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15 09 2008

Partying For Jesus

Posted by: John in Sermons

One of the greatest tools for telling people about Jesus is the old fashioned party.

 

Now, we might call it a BBQ, we might call it a party, we might call it a get together, but in essence – it’s a party.

 

It appears to me to be a biblical principle.

In this passage we see Levi has had people over to his place.

Notice who is invited.  MK 2:15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.He has invited the people he works with – other tax collectors, mates – they are probably the sinners.  

Notice who else is invited.Jesus and the disciples. This is significant. Why? Because Levi is introducing his mates to Jesus. But also introducing his mates to other people who might be able to influence them – that’s the disciples.  

An example of this for the girls in brigades might be – invite some of the leaders to your party, invite some of the other girls from brigade to your party so you can introduce them to other Christians.  

For me, I could invite some of you to meet my mates at a BBQ at my place, actually I have already done it a few times.  

For you, invite some of these people to interact with your other friends that you are trying to influence for Jesus. Hey, this is easy stuff. Yep.  

The tragedy is the reaction of the people not invited – They got upset, maybe they wanted to go. But notice they saw Jesus partying. Maybe they were actually there. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and `sinners’?”

Maybe the Pharisees who saw him were also eating with sinners, Fine for them but not for Jesus, or maybe they got a bit Jealous they missed out on Kosher sausages.

   

I love Jesus response.

MK 2:17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”These guys need to party with me you don’t that’s what he is saying.  

So when you next have a party, think who to invite from a

Kingdom of

God perspective. Now some logistics here. 1. The party has got to be valid, people will see through a contrived arrangement just to bible bash them. If it is just to introduce them to people, say “We are having a get together to introduce some friends to other friends wanna come”2. The people might not hit it off – so plan carefully, pray about who to invite.3. You may experience a diminished relationship because their friendship becomes stronger than yours. So don’t get jealous and become a Pharisee.4. Remember this is part of the process, maybe one of the first steps. Let the Spirit lead your witnessing – in God’s time. 

This entry was posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 9:10 pm and is filed under Sermons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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