The Faith of the Sinner

Luke 7: 36-50

The woman who wet Jesus’ feet with her tears

wiped them with her hair and kissed His feet

and anointed Him with ointment from an alabaster flask

This sinner

Had faith that Jesus has forgiven her of her many sins

She had not yet asked for forgiveness

But she knew

Her sins were forgiven by Jesus

In response to this forgiveness which she has not yet asked for

She was filled with 

Gratitude

Love

Joy

And she demonstrated her gratitude

By her tears of gratefulness

By her kissing of Jesus’ feet

By anointing Jesus with ointment

For she knew her sins were many

And Jesus’ forgiveness was even greater

All before she asked for forgiveness

Jesus

Saw her faith

Knew her many sins

Was pleased by her faith

as demonstrated by her gratitude

Out of His compassion

And pleasure in seeing her faith

Granted her 

Forgiveness

And blessed her with

Peace

“Your faith has saved you

Go in peace”

You and Me

Jesus promised 

Whatever we ask for in prayer

Believe that we have received it

And it will be ours

Forgiveness

God the Father can’t wait to grant us forgiveness 

He is bursting at the seams waiting for us to ask for it

Forgiveness

Through His Son Jesus

Who died for us on the cross

Even before we repented of our sins

God saw our every sin

Before we committed even one

Before we asked for forgiveness

Jesus went to the cross

In anticipation of our asking

So that when we do ask

God’s forgiveness is awaiting us

The punishment of our sins fully paid for

Faith is the Key

Do we have the faith of this woman in Luke 7

Do we have the faith that 

Even before we ask

God has already granted us forgiveness

God rejoices over us with singing

Angels join Him in the heavenly realm with ruckus celebration 

When each of us come to faith

Hold on to Who God is

His love for us

Demonstrated by Christ’s death on the cross

His grace and mercy poured out for us

as His side was pierced and blood flowed out

Christ died on the cross in anticipation of our sins

Christ rose from the dead 

To demonstrate His power and authority

To forgive us of our sins

Forgiveness is waiting for you

Now

Take it

Total Surrender

Lord, here am I

Send me

Lord, show me where You want me to go

and I’ll go

I’ll go

Now show me where You want me to go

Subtle differences?

This was a huge paradigm shift for me

I’ve always wanted to know first

Where God wants to send me

I can then negotiate 

and consider

What I wanted

What I’m willing to do

But to first 

Commit

To God

And being willing to go wherever

Without first knowing where

This is a game-changer

Total commitment

Total surrender

to God’s will

Giving God the blank check

Where-ever

What-ever

How-ever

Which-ever

Now and 

When-ever

Lord have mercy

My conditional obedience has been exposed

Lord have mercy

Help me to step down from the throne of my life

And give You 

Your rightful place

You

Sit and

Reign 

On the throne of my life

You call the shots

You set Your agenda

You determine the 

What

Where

When

How

Total trust in You because of 

Who You are

The Creator Who formed me in my mother’s womb

The Ever-Lasting God Who saw 

my every day before one day came into being

The All-Knowing God Who knew

my every thought before I had each one 

The Ever-Present God Who was with me

In my darkest nights

And my highest heights

The Perfect

Loving

All Powerful

Wonderful

Attentive

Heavenly Father

You Who love me and call me 

Your very own

Your beloved

Your precious child

Your masterpiece

If You love me more than I can possibly love myself

If You have the power to create the world

And to place me

In such a time as this

In such a place as this

Why wouldn’t You possibly

Have Your perfect plan for me

as You so generously allow me to 

Take part in Your Kingdom

Take part in Your Will

May I

By Your mercy

Respond

To Your love

Your calling

Your will

Step down from my self-importance

Step down from my own control

Step down from my self-will

Step down from my selfish desires and wants

Submit finally

Now

To Your will

Lord have Your way 

In me

By Your mercy

Increase my faith

For I do believe

But help me with my unbelief

I do desire to do Your bidding

Help me with my holding back

Lord

Have 

Mercy

And

Have Your way 

In me

“I’ll go. Now show we where you want me to go.” Renaissance Church. (2021, August 16). What it means to be human [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/zBK0b2bR0Ao?t=1408

"I Shall Not Want" - Audrey Assad

"I Surrender" - Hillsong Live

"Here I Am Send Me" - Darlene Zschech

Christ Our Atonement

In the Old Testament

Offerings were made in the temple to rid people of sins

Sin Offerings for unintentional sins committed

Guilt Offerings for when one isn’t certain if one has sinned

Intentional sins are not forgivable

One cannot intentionally commit sin and offer a sacrifice after

Lashes are meted out and restitutions made

when premeditated sins were committed

During Yom Kippur

Forgiveness is sought between man and God

Since it’s the day when one’s name will be recorded in 

The Book of Life or Death 

According to one’s behaviors for the year

Practicing Jews ask for forgiveness from others

Make restitutions for sins committed

And ask to be reconciled with one another

So they could face God and be reconciled with Him

Ensuring their names be recorded in 

The Book of Life

For the year

Intentional sins however

Are not forgiven

Not even during Yom Kippur

The Priest offers sacrifices on behalf of the people

To postpone the eventual punishment for intentional sins:

