Luke 7:11-17 - Deep Inside and Out

June 6, 2010
Josh Broward


Her only son. Her only son. He was her only son. She had already lost her husband. Now her son. Her only son.
We don’t even know what happened. Maybe he got sick. Maybe there was an accident. Maybe a Roman soldier killed him. We don’t know.
But we know he was her only son, and she was a widow. Her life was over. Many from the village joined her parade of sorrow now, but they would avoid her within the month. She was doubly cursed. God must be punishing her for some secret sins. She could beg for bread. Maybe she could survive by going through fields after the harvesters picking up the left-overs. Maybe - if she still had anything to offer - some men might pay for a night with her.
Her life was over. Her only son! His death was her death - separated only by a matter of time and circumstances. Her only son ... her only son ... “OH MY GOD! MY ONLY SON! HOW COULD YOU LET HIM DIE? MY ONLY SON! My only son. My only son.”

What is your widow’s pain? What is the widowed place in your own heart? What part of you cries out? Where do you have that deep heart-shaking loss?
Maybe it is something from your past. Maybe you were abused or abandoned. Maybe those who were supposed to love you most were too busy for you. Maybe a teacher wounded your soul. Maybe somebody’s cruel words still ring in your ears.
Maybe it’s something from your present. Maybe someone you love is dying. Maybe your marriage is struggling. Maybe your children are hurting. Maybe you hate your job but don’t know how to change it. Maybe you have lost hope.
Maybe it’s something from your future. Maybe you are terrified about a change coming your way. Maybe you keep worrying about money. Maybe your great pain is fear of what to do with your life.
Go into that hurting place. Take a risk with me now. Close your eyes, and shut out everyone else in the room. Walk on your parade of sorrow with the widow going outside the town. Go down deep into that hurt. Can you see it there in your soul?
Cry out to God your widows cry. Cry out of that pain and tell God how much it hurts. Sit in that pain and feel it. Know your own soul and feel those wounds. Imagine yourself in that widow’s place. Walking out of town on a walk of sorrow - your deepest pain on display.
...

Now, Jesus comes to you just as he came to her. Jesus meets your parade of sorrow. Jesus’ heart is overflowing with compassion for you. He feels your pain. He feels your sorrow. Jesus walks over to the coffin, and he touches it. The parade of sorrow stops. There is a long pause in your soul as Jesus touches your deepest pain.
...

Then, Jesus speaks. Jesus speaks to the dead man, “Young man, get up.” Jesus reverses death. Jesus restores life.
In your parade of sorrow, Jesus touches your pain, and what does he say? See Jesus there in your place of deepest pain. Feel his compassion for you. Feel his touch on your pain. Listen for his voice. What does Jesus say in your place of deepest pain?
Let Jesus speak a word of healing for you in your place of deepest pain. He may not reverse the pain, but he does have new life for you. What is Jesus’ word of life in your place of pain? Listen. Just listen for his voice.
...

“Something Beautiful” -- Special Music
Something beautiful,
Something good;
All my confusion
He understood;
All I had to offer Him was
Brokenness and strife,
But He made something beautiful
Of my life.
...

The first call of the Gospel is to let God bring healing in our places of deepest pain and shame. God forgives. God heals. God gives new life.
The widow’s cry is within us all. Death is deep within us all. But through Jesus, life is at work within us all. God is bringing new life and new hope to all of us from deep within us. Our first call is to go deep with God into our own pain so that he can heal us there.

The second call of the gospel is to go deep with God into other’s pain so that he can bring healing there. We move beyond the surface. We don’t bring solutions or 4 Spiritual Laws or theologies. We just go with God into the pain and let God bring healing there.
I want you to listen to what Reggie McNeal has to say about this. In this clip, he was speaking to a group of Nazarene leaders in Kansas City, USA in 2007.

--- Reggie McNeal M7 clip -- watch only 2:22:40 - 2:30:23 ---

Transcript: We sang about the blessing of Abraham. What was the point of the blessing? “I’m going to bless you so you bless the nations.”
Now we get in on the deal. There’s a reason for the church, but I don’t have time to talk about it. But it is this ... it is to bless people.
That’s why I tell people - Quit evangelizing. ... Don’t have an evangelism strategy. Have a blessing strategy. In fact, if you’re going to go external, you better figure this out ... because most of the stuff we want to go external with, please don’t take it out there. You’ll scare people off. If you want to go external, missional, it’s about getting in the streets. It’s about serving people right where they are, right with what they need, with a word of hope in the name of Jesus.
Now, I know that sounds too simple, and I know the Devil obfuscates and complexifies. I think the medieval mystics were right. At the heart of the universe is simplicity. This is why Jesus said ... you know the question by the lawyer, Pharisee trained, “Hey, could you put these 613 laws in order for us?”
And Jesus said, “Hmmm, let’s see ... Love God with everything you’ve got, and love your neighbor as yourself. That’ll take care of it.”
“No, it’s got to be harder than that.”
“No, that’ll take care of it.”
As a matter of fact, I even hear some people talking about the first and second commandment. That’s one commandment. That AND in the middle of it: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart AND your neighbor” ... That AND folds that sucker right back in on itself. It’s two sides to the same deal. You can’t say you love God if you don’t love your neighbor. You can’t love your neighbor unless you’re serving God. It’s that simple. If we don’t tell them the truth, then we aren’t loving them. All right, all right, all right.
If I was at your church Sunday, I’d probably challenge everybody in the church, “Go out and bless three people this week. And make sure one of them doesn’t deserve it.”
I was out in California (the buckle of the Bible Belt, as we all know), and I challenged this congregation. “Hey as the people of God we are free but responsible to bless everybody. That is our covenant. And what do you think would happen to our evangelism if our blessing went up?”
In fact, if we don’t learn how to learn how to serve people, we are not going to earn the privilege to share the gospel with them in this culture where we are now. They aren’t going to listen. They’re tired of the bullhorn. They’re tired of the Holier-Than-Thou. All right ...
So I was in this church in California, and I was challenging them to go out and bless three people. So this guy, the next time I was there, came up to me and said, “Do you remember when you told us to go out and bless three people?”
I said, “Yeah.”
He said, “Well, I did that. Let me tell you what happened. The next day I went to a sporting goods place, and the manager there was having a rough day. I could just tell. I go there some, and he just seemed all grumpy.”
He says, “And I felt the Spirit pinch me: ‘Bless this guy.’ So I went up to him, and I said, ‘You’re having a rough day, aren’t you?’ And he said, ‘I wish I was anywhere but here.’” And this is the manager of the store - actually the owner, not the manager.
This guy did a profoundly courageous thing. Here’s how he decided to bless this guy. He said, “You know what? I’ve had bad days. I’m going to pray for you.”
Low and behold. He didn’t take out the four spiritual laws. He didn’t trot out an evangelism track. He didn’t open up with, “You know you’re going to hell and going to fry like a sausage if you don’t ...” We have terrible pick-up lines. We wonder why nobody wants to go home with us.
He just said, “I’m going to pray for you.”
Now, gang, in case you don’t know, there is nobody in America who turns down prayer. That limo driver on the way here - who brought me from the airport - he believes in prayer, believes in healing. In fact, most of our churches would not be spiritual enough for him, I will tell you. Because we’re doing church, and he’s looking for God.
This guy, in this sporting goods store, looks at this church guy in Southern California, and he says, “Are you serious? You’re going to pray for me?” Now gang, this is a sporting goods store. This is a manly man’s store. This is not a touchy-feely place. I mean they sell stuff in here that kills people. ... So this is not a warm, tender, precious moment, but this guy stops and says, “You really will pray for me?”
And he says, “Yeah, I will.”
This guy goes on ... and by the way, I should tell you this. The guy says, “Well let me tell you something. This store is killing me. I’m working 80 hours a week. It’s killing my marriage. I’m losing money. I just don’t know if I can go on.”
Now let me tell you something. To do what I’m talking about, you have to believe God not just believe in God. There’s a huge difference. See, because, if you believe God, you don’t have to fix it. You don’t have to know how God’s going to work. All you have to say, though, is what my friend said to this guy, “Let me tell you something. I’m just going to pray that God will help you.” You’ve got to believe God to do that.
Now you’ve got God on the line. And us church people, we’re scared to put God out there because He hasn’t done anything to us in a long time, so why would He act out for this person? I mean, He hasn’t needed to show up.
You know sometimes, when I’m with church people who have been church people for a long time, I say, “When was the last time Jesus changed your mind about anything?” Listen, I’ve been married 25 years, and my wife is still changing my mind about stuff. She was helping me get a new perspective on the way here, for a matter of fact. That’s what happens when you’re in a relationship people. They mess with one another. So I’m praying that Jesus will mess with you.
Now, where was I in that story? It was on Friday. The guy goes back, and -- you all quit interrupting, and I’ll get to this. This guy said ... He just upchucked ... This is the thing you see ... You have to be careful because people will tell you stuff, and now you’re in it. He goes back on Friday, and the manager sees him coming and says, “Come here, come here, come here. Have you been praying for me?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re not going to believe this. A guy came in here and wants to buy my store. I’m going to sell it and make money. My wife has agreed to go to counseling.” This is in four days - four days.
So here’s all I’m going to do, all I’m going to do: Just go out there and bless three people this week. And make sure now, that only two of them deserve it.

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“The LORD ... said to [Abraham], ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. ... All the families on earth will be blessed through you’” (Genesis 12:1-3).
God has blessed us. God has met us in the place of our deep pain. God is giving us hope and healing and love. God has blessed us.
“I will bless you ... and you will be a blessing to others.”
God has blessed you. Now bless others.
God has blessed you. Now let God bless someone through you.
This week, go deep with others. Don’t just talk about the weather and the world cup and TV and fashion and work. Go deep. When you see someone struggling, go on and ask them what’s going on. Don’t walk past their pain. Don’t step past their funeral procession and let them pass on by. Don’t be so afraid to disrupt their privacy. Get beyond the surface stuff and down to the stuff that really matters. That’s the first challenge.
Here’s the second challenge. Bless them. Bless them there in that pain. Be bold enough to say a prayer for them. Maybe you will be so crazy as to pray for them right then and there - in the classroom or on the subway. If you’re not bold enough for that, then pray for them and check back a few days later. Just say something simple like, “Hey, I’ve been praying for you, and I’m just wondering how you’re doing.” You don’t have to solve their problems. Just go with God into their problems.
Make sure at least one person you bless this week doesn’t deserve it. We need to notice something about this story from Luke. That widow coming out of the village of Nain didn’t have any faith. She didn’t ask for help. She wasn’t one of Jesus’ disciples. She didn’t deserve any special treatment. She was just there.
Find someone who doesn’t deserve anything and bless that person. Maybe you’ll give her a cup of coffee. Maybe you’ll speak a word of hope and encouragement. Maybe you’ll say something really good about someone who has hurt you. Be like Jesus, and bless someone just because they are there.

Here it is. This is what it’s all about.
Go deep with God into your own pain. Let Jesus bless you there. Let him touch your pain. Let him speak a word of life in your soul and begin the healing process.
And go deep with God into others’ pain. Move beyond the silliness and the surface fakery, and go deep with someone. Get real with somebody. Then, bless them.
And that will change our world.

---- prayer of response ---

This is so important that we’re going to practice this today. In a few minutes, we’re going to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. This is a living sign of God’s great blessing in our lives. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, God pours out his Spirit into us and strengthens us deep within.
After you come and experience this time of blessing, don’t return to your seat. Move around for our “greeting time.” But today, this isn’t just a “Hi. How are you?” greeting time. This is Blessing Time. After you celebrate God’s blessing with the Lord’s Supper, go around and bless each other. Ask someone how you can pray for them. Then, right then and there, say a quick prayer. Just bless them. Ask God to be active in that person’s life this week. Start blessing people here, and you’ll get enough practice to bless people “out there.”