Day 24

24 - Becoming A Friend of Sinners // Cultivate

“The Son of Man, on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ But wisdom is shown to be right by its results."

Matthew 11:19

My dad grew up on a farm, and we did a little farming during my teen years. We usually harvested the corn in October. But before we harvested in October, we had to plant in April. Before we planted, we had to get the soil ready for the seed. The soil had to be plowed, prepared with a disc and culti-mulcher (google it and check it out), and then rocks "picked" and removed. It had to be cultivated.

Before you can harvest lost people for Jesus with the gospel, the soil of their heart needs to be cultivated. Jesus did this through loving relationships. A loving relationship softens people's hearts and removes barriers (like picking rocks) so they will be more receptive to the message of the gospel.

Read Matthew 9:9-13.

• Where was Jesus? Who was He with? 

* * * * *

What did the Pharisees, the religious self-righteous people, accuse Jesus of doing? Was Jesus guilty of doing this? Yes, absolutely. Why did he do this?

"A friend of tax collectors and sinners" was an insult, not a compliment, for any Jewish man, especially a Rabbi. This was a condemning accusation for scandalous behavior. Tax collectors were considered sinners because of their dishonest reputations. They often cheated people by over-charging for taxes, and they worked for the Roman government. The Jewish people despised the oppressive Romans and hated the cheating tax-collectors. They viewed tax collectors as some of the worst of sinners, like murderers and rapists.

But Jesus spent time with them, ate with them, and had loving relationships with them. And it wasn't just a one-time offense. It was part of Jesus' lifestyle.

Read Matthew 11:19.

• Who did Jesus have a reputation of associating with? 

* * * * *

Did you notice in Matthew 9:9 that one of the tax collectors, Matthew, became a disciple of Jesus? He even wrote the book of Matthew in the Bible. Jesus had spent time with Matthew and cultivated Matthew's heart through a loving relationship. Then Matthew believed Jesus was the Messiah, the savior, and became a follower of Jesus! When I moved to Belgrade, Montana to plant a church, I didn't know anyone in town. I discovered that a group of guys played basketball at the local middle school every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning. I needed exercise and I wanted to be a worker in the harvest field, so I started playing to cultivate relationships with lost people.

As I started to play and build relationships with all the guys, I began praying daily for one guy in particular named Brandon. Brandon could cuss the paint off the wall with more colorful language than a Quentin Tarantino movie. Not only did I pray (working smarter), I began encouraging Brandon and everyone else for any good basketball play they made.

Then I spent a day hunting with Brandon. That’s what you do in Montana! At Christmas time our church went Christmas caroling at Brandon's entire mobile home park, so not only did I cultivate, our entire church cultivated love into Brandon's life. A year later Brandon prayed in my office to put his faith in Jesus to forgive and save him, and then I baptized him on our church's 2-year anniversary! It all started by working smarter (prayer), and then cultivating the soil of Brandon's heart with a loving relationship, like Jesus did with Matthew.

• Who is someone who cultivated a loving relationship with you, and helped you come to faith in Christ? What did they do?

• What are some things you can do with lost friends that will help you build a loving relationship with them, like basketball, hunting, or caroling were for Brandon? 

* * * * *

Apart From Him…

• Thank God for the people who have built a loving relationship with you. Pray now for God to help you use gracious, encouraging words with people you meet today, so you can build loving relationships wherever you go. 

* * * * *

Walking As Jesus…

• Matthew had lost friends over to his house to meet Jesus. Invite a lost friend to your home for a meal, or dessert, or just to hang out. Ask questions to get to know them, encourage them, and build a loving relationship. 

* * * * *

• My Personal Disciple-Making Plan: