"CHEAP TALK" Sunday Sermon By Keliihananui Makalani ~KAHUNAGURU~

"CHEAP TALK" Sunday Sermon By Rev. Keliihananui, Makalani ~KAHUNAGURU~

June 13, 2010



Luke 7:39

Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! The Redeemer's resurrection from the dead assures a sinful world that there is forgiveness and eternal life. Not by words alone, but through His blood, Jesus Christ Our Lord and Saviour has won our Salvation. Now the risen Lord JesusChrist Our Saviour offers faith, forgiveness, and freedom from sin's condemnation. This is His gift to all who believe on Him as Saviour. God grant such saving faith to us all. Amen.

The other day I overheard a rather boring debate between two politicians. The boring debate centered on a very important bill which had been introduced into Congress. I was hoping these congressmen would say something to help me understand the proposed legislation which had been written in lawyer-language, and was thousands of mind-numbing pages long. Sadly, neither of the powerful leaders had read the entire document.

When the host of the TV news show became a bit frustrated with the many things these authorities didn't know about this seemingly all-important bill, he challenged, "Is there anything in this document that you gentlemen know for sure?" After a long, and fairly uncomfortable silence, one of them finally replied, "I do know for sure that this bill will mean no new taxes for the average American." To that incredibly bold assertion the other politician muttered under his breath, "Talk is cheap, but it takes money to buy whiskey." Now that was an expression I hadn't heard in years. My dad had used that turn of phrase when I was growing up. Dad would frequently say that when a politician or a TV personality or anyone in authority made some kind of statement which really sounded good on paper, but was highly unlikely to become a living, breathing reality.

Talk is cheap. In the 1800s, the U.S. Government asked the Native Americans to sign one treaty after another. In agreement for giving up their lands, their language, their way of life, the Government promised as long as the sun shines and the grass grows, they would provide a large quantity of this or a whole bunch of that, or ongoing subsidies of something else. All too often the ink on the official paper was not yet dried before the treaty was broken and the process began all over. Those annoyed and aggravated Native Americans eventually found out: "Talk is cheap, but it takes money to buy whiskey." The government was willing to make the verbal promises, but it didn't have the stick-to-itiveness necessary to fulfill those promises.

Now you may wonder why I've spent so much time explaining the expression: "Talk is cheap, but it takes money to buy whiskey." The answer is simple: the Bible has a story that is based on that concept. It's true, you can find it in the 7th chapter of Luke. Jesus' year-old-ministry had been doing wonderfully well. He had attracted notice by healing a leper, giving healthy limbs to a paralytic, casting evil spirits out of a demoniac, and raising a boy from the dead. These and other miracles had assured the average person of Galilee had probably heard His Name. Multitudes were flocking to hear Him, many followed Him from place to place. People heard Him and were favorably impressed by the fact that He taught them as Someone Who had real authority and not as their normal teachers did, normal teachers who gave every indication they were making things up as they went along. (Matthew 7:29)

The efficacy of Jesus Christ Our Lord and Saviours' works and the effectiveness of His words had not gone unnoticed by the "powers that be." You don't need to know a lot about those powers; you don't need a college class on the beliefs, the teachings, or the history of groups like the Herodians, the Scribes, the Priests, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees. You probably should remember that these were the parties, the organizations, the band of brothers who had wielded considerable clout both politically and ethically. They had the power; they were used to the power and they were not ready to relinquish that power to some young upstart, some-upset-the-apple-cart Carpenter's Son from the backward community of Nazareth.

Yes, they all knew they had to do something with Jesus, they just didn't know exactly what that something was.

What to do with Jesus? That was the question. Should they take Him on in a public, head-to-head battle? If they did that, they would force the people to choose between the two of them. That's not the kind of thing you want to do if you're not sure the people will make the right choice..., and they weren't sure what the crowd would do. They could try to entrap Him. Indeed, before the Savior's earthly ministry was over, the "establishment" would try to do just that... numerous times. They would try it and they would lose. They would try tricking Jesus, testing Jesus, contradicting Jesus, making fun of Jesus and it always backfired. It was their spokesmen, not Jesus, who ended up with egg on their faces.

