3 Friends you should never have... or maybe???

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1-7-19  Monday

There are many reasons we dare not to risk trying to be someone's friend.  As there are many reasons we do not befriend others.  

 

1. Luke 5:12-16  The leper - he was rejected on the basis of his physical status. He was putrid in his appearance.  Body parts falling off, rotting right before your eyes.  Crusted puss and blood at the end of his fingers, toes and protruding parts of his body.  And where it wasn't crusted over it was freely oozing. 

 

 You might be rejected as a possible friend due to your appearance, your height, weight, looks, your demeanor, your slow, your clumsy, your black your white your gay your straight or you have HIV or AIDS.  YOUR PHYSICALLY DIFFERENT!

 

We may not want a friend that is physically different from us, or others may not want to be our friend because we are physically different.

 

This man was rejected by everyone… including family.  V.12  The leper says "Lord is you choose you can heal me".  You can bring an end to the pain, the rejection the loneliness the emptiness".  The lord said I am willing. 

 

There is a question you may be asking yourself tonight… Lord if you are willing you can be my friend.  You can take away the pain the rejection the loneliness the emptiness".  The lord is saying I am willing.

 

 

2. Luke 19:1-10  The Tax collector - he was rejected on the basis of his social status.  He was the local Mafia.  The rich greedy hit man who made life miserable for you and made it rich for him!  Not only that but he was a Jew.  It would be like your own family ripping you off and foreclosing on your home.  They could help, but they would rather make money.  They are only concerned about themselves.  Zachechaeus was a short kid, hurt and beat up.  He now got his revenge from taxing the same people who hurt him growing up.

 

 

You might be rejected as a possible friend because your not a jock, cheerleader, geek, rich, famous, popular, from the south or the north, your not into heavy metal or rap or country.    YOUR SOCIALLY DIFFERENT!

 

We may not want a friend that is socially different from us.  Or we have felt the isolation from others because we are different socially.

 

 

 

3. Luke 7:36-50  The prostitute was rejected on the basis of her moral status.  She was a prostitute!  She was a well known harlot.  She freely gave out sex for money.  Everyone knew who she was, and everyone despised her for it.  She was the one who broke up homes, split up families.  She was risking everything by showing up to the Pharisees house.  Christ in his acceptance of her shows his love for everyone.

 

 

You’re a drug addict, a slut, a gang banger, a thief, a gossip, a cheater, a sinner, morally corrupt, white collar crime and blue collar thievery..  YOUR MORALLY DIFFERENT!  

 

Jesus still wants to be your friend.

 

What was one of the biggest complaints the religious leaders had against Jesus? he was a friend of sinners!!!!

 

At the Got Vision RT' at the water park there were some people who had introduced themselves to me and some of the others who could tell we were Christians.  They said " we go to an AG church here in Wisconsin and we are Christians too".  Later that day as they sat right behind us they commented on a man who had tattoo's all over his body!  The began to say things like those are demonic, how could anyone do that, how disgusting etc…. as I heard this I thought to myself "is this what Jesus would do?"  and with that I knew what he would do.  So I went up and talked to him for a few minutes.  As I came back to our group I could see the eyes of these people … they were stares of disappointment, kind of like, we thought you knew better than that.  How sad, because I believe God was looking down at them saying the same thing.

 

 

Jesus is the ultimate friend.  How many here can honestly say that their best friend would die for them?  

 

Christ says in John chapter 15 that a true friend would die for you.  And Christ demonstrates his love for us by dying on the cross for us.  The ultimate friend.  Not only does he die for us but he dies for us while we are still sinners.  He dies for his enemy?  Many of you might die for you best friend… but most of you would not die for you gym teacher!  

 

He wants to be your ultimate friend… but he can't unless you come to him admit that you need him.  That you are a leper, you are a tax collector you are a prostitute.    Admitting that you need him is the only way to truly have a friendship with Jesus.

 

V.47 he who has been forgiven little loves little… what Christ was saying was " the more you understand how much you have been forgiven the more you love the one who forgave you".

 

But He wants to have the ultimate friendship with you!