September 30
Luke 5:1-11; Mark 1:40-45; Matthew 8:1-4; Luke 5:12-16; Mark 2:1-12; Matthew 9:1-8; Luke 5:17-26; Mark 2:13-17; Matthew 9:9-13; Luke 5:27-32; Mark 2:18-22; Matthew 9:14-17; Luke 5:33-39
Having just celebrated my 43rd wedding anniversary to my beautiful wife, Laurene, people will ask how we did it, or what is our secret. Our love has grown throughout the years, and yes, I would say that we are even deeper in love now than we were when we first said, "I do". When I reflect back, having met her at 18, engaged at 19, and married by 20, I realize that I simply knew that I loved her, but otherwise I came knowing little, and expecting little. I was extremely flexible. I was not yet "set in my ways". I made so many mistakes, that they are too numerous to count. I proposed to her driving her home, almost impulsively, without considering any of the implications, or other difficulties which might arise. I wasn't aware that I was supposed to approach her father first. She initially stated she needed a night, because she didn't know if we were allowed to, at our young age, to get married. The next night when she said "Yes" and she hugged me, she continued to stare at me, at which point I asked her (probably Brooklyn style), "What are you looking at? To which she asked about the ring. To which I asked, "What ring?" Yes, I never even heard of an engagement ring. And so our engagement and subsequent marriage took off. Knowing little, perhaps expecting little, but loving a lot, and remaining flexible to one another's needs. I mention this, because many never allow themselves to fall in love with Jesus, because they don't approach Him the way I approached my marriage. Though me and my wife both were young and unknowing, when we approach Jesus, He knows everything, we know nothing. We can only approach Him with an open heart, if we are not "set in our ways". Religion can harden us, mold us, into something that is too inflexible to even enter into a relationship with Jesus. All too often we think we will meet Him half-way, as though we really have anything to contribute. That is why it is essential to see ourselves the desperate sinners that we are, and our absolute dire need for our Savior. No other approach will suffice.
Notice the reaction of Peter, when he finally realizes Who it was who stood before him in Luke 5:8, " When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” That is the attitude necessary to enter into a relationship with Jesus. Now perhaps, you might think that you aren't as bad as Peter. After all, you're a "pretty good" person. We read in Mark 2:5-8, "Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts?" Don't miss the fact that God sees not only our externals, but He knows our minds, what we think, what our true motives are. We read in Hebrews 4:12-13, " For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable." God, cannot use those who don't realize the sinners that they are. Self-righteousness and pride are perhaps the biggest obstacles to approaching Jesus, as we read in Mark 2:15-17, " Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
We read in Luke 5:37-39, " “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.” If you have never entered into a relationship with Jesus, you must first realize who He is and who you are. You must get rid of all of your self-righteousness, and perhaps, your hard, stiff religiosity. If we try to fit Jesus into our pre-conceived mold it will never work. Just as when I approached my wife so long ago, I realized that I knew nothing and opened myself to something exciting and new. I was too young to be "set in my ways". Likewise, now, no matter how old you are, you must be willing to approach Jesus with a freshness, with flexibility. If you have been in a relationship for a while and have allowed yourselves to become hardened, then it is time to allow that hard exterior to be broken, so that you can experience Him openly, being the empty vessel that he alone can fill. Jesus has His arms opened, we simply must abandon everything that prevents us from rushing into those arms.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: