken, looks to me that they're in pain, looks to me obviously that they're sad, but I can't tell if one is repenting and one is not. It looks the same to us. In our story, we have a woman who comes in totally broken, right, into this scene. Jesus knows that this is her time. Jesus is God. He knows that what she is demonstrating, the sorrow she is demonstrating, and the love she is demonstrating towards the one who can relieve her pain is genuine. You and I don't have that ability to tell whether repentance at the time is genuine or not. Wouldn't you agree with that? The only thing that will prove genuine repentance for our perspective is what? What'd you say? Fruit. And that takes time. Fruit doesn't appear immediately on the tree. So I want to believe and I treat each man as though he is genuine in his sorrow. But what will prove in the end whether it was godly sorrow or worldly sorrow? It will be what they do when the pressure of the moment is taken off or if the consequence has been somehow relieved or if the danger has passed. And that's what I say to them. It's not what you say to me or to God today, it's what you'll say when your wife takes you back, or when you're released, or when you pay back what you stole. It's what you'll do when the heat or the danger or the ouchie has passed. Does that make sense? Now you and I can't know when that time is, but please give them the grace at least give them the grace that their tears and their pain and the sorrow, be it godly or worldly, is hurting them. We can at least say that to them. We can express compassion. They're feeling the pain. But between one man and the other, one man may be feeling only the pain of his consequences without really feeling a need to change. Once the consequences are relieved, He'll go back to doing what he did before because the danger, the punishment has passed. When I got out of prison, remember I told you I changed the furniture in my life so that I wouldn't violate my parole? But that wasn't repentance, that was expediency. That was a form of worldly wisdom. If I am found hanging around with ex-convicts, that's a violation of my parole, I can go back to jail. I didn't do that. If I want to break into a store at night and steal something like I used to do, that will violate my parole. So I didn't do those criminal activities. But was I repentant? No, I was only doing what was expedient to stay out of jail. Now, as far as the state is concerned, they were happy with that. They're not interested in real repentance as long as you keep obeying the rules. But God is interested in repentance. And so we have here a, what does it take to repent? Many of the men and women in prison feel sorrow, and that's the funeral song. They'll repent because it hurts. The dirge is being played. But when they get out, that will show whether the repentance had taken or not. Others, their life is good. They're blessed by God. You can even use those words with some people. You know, your life is good. Look where you live. Look at the, you've got a safe income, you've got a nice house. You ought to be grateful that God has given you this gift. Correct? No. That's what's happening here. The question really being asked here when it's not a question, it's that children's song. We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not weep. There's a question behind that. What's it going to take? If a prison sentence, if being pulled out of your life, if being separated from the people you love, unable to see your children, unable to see your loved ones, and it's going to be years, if that doesn't, Hurt. And you don't ask the question, how did I get here? What's going to stop this pain? I've been an idiot. If that doesn't work, what will? And some have been released. God answered their prayer. They got out of prison. Their life was good. They were forgiven. And they go back to their old ways. And it's like when times were bad, it didn't work. When times are good, it didn't work. What's it going to take? That's ultimately the question. What is it going to take? I tell the guys constantly, don't waste this sorrow. Don't waste the spankings, kids. You know, it's like, don't waste the sorrow. I said, you know, you're a double loser if you're experiencing the pain that everybody in prison feels and you do nothing to change it. The repentant man is saying, this hurts and I've got to change my life and make the decisions not to do anymore the decisions I made that got me here in the first place. I turn around from those and I go the right way. The unrepentant man says, this hurts and woe is me because the roof caved in on me and I'm here in prison. That's not repentance, that's sorrow. Granted, but it's not repentance. Does that make sense? All of this is leading into this encounter. One of the most poignant stories, I think, in the Bible. You can almost feel the drama in the room as this happens. There's three players, three major players in this story. Simon, the Pharisee, Jesus, the Son of God, and the sinful woman whose name we're not given. There's also observers. We see that down in verse 49. It's the