Eventually one man, a Pharisee named Simon, got involved in this campaign to discredit, dishonor, and disgrace Jesus Christ Our Lord and Saviour. While the Bible does not give us a direct look into Simon's thinking, we can, from the things he did and didn't do, get a general idea of what he was trying to accomplish. And if you're wondering, 'Just what did Simon do or not do?' I'll tell you. Simon began by inviting Jesus to supper. No doubt when word of the invitation became public, everybody exclaimed: "This is wonderful! What a great guy Simon is. Look, we thought the battles between Jesus and the Pharisees would go on forever, but Simon is trying to bury the hatchet." Since such banquets were usually open to the public, many people made plans to be there. Round #1 seems to have gone to Simon.

But, as we said, talk is cheap; it takes money to buy whiskey. Simon had "said" all the right things, all the things necessary for him to be considered a good host. But Simon was all talk, and no action. You see, as soon as Jesus entered his house, Simon started playing 'psych' games with the Savior. For example, a good Jewish host would take pains to make sure his guests' feet were washed of the street's accumulated dust and dirt. Simon did not have Jesus' feet washed. Courtesy demanded a good host ought to give a kiss to his honored guest. Simon conveniently "forgot" to do that, too. The rules of hospitality said Simon should provide oil to cleanse and refresh his guests hair, but somehow that hadn't gotten done, either. It's not likely anybody else would have noticed all these things, but Jesus, most certainly would have been aware of the fact He had been slighted. And Simon, Simon would have been certain Round 2 had also gone to him. Jesus was in his home, on his turf and away from His horde of adoring fans and worshipful followers.

While I can't tell you the next step in Simon's plan, I can tell you what happened next. Among the folks who had been given a "standing-room only" spot at the dinner, there was a woman from the town... no, I don't know her name, and neither does anyone else. There was a woman from the town, a woman who had a reputation for sinning... a woman whom Simon, most certainly, would never have invited into his home. Well, this woman had managed to make it to a spot directly behind Jesus Who was reclining at dinner. Back then people ate lying down, not sitting up. Well, it only took a moment for Simon to realize something unusual was going on, a potentially embarrassing situation was developing. Simon hadn't planned the embarrassing situation, but he probably wished he had. The unnamed woman was standing behind Jesus and she was crying. She wept openly, and her ears fell on Jesus' feet. Seeing what she had done, she wiped those tears with her hair. By doing that, the woman committed any number of serious social transgressions. She had disrupted the dinner with her crying, she had become too personal with Jesus by wiping those tears with her hair, and when she took the perfumed contents of an alabaster box she had brought and rubbed it onto Jesus' feet... well, what can be said about that?

That's pretty much what I believe was running through Simon's mind that day. Luke gives us the facts. Simon thought to himself, "If this Jesus were a Prophet, He would know the quality of the woman is who is touching Him. He would know what kind of woman she is. He would know she is a sinner." No doubt Simon thought Jesus should also get rid of that woman. Simon would have gotten rid of her... his friends would have gotten rid of her... Jesus should do the same. Simon's house was a place for saints, not for sinners. Privately, Simon the Pharisee was probably relishing what this story would do to Jesus' reputation; he probably was savoring how his fellow Pharisees would gloat at Jesus' moral laxness. The whole dinner thing was working out better than Simon had ever imagined.

Those of you who know this story, let me ask: "Have you ever noticed...when this woman entered Simon's house, he knew all about her. He knew who she was; he knew her sins; he knew her reputation. He knew all of these things, but he had never done anything to help her. All he had done was sit there in self-satisfied smugness and condemn her. His words condemned her, and his actions never helped her. Talk is cheap. You know, from my perspective, there are a lot of people who feel very comfortable playing the role of Simon. Secure and self-satisfied they find great joy in criticizing and critiquing others. They criticize the church and the Christ. They criticize just about everything we do... but they don't do anything to help. They can list our sins, but they don't help us. They can throw stones, but they don't help us. All they do is criticize. How sad. It's sad for us because if we're messed up, they apparently could help us. It's sad for them because they are well described by our saying, "Talk is cheap, but it takes money to buy whiskey." Like Simon, they are all blow and no show.

Now I know many of my Christian listeners remember that Jesus, the all-knowing Son of God, listened to Simon's unspoken words of criticism and ended up telling a story which spoke to the Pharisee's critiques. The moral of Jesus' story was simple: if God forgives you of many sins, you will be more grateful than the person who thinks he has only been forgiven of a few sins. The application was more simple still: Jesus was saying the crying woman behind Him was convicted of many sins and had come to Him for forgiveness. In truth, Jesus forgave the woman's multitude of transgressions and gave her a new life. For His grace she was most grateful. You see, Jesus, unlike Simon, didn't just say the right words, He also did the right thing. That day Jesus forgave a sinner.

Jesus forgave a sinner that day, and ever since that day. So that He might forgive sinners, Jesus became One of us. One of us, but better than any of us. You see, Jesus was true Man, but He was also true God. He had to be a true Man so He could live under the law as we do; so He could be tempted as we are; so He could die as we must. But Jesus was true God so He could live a perfect life on our behalf, so He could resist the temptations of sin; so He could defeat death and rise on the third day. Because of Who He is, and because of what He has done, Jesus has the power, the right, and the willingness to forgive a sinful woman who has anointed His feet with her tears... or a sinful man or woman like you or me.

Talk is cheap, but it takes money to buy whiskey. So far, in the course of my message, I've applied that phrase to people, people like Simon, people like those who constantly criticize, who only criticize and complain. Talk is cheap. But those words also apply to all of the gods, and all of the religions of this world. All of the world's religions except for Christ and Christianity. Yes, you heard that right: every single one of the world's religions is glad to point out our sins. Every religion points out our big sins and little sins, serious sins and well, I guess all sins are serious. All of the world's religions point out our sins, every one of the world's religions say, "You are a sinner. You have violated God's commands. You deserve to be punished." Then they add, "We can give you some guidelines, but when it comes to getting forgiven and saved, you've got to figure it out yourself, try to earn it for yourself." That's right, every other religion of the world says you have to pay for your sins yourself. Talk is cheap.

Every one of the world's religions says 'you've got to work it out', except for Christianity. Only Christianity says, "You can't pay for your sins. There are simply too many sins and you aren't strong enough to do it." Only Christianity says, "Talk is cheap and it takes blood, Jesus' blood to buy forgiveness." Only Christianity says, "God's Son was crucified, given as a Divinely sent Sacrifice, to win your salvation." Talk is cheap, but the blood of Jesus Christ Our Lord and Saviour, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin.

SImon thought Jesus didn't know what kind of woman this was who was crying and wiping His feet with her hair and spreading perfume on Him? Jesus knew. Jesus knew every one of her sins, every one of her indiscretions, everyone of her liaisons, every single thing despicable and damning she had ever done. Jesus knew and He did not send her away. He didn't say, "Hope you can figure out how to work off your sins." On the contrary, rather than sending her away, Jesus welcomed her. He welcomed her sad, sin-sickened heart and He forgave her. He wishes to do the same for you. Have you sinned, come to Jesus in repentance. Have you transgressed in many and monstrous ways, come to Jesus with your tears. Have you gone from one evil to another, come and be welcomed by the Son of God, the Savior of sacrifice, the Lord Who traded His life for your life. Come like that woman came so many centuries ago and hear Jesus say to you, even as He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." Talk is cheap, but it takes Jesus' blood to win your forgiveness.

Dear friends, I don't know if your sins are open and obvious like that of the woman at Simon's house. I don't know if you managed to keep most of your transgressions hidden from others. To Jesus it makes no difference, big sins or little, few or many, to Him you are a sinner... a sinner who is very much in need of the love and forgiveness He so freely offers. Today the crucified and risen Christ offers to you what no other deity can: He offers you faith, forgiveness and salvation. God grant these gifts be yours. Amen.


Prayer: Heavenly father teach us to take action when needed, and to take action rather than just talk about what needs to be done. Take action accept he Lord Jesus Christ as saviour, then get reaqdy for the coming, and Stand up be ready to save souls IN THE NAME OF JEUS CHRIST OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR
PEACE BE WITH YOU ALL
IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST
OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR,
Rev. Keliihananui Makalani ~KAHUNAGURU~