Jesus: The Heart-Changer
Change Happens from the Inside Out
From a Doubting Heart to a Confident Heart
From Compassion Christian Church, Savannah, Georgia
Sunday, May 7, 2017
For the next few weeks we will be looking at how Jesus can change your heart, if you will let Him.
May 7. From a Guilty Heart to a Forgiven Heart
You have to have a relationship with Jesus.
Luke 7. A Guilty heart is changed to a forgiven heart
Simon is the host of the meal. Simon is a teacher, a Pharisee. Pharisees typically find themselves at odds with Jesus. As a group, Jesus has not been touched positively by the Pharisees. Jesus has been invited to Simon’s house for a meal.
A woman, a former prostitute, is a new believer in Jesus. She bursts into this dinner party. She has been touched by Jesus and now she is touching Him in an amazing way.
Gathered around a low table, reclining on a cushion on their left side, feet pointed away.
This woman bursts into the meal. At the house of a Pharisee. She touches Jesus. She is overwrought with sin. She had been saved. She is overcome with emotion. Her tears are like rain. She washes his feet with tears. She dries his feet with her hair. Also an outrageous act, to undo her hair like that. She pours out this perfume on him. She won’t need it anymore.
1. Jesus changes us through Healthy Guilt.
Jesus uses healthy guilt to heal her heart. She came to where He was, even though He had shown her all her guilt.
There is bad guilt. Inappropriate guilt. Inauthentic guilt. Negative feelings. It’s a weak conscience in Romans 14. Toxic guilt about something you’ve confessed and can’t let go of. You keep bringing up past sins. 1 John 1:9, If we confess, he is faithful and just.
“I don’t feel forgiven. We read in 1 John 3:20, “Whenever our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts.”
Feel freedom from guilt. “Why are you bringing this up?” Because I still feel guilty. You can find freedom from guilt through confession to another person. It is a risk to open up to others, but so worth it.
Feeling guilty for things that other people disapprove of. Parents, don’t use guilt on your children.
Feeling guilty for things that are not your fault. Abuse victims are classic in this. Children and spouses that feel like it was their fault. If you have been abused, you are the victim; you shouldn’t feel guilty.
Toxic guilt is always destructive. Jesus doesn’t want you to feel guilty if yournot guilty.
There is healthy guilt. Appropriate negative moral feelings when you cross a moral boundary. Jesus wants it to change you.
In Genesis, we see healthy guilt acting on Adam and Eve.
In your vehicle, there are indicator lights, warnings of important issues that ought to be dealt with quickly. If ignored they can lead to much deeper problems at a higher cost.
In your life, guilt and shame are the indicator lights. They show that something is wrong. You’ve cheated. You’ve lied. You’ve crossed some boundary. You are haunted by bad feelings about yourself till you make things right. Something is spiritually off; healthy guilt can serve you to get it on track again.
Do you know about “TheConscience Fund”? Itis one of three gift funds maintained by theUnited States Department of the Treasuryand is used for voluntary contributions from people who have stolen from or defrauded theUnited States Government.[1]The fund was created in 1811 and received US$5 during its first year and over US$5.7million during its first 175 years.[2] Donations given to the Conscience Fund vary in size and reason. A 9centdonation was made by a person fromMassachusettswho had reused a 3centpostage stamp. Another donor sent handmade quilts in an effort to settle her tax bill.[5]Most gifts to the Conscience Fund are from anonymous donors.[1]Others are forwarded by clergy who have receiveddeathbed confessions. Honest, authentic guilt will hound you until you make things right.
The woman in this story was served well by guilt. It drove her to the grace and forgiveness of Jesus.
Proverbs 27:6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. The kisses of the enemy. The enemy lies to make you feel better. Liars are not your friends. Your real friend will tell you what’s the next right move, what you need to hear, even to wound you if there’s a change to be made.
Jesus uses the Bible to convict us. The Bible can make us wise to salvation. It’s a layer of protection. Some don’t know what the Bible says, and they do whatever they want. Here, they can hear God’s truth and purposes. We help people find what honors God.
Jesus convicts through a healthy conscience. A sense of right and wrong. It is not always a great guide. It can be reprogrammed by culture. You can have a seared conscience through repetitive sin. You can get so many signals your conscience doesn’t know how to respond. That’s why we follow conscience AFTER we follow God’s word.
Jesus convicts us when we worship together. We read in Matthew 18 wherever two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, there He is among them. It’s a passage that has been misapplied, but there is a core principle for us to believe: When the church acts, Jesus is there. That can feel good or bad. When we are gathered in worship and teaching, you get convicted about your own sins and shortcomings. Communion can be the hardest ten minutes.
Jesus convicts us by the good example of other people. You’re living a godly life and friends and family get a little resentful. You’re not going out of your way to make people feel bad, but they get uncomfortable when you’re there. You may not even say a word, but they say they feel that you’re judging them. That is conviction of guilt and it comes from the Holy Spirit.
A healthy sense of guilt convicted this woman and helped her come to Jesus and leave behind a brazen life of sexual sin.
The next thing we see in this story is that Jesus uses healthy guilt to bring about genuine repentance. Her life was changing. She had a reputation.
Simon knew it. “If He were a prophet, He’d know.”
Jesus forgave her. She came to say thanks to Him. She is overwhelmed by the amazing grace of Jesus.
Jesus protects her. Vers 40.
Jesus tells a parable. One man owes a lot. One man owes ten times more. The lender cancels both debts. Jesus asks which debtor is more grateful, and Simon answers correctly, “The one who owed more.” Jesus commends him for his discernment, “You have judged correctly.” He may have been misjudging everything all evening, but he finally judged something correctly.
Verse 44. He condemns Simon for his lack of hospitality, for his failure to greet Him, for his decision to now show proper respect and care of his guests. But THIS woman got it all right in every way. She has been forgiven much and loves much. She has great gratitude. Simon has . . . nothing.
She is washing Jesus’ feet not so she would be forgiven; she’s washing because she has been forgiven by Him. He has already given her what she needed most.
Simon couldn’t see his own failures. He didn’t see that he needed to be forgiven much. Self-righteous. High-handed. Holier-than-thou. He gives little because he loves little.
When you’ve been forgiven much, you love much. We serve in wildly different ways because we understand we’ve been forgiven much. We’ve been loved much, so we love much. When you know that you’ve been forgiven so much you want to pour out yourself out in honor of the One who saved your life.
Simon grew up like a lot of us. He’d been exposed to God’s truth all his life. Somehow, he missed the point of everything.
The real question at this dinner is if this self-righteous man will place his faith and trust in Jesus, the one who can wash him clean, who can change his heart.
Repentance has three components: Conviction. I’ve done wrong. Contrition. I’m sorry. Change. I trust Him to change me.
This woman has experienced real repentance, and she left with inner peace. “Go in peace.” What about Simon? We don’t know. Other Pharisees had believed and been changed. What about Simon?
What about you? What’s your dinner experience with Jesus gonna look like?