Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:53 — 35.6MB)
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | TuneIn | RSS
Luke 18 – How do you think about people who have disabilities, or who aren’t able to do things the way that you do?
Exodus 22 and 23, Leviticus 25, Deuteronomy 12 and 24 – What do you think God thinks about abortion and the things that are being said by people today about children?
John 4 – Jesus talked to a Samaritan woman. By doing this Jesus was breaking two “rules.” After the woman told Jesus that she did not have a husband, Jesus said that she had had five husbands. She tried to turn the focus away from herself. Jesus turned it back to her need, the heart of worship.
Matthew 8 – The leper came to Jesus and said, “if you want to you can make me clean!” Jesus was moved with compassion and stretched out his hand and healed him.
Jesus also healed Peters mother in law. This fulfilled a prophecy in the Old Testament. Sometimes the healing is done in the future life.
Matthew 9 – Jesus ate with Matthew. Matthew was a tax collector, an outcast, rejected by his own people. The Pharisees asked the disciples, and Jesus answered the question “why is Jesus eating with sinners?” Jesus reply was that healthy people don’t need a doctor!
John 5 – The lame man said he couldn’t get into the pool to be healed. Jesus told him to get up and walk. The lame man had a lot of hurting people around him, we need to be aware that everyone around us is needy. We never get over the need of others, and the need of Jesus to work in our lives.
Often people with needs want to serve and not just be served.
Matthew 12, 1 Samuel 21 – The disciples picked wheat on the Sabbath because they were in need, they were hungry. The Pharisees tried to pin it on Jesus that they were doing something unlawful. Jesus replied that David and his men ate the bread that was only for the priests to eat. Jesus was saying that it is always lawful to help someone in need.
Matthew 5 – The Beatitudes has some interesting statements. Blessed are they who mourn, they will be comforted. In general it is hard to know what to do with people when they are mourning.
When John the Baptist sent people to ask Jesus if he was the messiah or not, Jesus didn’t chide John for his question. Instead Jesus said to go back and tell him about all the things that were happing. People were being healed. The good news was being preached.
Jesus says that the gospel is for the poor, the blind, the weak, the dead, the needy, it is for all.
So, how do you relate to people who are needy? How do you relate to people who lack understanding?
You don’t need to tell needy, hurting people everything that you know, but what you do need to say needs to be true. It takes a lot of wisdom.
Luke 7 – This is the account of the harlot anointing Jesus feet with ointment. The Pharisee thought to himself “if this man was a prophet he would know that this lady was a sinner.” Jesus knew what the man was thinking and replied by talking to Peter and talked about forgiving debts and who would love the king more, the one who was forgiven more debt or less debt?
None of us are beyond needing the grace of God and forgiveness. When we recognize this we can be grateful and have more compassion for other people as well.
It would be valuable to have a discussion about things like, when is it appropriate to ask for anointing? Is it only for physical things?
Galatians 6 – You who are godly should gently and humbly help people who are needy, share one another’s burdens, be helpful, etc.
1 Corinthians 12 – We are many parts, but we make up one body. We are to respect each other, both the weaker and the stronger.
To summarize – each and every person is emotionally and spiritually needy. It is helpful to realize this. It doesn’t mean we are a disaster, just that we are needy. The gospel calls us to recognize each person and all kinds of people.