Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
Page 21
Page 22
Page 23
Page 24
16 BOCNEWS.comSEPTEMBER 2015 There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not 4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man he healed him and sent him on his way. 5 Then he asked them If one of you has a childa or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day will you not immediately pull it out Luke 142-5 Iwant to spend the next few weeks talking about how our blessings block our blessings. This is part 1 so there will be a part 2. Let me use today to lay a foundation for this series. Im going to be talking this morning and throughout this series about the Church but I am also talking about the Individual. The message here is about growing the Church and how so much of what we do and how we act can get in the way and block and restrict the growth of the church and the individual. In so many places in scripture Jesus compares the KingdomChurch to banquet feast. In our text he is at a dinner party. Jesus has been invited to a dinner party but there is some tension between him the host and the guests. It seems clear from the text that Jesus has been invited for the sole purpose of being set up. It is clear to all of us who read the bible that the Pharisees Sadducees and the Chief Priests were always trying to set traps for Jesus. Jesus was an unusual preacher. He broke a lot of religious rules and trivial traditions of the mainline faith groups. Jesus was not as orthodox and he was not always holy enough for the religious leaders of his day. He had problems with the strict rules of the Sabbath. He had major issues with the rigid religious rulers who stood on law more than they stood on love. He took offence to those who used the bible to showcase their own righteousness. Lets just tell the truth. If Jesus was in ministry today many would probably not be a member at his church. I know some folk who are so holy and righteous and pious they would have had a hard time hanging out with the Jesus I read about in Scripture. If real confession came from the pulpit we preachers would have to admit that some of us would not be caught associat- ing with Jesus. First of all for a preacher he went to too many par- ties. When he went he always seemed to enjoy a nice drink as much as anybody. When he went to these parties he ate and had a good time just like everybody else did at the party. Jesus according to scripture had developed a reputation among the preachers and the people that he was a wino and a gluttonous man who loved the company of the wrong people. He knew he had the reputation because it was Jesus who took the time to address what folk were saying about him Yes the word was out about this rabbi from Nazareth who did not have any holy hang-ups about enjoying people and enjoying himself. I know we all are with him now that we know he went to the cross and died for our sins and rose for our eternal life but not many of us would be in Jesus church and not many of us would be in his company if he ministered in Denver today He was a preacher who did not obey the religious protocols of his day. He forgave sins and he let people know that forgiveness was from God and not men. No priests can forgive your sinsonly God was his message. He was no male chauvinist. He had women in his ministry and he healed as many women as he healed men. He did not follow protocol. He touched and associated with what society called the unclean folksinners. You know like the folk in Sonny Lawson Park or those on the Triangle or the ones standing in front of the rescue missionyou know those folk who no one in the Church or government really seem to care about. Less we misread the gos- pels this was Jesus ministry. Oh we call him Savior today but not many of us in here would have fooled with Jesus. So Jesus was invited to this Sabbath Day dinner party and it was a set up from the get up When he got there a man off of the streets was already there. Luke says from the time Jesus walked through the door and laid eyes on the man they were watching Jesus to see what he would do. Luke says the man was right in front of Jesus. They put a sick man was in Jesus face They had heard all about his compassion and knew he would heal him and if he did theyd have a charge on him. It was after all the Sabbath day. They said to themselves He wont be able to withhold healing him. But before they could open their mouths Jesus foiled the plot by asking them a simple question. Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man he healed him and sent him on his way. Then he asked them If one of you has a child or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day will you not immediately pull it out And they had nothing to say. What a way to start out dinner Whos hungry after that I mean where does the party go from here Ill tell you where it went. Just look at what Jesus did. He turns the party into a classroom and zeros in on the whole issue of how preachers and prominent people partied in his day. He gives the host and the dinner guests a few tips as to how to put throw a party. That is what I like about Jesus. It was not all about church with him. It was not always about the deep spiritual stuff that so many of us get lost in. Jesus is willing to teach you about praise but Jesus is also willing to teach you how to party Who better to tell you how to partythan Jesus In Jesus day folks threw parties as a status sym- bol. When the rich man invited folks to his party everybody wanted to be close to get into his good graces. Luke says at this party Jesus noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table. They did not wait to be seated When they arrived they started choosing seats that were closest to the host. Jesus said to them Dont do that. You could get embarrassed if someone more important than you shows up and they ask you to move. When you go to a party Jesus said know party etiquette to avoid personal embarrassment. Sometimes at work and especially at Church we overestimate just how important we are. Some people really believe they are the most important person on the job. They believed they are the most important person to their boss but you have to realize and remember there are other people working at your job also. You do not always have to get the seat next to him or her in the meeting. Do not monopolize his or her time if other people are around. What some of us have to learn about ourselves is that no matter how important we think we are sometimes the less people see of us the better it is You can create more interest sometimes by keeping your distance rather than try- ing to get too close. Listen let me share some brief party etiquette. Just because you are the first one to the party do not assume it is okay to park in someones driveway. Folk may not want you to park there. Maybe they are saving the space for Big Mama or Uncle Luke or some elderly person who cannot walk very far. Park on the street first and let them tell you if it is okay to park in the driveway. Do not assume anything. People may not want you parking in their driveway. And if your car is leaking oil do not mess up folks driveway. Please park on the street When you go to someones house for dinner Jesus said dont assume you have it that way. You do know your friends have other friends other than you Right You do not go to the dinner to someones house and go straight to the kitchen. Folk may have asked somebody else to help in the kitchen. They might have wanted you to help set the table They may have wanted you to take out the trash They may have wanted you to just sit down and stay out the kitchen Do not assume folk want you in their kitchen. Do not assume anything especially if you aint no cook You might want to ask first. I took a friend home to dinner once who really had no concept of family and they did not understand that in our house around the dinner table we had assigned seats. They said they could not understand why we did not just take a seat. I said You probably do not understand and cannot understand because it is not your house. At my mommas house you did not sit at the dinner table anywhere you wanted to. You had an assigned seat. And you sure did not sit in my momma and daddys chair. Sure enough the person took my Daddys chair at the head of the table and it was explained to them that you do not sit there. I said to my friend in my nicest but sternest voice That is my daddys seat. You will have to move. And you might want to wait to be seated rather than seat- ing yourself or you could get uninvited. When you go to another persons house know etiquette to avoid embarrassment. This is what I like about Jesus. He can talk and teach about spiritual grace but he is also concerned about our social etiquette. That is what you call com- plete and total salvation Hes concerned about how I act in the Lords house but hes just as concerned about how I act in your house. Thats total salvation Hes concerned about how I praise but also how I party Thats total salvation. Now look closely at the text. I told you he turns the party into a classroom and the first lesson that was taught was for the sake of the guests. Know how to act when you go into a persons house. Know party etiquette to avoid personal embarrassment but his second lesson is directed at the hosts. And the lesson to the hosts is this When you send an invitation there can be no expectation on the recipient to reciprocate. What Jesus had noticed about the Pharisees and preachers and those in power was that they did noth- ing for anyone who could not return the favor. It was a tight knit circle of friends who fed off of each other. There was no grace between them. Love and favor and blessings between them were all conditional. If you eat at my house I expect to eat at your house. If we go out to eat I expect to pay sometimes but expect you to pay sometimes. If I give you a gift for Christmas I expect one from you. There was no grace among these Pharisees and leaders. No one did anything without expecting something in return. And some of our friends and relationships are like that. We are like that. In fact some of us are pressured and programmed beyond belief if anybody does anything for us. We all are in these tit-for-tat relationships what I call graceless relationships. We keep our status in these graceless relationships because we are programmed to feel obligated to give back to anyone who does anything for us. We our- selves in all of our relationships do not give without expecting something in return. If we are honest most of our relationships are graceless relationships. Every recipient of a blessing from me is expected to recipro- cate but at the moment you place an expectation on the recipient to reciprocate you have entered into a graceless relationship. Jesus said to the host When you give a luncheon or dinner do not invite your friends your brothers or sisters your relatives or your rich neighbors if you Reginald C. Holmes By Pastor Reginald C. Holmes First of all for a preacher he went to too many parties. When he went he always seemed to enjoy a nice drink as much as anybody. When he went to these parties he ate and had a good time just like everybody else did at the party. Your Blessings Can Block Your Blessings Continued on Page 17