Death

When one offers a four-footed animal as an offering at the temple

The offerer would lay his hand on the sacrificial animal

to transfer his sins onto the animal

The offerer then kills the animal

identifying with the punishment of his sins

The Priest takes over the rest of the sacrificial ritual

After the sins are transferred and animal killed

Holy God’s punishment meted out for our sins

Unintentional and intentional

The ultimate cost of our sins

Death

When Christ became our Sacrifice

He took on the punishment due us

He received 39 lashes on our behalf

He was nailed to the cross 

His body pierced 

His blood shed

He died on the cross

Holy God is satisfied

As sins are dealt with

And punishment meted out

Only Christ can meet God’s criteria of a sacrificial lamb

Christ the Perfect Lamb

Christ paid the cost of our sins

Christ the Sacrificial Lamb

God satisfied

Our sins atoned

Christ is our 

Sin Offering cleansing us of our sins

Guilt Offering easing us of guilty conscience

Peace Offering to reconcile us with God

Fellowship Offering to restore our relationship with God

 Christ the only Son of God

Christ the Perfect Sacrifice

Christ the Triune God

Has become our

Atonement

"Divine Exchange" by People and Songs

"Cleansed" by Christy Gayle

"Redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb" by People and Songs

Pandemic Reflections

When the shut-down started

Time crawled slowly

Waiting with bated breath

For the shut-down to be lifted

Days went by

Counting weeks

As the months went by

Time sped up

Each day flew by quickly

How could it be the weekend again 

When it felt like Monday was only yesterday

My private practice picked up

Therapy sessions shot up

One of my Love Languages is Quality of Time

Meeting with my patients was spending time

Daily

All day and night

With people I enjoy

Time just flew

There were also downsides though 

No more bandwidth for ministry

Missed out on new Youth Group meeting times

Not available during new Children’s Church meeting times

Playdates with my spiritual daughters’ children over Zoom 

Were not so fun

It was the most difficult part of the pandemic for me

No more going to places with them

To play and to facilitate their play

Indoor arcades and outdoor playgrounds

Frequenting Barnes and Noble with my Addie

Grandkids hating Zoom

One of my granddaughters announced at the top of a Zoom date:

“I am over it!”

How I agreed with her

Missing out on delicious desserts and meals

when I met with my spiritual daughters over discipleship

That was a true bummer for me

We only got to watch each other eat 

instead of sharing one another’s food

Meeting over Zoom or over the phone though

Made meeting with adults easier

No more fighting traffic to drive from one place to the next

Just stayed home and spent time over teleconferencing

Friday night Bible Studies broadened 

With friends joining from different states

Worshiping on Sundays over Zoom

Catching up with everyone after the service

Seeing my extended families over Zoom

With opportunity to speak with my family members everyday

Margin of time was gained on the weekends

More time to spend with hubby

Picked up drawing and sketching again

Listened to so many more audiobooks

Stayed up late into the night binge-watching Netflix

Got addicted to K-Drama

Went away on vacation breaks

To experience changes of scenery 

And to enjoy nature

Refreshed and rejuvenated

Reset button pushed

Ready to face pandemic life anew each time

As we recover from the Pandemic

Great to see brothers and sisters again

Getting back to seeing people in person

Catching up with one another in outdoor venues

Worshipping with one another 

In person 

Inside church 

Again

New things to come

New normal to adapt to

Incorporating new lessons learned 

Hopefully 

From the pandemic

What Satan meant for evil

God meant for good

With positive and negative experiences and all

Godly vs Worldly Sorrow

“Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).

Sorrow

Regrets

For things done wrong

Decisions foolishly made

Deeds done 

Time has gone by

We cannot go back and make changes

What is done is done

A-a-h

Regrets

Self-flagellation

Self-condemnation

Mind churning

Preoccupation

Restless nights

Who can save us from ourselves

Who can undo the wrongs we have done

We cry to ourselves

We cry out for help

But wait:

Therefore there is now no condemnation 

for those who are in Christ Jesus

For the law of the spirit 

Has set us free

From the law of sin and death

Jesus has paid the price for our

Selfish intentions

Bad decisions

Wrongful acts

How gentle the Holy Spirit Who sees us

Our intentions

Our mixed motives

Our self-indulgence

Our decisions

Our actions 

Our acting out behaviors

Even what we do in secret

He sees us just as who we are

And accepts and loves us 

He is ever patient with us

He embraces us sin and all

Out of His full and unconditional love

The Holy Spirit taps our shoulder 

GENTLY

And calls our attention 

Encouraging us to make a different decision

We respond in repentance

Making that 180-degree turn

Which leads us to reconcile with God

The shame we felt from our sin is now gone

For the Holy Spirit does not condemn

He has already forgiven us

He calls us back to Himself

Back into relationship

Where there is no shame

No need to hide

For there is full forgiveness

Total love

Absolute acceptance

Even in the midst of our sin

As for our regrets

There is no longer any

Nope not one

None needed

For the Person we have offended

Has already forgiven us

He has paid for the cost of our offense

Even the offense done against Him

With love He calls us back to Him

Back into relationship with Him

Back to His bosom

Where there is 

Full acceptance

Full forgiveness

Total 

Absolute

Love

Now that is godly sorrow 

There is repentance

Reconciliation of relationship

But no regret

For there is no room for it

No need

None

Worldly sorrow however

Is condemnation

 And accusation 

From the pit of hell

Satan

Father of lies

Who wants us to hide in shame

Withdraw ourself from 

God

 

The very One Who 

Forgives

Loves 

Accepts

Receives 

Us back 

To Himself

What will you choose

Who will you choose

The God of Forgiveness Who 

Sees us

Knows us

Yet He accepts

Forgives and 

Loves us

Or 

The Father or Lies

Who condemns us

So we would withdraw from God

And play right into his schemes

To breaking off of relationship with God

And live in the pit of 

Self-condemnation

Regret

Sorrow

Alienation

Pity

Death

"How Can It Be" - Lauren Daigle

"We Are Forgiven" - Elevation Worship

"Thank You Jesus for the Blood" - Charity Gayle

Suffering Produces…Hope

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4)

Suffering

Adversity

Hardship

Ordeal

Torment

Misery

Anguish

Who wants any of this

Unless one is a “Glutton for punishment”

Or has an unconscious need to be punished or be a victim

Who in the world would willingly submit to suffering

Suffering needs to have a purpose

Having purpose gives us hope

It gives our suffering meaning

Jesus’ suffering brought about our salvation

Reconciliation of relationship between God and humankind

His suffering had a clear purpose

“For the joy set before Him He endured the cross”

Jesus saw the purpose of His suffering:

US

Therefore He was able to endure the suffering of the cross

How about us

What purpose could our suffering possibly accomplish

Romans chapter 5 states that 

Suffering produces perseverance

When we are unable to get out of suffering

Long term suffering

We feel powerless

We finally come to the end of ourself

When we realize that we do not have the power to stop our suffering

There seems to be no other choice except to endure

Endurance under long term suffering

Produces

Perseverance

What Satan meant for evil God meant for good

When we see our suffering from that perspective

We get to choose how we respond to suffering

This persevering attitude

Where we get to choose how we respond 

Gives us the opportunity to take on 

The Mind of Christ

Sharing in His suffering

In order that we might share in His glory

We gain the privilege of 

Identifying with Christ in His suffering

So we might also share in His resurrection glory

This is a Christ-like attitude

Christlikeness

Christ character

Godly character

Our perseverance then produces character

Since this character is of God

We have hope

Our hope does not disappoint

For it is centered on Christ

His death

His resurrection

There is resurrection hope in the midst of our suffering

Knowing that our suffering is working in us to

Produce perseverance

Perseverance working in us to develop

Christ-like character

Because of what Christ as done for us on the cross

We too have the hope of resurrection

We then have hope in the midst of our suffering

There is yet a purpose in our suffering

For God is working in us

In and through 

Our suffering

Therefore

Suffering 

Produces perseverance

Perseverance 

produces character

and Character 

Produces 

Hope

A hope that does not disappoint

In the midst of 

Our suffering

"While I Wait" ~ Lincoln Brewster

"Joy in the Suffering"

Being Thankful

God calls us to be thankful

Grateful

Full of appreciation

Not taking anything for granted

Not being numb

Not being apathetic

But

Being 

Actively

Grateful

Thankful

For He has blessed us

With every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm

With daily Manna for our spiritual needs

With wisdom from above to guide our decisions

With abilities to earn our keep

With sustenance to meet our physical needs

With the very breath in our lungs

With every heartbeat to circulate oxygen throughout our body

With adrenaline to give us energy

With an immune system that keeps us healthy

Money and power do not buy us the very breath we need

It is God and only God

Who gives us 

Breath

Life

This same God gives us

New mercies

Every morning

Great is His faithfulness

The Author and Finisher of our life

The Lover of our soul

The Sustainer of our being

He is our

Provider

Protector

Father

Friend 

Lover

Sustainer

Our

Every-thing

Praise

Praise and thanks

To the Lord our God

"Goodness of God" - Bethel Music

"Grateful" - Elevation Worship