three of the main players, but they were the observers, verse 39. Then those who were at table with them began to say among themselves. So we know there's a group of people who are there at this setting. What is it about this story? Let me ask that question. What is it about this story? that's been told for over 2,000 years now in every single culture that has something to say to people in every single culture? What is it that grips us? What are some of the things? Just give me a few. It's okay if we talk. That was an amen. I hope. Isn't that poignant, Gary? Who would agree with that? Washing his feet with her tears. If that doesn't, wow. What else? What else is? Poignant is the only word I can use. What is it that sticks with you? What is it that just touches your heart about this story? Forgiveness. Thank you. Yes. Forgiveness. What else? There's lots of stuff. How about the attitude of Simon? You know, I see this a lot in terms of the way people talk about people in prison. I pick up this attitude towards, well, they're all sinners. Let's dig into this story just a little bit. One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to come to his house for dinner. Verse 37, and behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table at the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster jar of perfume, the NIV says, flask of ointment, it says here, and standing behind him, notice the positions that she takes in verse 38. She's standing behind him. Now she's standing at this point, but which part of his body is she at? The head or the feet? Yeah, does your translation say standing at him by his feet or? 38? Okay, stood at his feet. ESV says standing behind him at his feet. What else is she doing in verse 38? She's weeping. Uh-oh. What else is she doing? Wow, you've got to have a lot of tears to wash someone's feet. And what was her cloth? Her hair. Yeah. And what else did she do in the same verse? Kissed his feet. And what else? Yeah, anointed him with the ointment. Wow. Now, when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, apparently it's an open situation where people can just walk into the house. Here's where the cultures in the world might be different. But the essentials of this story are the same for all people throughout all generations. A man with an attitude, Jesus the Son of God, and a woman who even the text describes as a sinner. Now, the Bible doesn't tell us what her specific sin is. Nor does it tell us how recently she was committing her sins. It simply acknowledges that she was a sinner. Why doesn't the Holy Spirit give us the sin that she was committing? He does in other places. The woman caught in adultery, the woman who had five husbands. But why does the Holy Spirit, why does he not see it as pertinent to this story? To identify exactly what she was doing and how recently she was doing it. Maybe so it's easier for all of us to apply it to ourselves. That's a great answer. Great thought, Gary. Yeah, I can fit it here. You know, did you ever hear someone, like a preacher, get up in the pulpit and say, well, we're all sinners? Do you know what I'm often inclined to think when I hear that? I feel like raising my hand and going, what specific sin are you talking about? Now, of course, my wife would never let me do that. But isn't it easier to tell people that we're sinners than to tell them exactly what sin it is that we're doing. Why is that? Because it puts us out there. It may change their opinion of us. When a man or woman goes to prison for a certain crime, the whole country knows what it is if it's that well-known. Certainly if someone goes to a county jail here, it's in the papers, isn't it? If it's a really bad offense, everybody looks down on that person. What did Simon say when he saw the woman come in? What was his opinion of her status? And what was his opinion of Jesus? He scorns them both. Look at verse 39. Now when the Pharisee who invited him saw this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, if this guy were spiritual, if this guy were a religious leader, if this guy were anybody that the people think he is, he would have known who, and this word kills me, and what sort of woman is touching him, for she is a sinner. One of the principles that I've learned about in prison, about people's views of prisoners especially, is that they tend to lock them into the crime that they committed. How does that play out in our lives? I think we can we can tend to lock people in to some action that they did long ago, or to some events that happened to them long ago, and in our minds, whenever we see that person, we think, oh, there's the person that fill in the blank. Without regard for the work of grace in their lives, without regard for the amount of time that has passed, I had one really good example of this, and you can see this at a parole hearing. Has anyone ever been to a parole hearing? I'll tell you what happens at a parole hearing. A person has been sent, whenever you hear a sentence like, you are sentenced from 15 to 20 years. That means at 15 years of time in prison, they're now eligible for parole because the time of your punishment is to be 15 years to 20 years. So you have to go before this group of people who are, they have their own jobs, but they've gotten onto the parole board, and they decide whether you should get out. Now the criteria for getting out should be evidence of change while you were in and what kind of prisoner you were in, what kind of prisoner you were while you were in. In other words, they're looking for what? Change. What in 15 years, as a parole board, encourages us to think that you're free to enter society again? I remember attending, two parole hearings for one particular guy. He had already done over 20 years and he would have been eligible for parole around 12 years. But they kept, you know, parole hearings were like once every three years. So he'd had about three or four parole hearings up until this time. But what would happen is parole board members aren't always the same. New ones come on. And what happens is they read the charges of this man in front of them and He's done 22 years, and it's as though those 22 years mattered nothing. They read it, and they look at it, and they said, this was horrendous. you're a danger to society, and they bring him right back to where he was when he got sentenced. I think we can do that to people just by, like Simon here, there's the person who did such and such, and he'll always be that person, or they can never change. There's just no accounting for the grace of God. There's no movement there. How would you like to be branded forever by some, Something you did long, long ago, you know you've changed. God knows you've changed. Your Christian friends know you've changed. But the world will never forgive you because they just stay at a distance from you. That's what's happened here. I don't know how recently this woman was a sinner. It might have been right up until that time. Jesus in his mercy and his godhood knows that she has changed. He sees the evidence of it. He is not. He is not blaming Simon for his lack of understanding whether she's repented or not. What's he blaming him for? His lack of compassion over the pain that she's exhibiting. Look at this series of events here. Verse 44. Then turning to this woman, I want you to notice the play that Jesus uses between you, pointing to Simon, and she, pointing to the sinful woman. Catch the you and the she. Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet. Why is that a problem? What was customary in those days to do for a guest? Wash their feet, there was usually a bowl of water. Maybe even today, Brad, you might know this better. Is that still a, in Middle Eastern cultures, where they're wearing sandals, they walk on dirt roads, you come into someone's house, it was customary to have a bowl of water there to wash their feet. I came into your house, you did not do what was customary for me, but she has wet my feet with her tears. Verse 45, you gave me no kiss. The customary greeting in many cultures today is a kiss on the cheek. But from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil. She has anointed my feet with ointment. Watch verse 47. He shifts from the subject, you, to the possessive pronoun for her. Verse 47. Therefore I tell you, Simon, that her, what is it that she possesses? Sins. That her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she has demonstrated true repentance by her love. She kisses Jesus' feet, she's crying. How is it, now going back to that section in John, how is it that our human nature is reluctant to come into the light? How is it that this sinful woman can come and approach somebody who is sinless? It's not our human nature. So what is happening here has been done by whom? If it's not our nature to approach a light, and certainly Jesus is the light, the light of the world, his reputation is out, how is it that she could crash this party and seek out the one who is sinless when human nature says, I want to avoid the light? What made Jesus approachable? What do you think? she could come to him. What do you think? I mean, I don't profess to know all the reasons that she had, but what is it about Jesus that makes him approachable when our nature wants to hide from our sins, and yet, even in our daily repentance, don't we come to him? Yes, go ahead. Yes, you know he's going to be good to his word. Anyone who comes to me, I will in no wise cast out. That's a promise from God. What is it that makes us keep coming to him as Christians? The closer we get to the light, the more dirt we see, isn't it true? Wouldn't you say that? What did Paul call himself? Chief of sinners. That's how I feel when I come to him. Father, here I am again. And yet I'm there again, being drawn by his approachability, his promise. If we confess our sins, he, not me, he is faithful. He will forgive me. He is just to forgive me because he's punished his son already for my sins. It's no small thing, brothers and sisters, to know that we can come to God. It's no small thing. To know that he has promised that he will receive it. Do you know how I pray to him sometimes? Father, you who taught us to pray 70 times seven to forgive those who offended us, shall you who instructed us in such a way not receive me again? You have a promise from God. Based on the blood of Jesus Christ, his own son who has died for you, you can come to God every single time for forgiveness and expect forgiveness because God is just, the sin has been punished. He gives Simon a parable and inserts into this story this two or three verse parable in verse 41. First he says in verse 40, because he read Simon's mind. If this man were a prophet, he'd know who was touching him, what kind of person she is. He answers and says, Simon, I've got something to say to you. Interesting that Simon says teacher, probably said rabbi. A certain money lender had two debtors. One owed 500 denarii and the other owed him 50. And when they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? I don't think it's necessary to get into how much money this was. The point is that one guy owed him a certain amount and the other guy owed him 10 times that amount. What's an average day's wage? A denarius was a day's wage. The lower debt was 50 days of pay this man owed him. So let's say if you're making $80 a day times 50 would be what? $80 a day times 50 would be $4,000. Would that be right? $4,000. The other guy owes 10 times that, $40,000. Let's say you make $200 a day. Now I got to do some math. 50 days at $200 a day is what, 10 grand? You mathematicians? That's right? Good, 10 grand. 10 times that is $100,000. Let's do that one. One guy owes him $10,000, that's a lot of money. 100,000 is a lot of money. Which one will be more grateful? Interesting parable. Nobody in this parable is not a debtor. He sets up the parable the way he wants. He starts with both are in debt. So there's no room for someone being not in debt. Would you say? Doesn't matter whether you owe 10 grand, which I probably liken unto the way Simon might have probably thought of himself. And even the Bible acknowledges that she was a sinner. Her sins, Jesus said, were many. So she's probably the 40 grand. Her actions show that she got it. Problem with Simon, though, is he doesn't see himself as that bad a sinner. He probably didn't like being inserted into the parable at all, though I think he does know that he is part of the parable. But Jesus says, do you see this woman? Simon had so locked this woman into her sinfulness that it prevented him from seeing what was going on in front of his eyes. Here's a question for you. We may have relationships with people that have burned us in the past. People that we have reason to believe could burn us again. But my question would be, always, are they different this time? Is there any change this time than last time? I can lock people in. I can see people coming and saying, oh boy, here we go. I'm locking them in every single time I do that. I'm not seeing them. That's what he asked Simon. Simon, do you see her? Well, obviously he saw her. He's thinking she's making a disgusting show of emotions in front of everybody. That's all he sees, that she's a sinful woman and doesn't Jesus see it? Jesus said, do you really see what's going on here? Let's compare her actions and her response to me with yours. You didn't even give me the traditional welcome. He didn't see himself as needing that kind of, that Jesus needed that kind of respect. This woman, though, Jesus was everything to her. Do you see this woman? One of the other principles that I would write in my book of 40 things is self-righteousness is always a view from the penthouse. I don't know what a penthouse is. It's like if you're in a tall hotel. The penthouse will be the room at the very top, the nicest suite, the best view. Self-righteousness is always a view from the penthouse. When self-righteous people look out on people, they automatically place themselves in a position above everybody else in the room. Be it because of education, be it because of finances, be it because of reputation, whatever it is, a self-righteous person does not see themselves at the feet of Jesus. and certainly not necessarily wetting his feet with her tears or feeling that need for that kind of sorrow. That's one of the principles I've seen. When people drive by a prison, I used to have this thought before I wound up in prison. I used to drive by a prison and think that's where all the bad people are. That's what I thought until I are one. Then I realized that I must be Not great, still not bad. At least I'm not as bad as so and so. Did you know that there's a pecking order in prison? Human nature is human nature wherever it is. There is actually a location in prison where they have to keep the other prisoners away from them because they'd hurt them because they have such a bad reputation. They look down on them. And you'll often hear them pointing to that group saying, you're not going in there to talk to them, are you? And my answer to them is, They need it. And I've actually had some officers say, well, yeah, you should go in there, they do need it. And I'll say to them, you need it. Yeah, I will. They don't answer me. Probably wanna keep their job, I don't know. But isn't it true? The one in charge of the inmates is just as much a sinner from God's perspective as the inmates. It does not mean that they've committed the same sin or are as great a sinner. but they are in need of forgiveness. Everyone we meet is in need of forgiveness. I have more compassion on an unbeliever's actions than I do a believer's actions because I expect them to act differently. Who can hurt us more, Christians or non-Christians? I think Christians can hurt us more because I wasn't expecting that, but that was my problem. because we're still in need of repentance, still in need of being sanctified, still being in need of change. It doesn't mean I don't trust you. Another principle I've learned is tears alone do not repentance make. We talked about that earlier. Another principle I've learned is the hand that reaches in to help people is often the one that gets bit. Have you ever thought of that? If you're in a helping profession, hurting people are going to hurt the people in closest proximity to them. Is that not true? It's not that they want to lash out at me personally, but I'm the only one that they can. I would say keep reaching in. Keep reaching in. Many other principles. I won't give you all 40. You guys did something very approachable. Chuck told me that you did go door-to-door here in Kinzers. My question is, if Simon wasn't approachable, if the woman knew she couldn't go to him and he's a religious guy, what was the difference? When you guys went door-to-door and brought your families I heard, what message did you give? Whether the people are buying what you're selling or not, what message did you give just by knocking on their door? that you want them here, that you are interested in them, and that you're going to take the initiative in their lives. That was huge. I was so encouraged, so proud of you guys when I heard that. And I know it's not a big thing to you guys, perhaps, you know, you go door to door, but that's the kind of thing. Because now there can't be anybody in these houses who think those people don't want us here. or that they're so self-righteous they won't accept us. You're already going to their house to get them. That was huge. That was no small thing and I hope you need to be commended for that. You sent a huge message to this community. And I know you're doing many other things like that. You know, you just keep on keeping on. I can't say what God has planned for your future here. I know you're a delightful congregation. I'd love to be a part of it. Love being with you. You love the Lord. That's obvious. Keep preaching the word. Keep loving people. Extending the grace of God. Keep being aware of any cultural differences that may make you unapproachable. I don't know of any, so I'm not thinking of anything in particular. I said, just keep doing the right thing. God will add to your numbers, those who are being saved. Just keep being faithful. This woman heard from Jesus' own lips, your sins are forgiven. Go in peace. The acceptance of sinners by other sinners. This was a note I wrote to myself after I thought of your going door to door. The acceptance of sinners by other sinners who have been forgiven much is a powerful force in the kingdom. As long as we remember that we, not just we're sinners, still are. And by the grace of God and in daily repentance, the blood of Christ covers our sins. We have been forgiven much. I want to share Christ. You wanna share Christ, that's why you go. What is the greatest thing that's ever happened to you? Knowing Jesus. That's the greatest thing. We are involved in the most important business in the world. What can be greater than giving people the news of eternal life? What can be more important than that? What can be funner than that, if I can use that word and not in an irreverent way? I think sharing Christ is fun. It's not that I don't come across hurting situations. I hear horrendous situations every week. But there is a certain joy that comes with knowing what the solution to their pain is, and that you have it, and that we have it. That's what Simon was discredited for by the Lord. Don't you see this person? Don't you know her need? Aren't you glad that she's showing some signs of repentance? He could at least be glad for that if he didn't know if it was going to be long lasting or not. I got a guy in Chester County, fourth trip that I've seen him. It's one of those, Oh, no, it's Bob. I'm sorry. But every time I see him, the first thought in my mind is a communication with God. Has he changed this time, Lord? Can I recognize some work of yours since he changed? He's one of those guys that knows more than whoever is speaking. He's the smartest guy in any room that he goes into. And he's gotten into the religious thing and he's gotten into the Christian jargon. I have to at least put that. I don't believe he's a believer. But he always knows some slant of Christianity that I wouldn't pursue and that's what he wants to teach everybody who's listening. He wants to be the teacher in the Bible study. When he first came in, he was into numerology. Have you ever heard of that? That's the idea that the Bible texts have codes and certain numbers mean certain things. Maybe some do. God is certainly able. to use verses and numbers that came in years after the scriptures were written. God is able to do that. But numerology goes further than that. God has inserted a code into these chapters and verses that didn't get into the Bible till a thousand years later or so. And Lenny, unless you know that, you're not really informed. That was his attitude towards me. The second time he came in, he was into the Kabbalah. Kabbalah is a strange book, and he mixes it in with the Bible. Numerology is passe. The Kabbalah was what's important. He came in three weeks ago, maybe four weeks ago. Now his deal, and I can't even describe it to you. It's got something to do with passing bills and legislation that is the work of God. He just gets stranger and stranger. And when he started in on me, I put my arm around his shoulder. I looked him right in the eyes. I said, Bob, here we go again. I love the guy, but I hate his opposition. I hate his refusal to come. But every time he comes in, I can't say hate. It's problematic to me. It's a hindrance. It's a blockage. But I love him. Somewhere under there, every time he comes in, my prayer is, Lord, show me signs that signs of repentance, signs of true faith, signs of that he's really warming to you. And you know, I pray it every week. God can do a lot in a week. Anyways, I think the impact of this book to me is that let us not be among the number that locks people in, that they can never change. Let us never get to the place where we think people can't change. If I thought that, then God's resume has to be changed. God can do all things. That's why we pray daily for our son, daughter-in-law, our two granddaughters. Pray for the people that you mentioned, Elaine, your parents. May we never, never quit praying, because God is at work. And he brought us into the light. He can bring others into the light. So let me encourage you to keep pursuing God in faith. Keep believing that he can do what only he can do, because it's not our nature to do it. And let us view people as God sees them. There are some people you need to stay away from. One thing about prison ministry is I don't want to meet these people when they're outside. God has done all the missionary work. He's gone out to all the streets and highways, houses and bars, gathered them all and put them in one place. All I got to do is go to that place. And they're out of their madness. The Proverbs says that it's better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his folly. But prison is a house of sorrow. It's better to go to a house of sorrow than to a party. Ecclesiastes 7.2. Prison is a place where people are hurting and wherever there's pain. I feel that there's an openness to what can alleviate that pain. I think that exists for everybody. I'm hurting. What can make me feel better? Some people turn to drugs. Some people turn to whatever other madness there is. But the wise person that God is working upon will see that the most precious one has died for them. And that's one thing I find myself saying over and over again. I'll close with this. There's a guy in my Bible study at Delaware County who last week is trying to influence the other guys that Jesus isn't God. And he used as an example something that one particular cult uses a lot, I've heard it, was Jesus talking to himself when he cried out on the cross. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And he said it with such, I know we're in for a little struggle here. Pray for that, by the way. If he's there Wednesday night, I have to deal with that head on for the sake of the others. But you know what bothered me most about that? Is that he used Jesus's time on the cross in a scornful way. He's mocking that he cried out, my God, my God, Why hast thou forsaken me? And that hurts me as a Christian because that very action, that very place, that very pain was purchasing my salvation. No one less than God the Son came to earth and died this beautiful, painful death on a cross. God, the wisest person that there is who knows how to make planets and universes and billions of galaxies with billions of stars, that person said that the only way you can be saved is I've got to come myself, send my son to die for you. Smartest person said that's the only way that we can be saved. So everything else is foolishness. Everything else cannot work. Nothing else can be the door as you brought out today for the sheep. And I put that before him. Would you say where you're at that God is the wisest person that there is? And they'll acknowledge that. And he determined to send his son to die on a cross for you. Do you think having done that that there was any other way you could go to heaven? Don't you think God would have taken it if there was another way? There's no other way. God didn't send an angel. Didn't send a prophet to die for your sins. Sent his own son, the precious one. And when someone mocks that, it hurts us as Christians, because he's the one who has forgiven us. Amen.