WEBVTT 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:05.219 So if you've been to Fort Mountain, there is 00:00:05.219 --> 00:00:08.300 a stone tower on the top. It was built in the 00:00:08.300 --> 00:00:11.240 1930s, which is in the midst of the Great Depression. 00:00:11.640 --> 00:00:14.359 And so it was built by the Civilian Conservation 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:17.039 Corps. You may have heard of that organization, 00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:19.960 which was started during the Depression to give 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:23.140 people, particularly young men, to give them 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:26.910 the opportunity to work, to have a job. During 00:00:26.910 --> 00:00:29.670 the Depression. And they built many state parks 00:00:29.670 --> 00:00:32.229 and national parks and roads and different things 00:00:32.229 --> 00:00:35.710 like that. And so in the 1930s, they were building 00:00:35.710 --> 00:00:39.329 that state park atop Fort Mountain. And there 00:00:39.329 --> 00:00:41.630 was a gentleman, a stonemason by the name of 00:00:41.630 --> 00:00:44.289 Arnold Bailey. And he was part of that crew. 00:00:44.890 --> 00:00:47.649 And they were there on top of the mountain away 00:00:47.649 --> 00:00:50.810 from their family. They would be able to send 00:00:50.810 --> 00:00:54.250 money back home to their family. And Arnold, 00:00:54.409 --> 00:00:59.030 the stonemason, I think he was missing his sweetheart 00:00:59.030 --> 00:01:02.329 a little bit. Because he took the opportunity 00:01:02.329 --> 00:01:07.250 and he took one stone and he carved it into the 00:01:07.250 --> 00:01:11.489 shape of a heart. And if you go to that stone 00:01:11.489 --> 00:01:15.890 tower atop Fort Mountain, and if you look just 00:01:15.890 --> 00:01:20.250 over one of the windows, you'll still see a heart 00:01:20.250 --> 00:01:24.299 -shaped stone. sitting in the side of that building. 00:01:24.439 --> 00:01:27.939 And I guess this romantic gesture worked because 00:01:27.939 --> 00:01:30.980 he married his sweetheart, Margaret, and they 00:01:30.980 --> 00:01:35.019 were married for 59 years. So he did one little 00:01:35.019 --> 00:01:39.780 thing to show a little snippet of God's love, 00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:43.760 of his love for someone else. What can we do 00:01:43.760 --> 00:01:47.400 to show love towards other people? I want to 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:52.099 turn to... Luke chapter 15. Open up your Bibles 00:01:52.099 --> 00:01:54.280 to Luke chapter 15. Today we're going to look 00:01:54.280 --> 00:01:58.500 at a parable that Jesus told, and then we're 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:02.900 going to explore some stories of one disciple 00:02:02.900 --> 00:02:08.319 in particular which seemed to live out that parable. 00:02:08.520 --> 00:02:11.599 Now in Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells three parables. 00:02:12.639 --> 00:02:15.099 The first one that we're going to look at, and 00:02:15.099 --> 00:02:17.840 then he talks about a lost coin. And then he 00:02:17.840 --> 00:02:20.919 talks about a son who was lost and returned home. 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:23.900 But the first parable is about a sheep. So we're 00:02:23.900 --> 00:02:27.199 going to go to Luke chapter 15, and we're going 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:31.340 to look at verse 4 or verse 3. So he spoke this 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:36.180 parable to them, saying, What man of you, having 00:02:36.180 --> 00:02:39.520 a hundred sheep, this is a familiar story, you 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:43.120 know this story, if he loses one of them, does 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:46.819 not leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after 00:02:46.819 --> 00:02:50.539 the one which is lost until he finds it. You've 00:02:50.539 --> 00:02:54.180 seen the pictures. You've heard this story. You've 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:57.539 imagined a shepherd at the end of the day. The 00:02:57.539 --> 00:03:00.180 sheep are coming back into the sheepfold, and 00:03:00.180 --> 00:03:05.639 he's counting, you know, 84, 85, 96, 97, 98, 00:03:05.900 --> 00:03:11.759 99. Something's missing. What do you think he 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:14.199 did? Do you think he pulled them all back out 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:16.479 and had them go through again and counted them 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:24.909 all one more time? 72, 73, 86, 87, 98, 99. And 00:03:24.909 --> 00:03:28.210 it says he left those sheep there and he began 00:03:28.210 --> 00:03:31.150 to retrace his steps. And you've imagined this 00:03:31.150 --> 00:03:34.490 story or seen the pictures. Maybe he walks beside 00:03:34.490 --> 00:03:38.169 the green pastures. He goes by the still waters. 00:03:38.270 --> 00:03:40.750 He walks through the valley of the shadow until 00:03:40.750 --> 00:03:45.090 eventually he hears something. He hears the little, 00:03:45.430 --> 00:03:50.810 anybody got a good sheep cry? All right, very 00:03:50.810 --> 00:03:55.750 good. That was really good. He heard that and 00:03:55.750 --> 00:04:00.050 saunters over to perhaps a bush or a ditch or 00:04:00.050 --> 00:04:03.469 somewhere where this sheep is stuck. And it says 00:04:03.469 --> 00:04:09.469 that verse 5, when he has found it, he doesn't 00:04:09.469 --> 00:04:12.830 just lead it back, but he lays it on his shoulders 00:04:12.830 --> 00:04:16.800 rejoicing. And when he comes home, It's not just 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:19.420 a celebration for himself, but he calls together 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:23.120 his friends and neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:26.699 with me, for I have found my sheep, which was 00:04:26.699 --> 00:04:29.480 lost. That's a pretty neat story. We've heard 00:04:29.480 --> 00:04:32.680 that many times. And Jesus tells it also in Matthew. 00:04:32.819 --> 00:04:36.639 But I like verse 7 that he mentions in Luke. 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:40.259 He says, I say to you that likewise there will 00:04:40.259 --> 00:04:46.079 be more joy. Where? In heaven. Over one sinner 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:50.480 who repents than over 99 just persons who need 00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:55.259 no repentance. So this is a picture of a sheep 00:04:55.259 --> 00:04:58.300 who has escaped, who has wandered off, who is 00:04:58.300 --> 00:05:02.699 in the wrong place. And the shepherd, which symbolizes 00:05:02.699 --> 00:05:07.589 the Savior, comes. Following after, not letting 00:05:07.589 --> 00:05:11.529 that sheep remain apart from where he needs to 00:05:11.529 --> 00:05:15.949 be. Jesus goes on a relentless pursuit of every 00:05:15.949 --> 00:05:20.009 person who has strayed away from him. And guess 00:05:20.009 --> 00:05:25.170 what? That's us. Even though we're all here in 00:05:25.170 --> 00:05:28.529 church today, at some point in our life, we have 00:05:28.529 --> 00:05:30.529 been that little sheep because the Bible says 00:05:30.529 --> 00:05:34.149 that all have sinned and all have fallen short. 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:37.639 Of the glory of God. So that's each one of us. 00:05:37.740 --> 00:05:40.379 And at some point in our life, we have allowed 00:05:40.379 --> 00:05:43.639 Jesus to come after us, to put us on his shoulders, 00:05:43.779 --> 00:05:47.300 to bring us back to where we need to be. And 00:05:47.300 --> 00:05:51.500 it says he does that joyfully. That's each one 00:05:51.500 --> 00:05:57.160 of us. If that's not you yet, if you haven't 00:05:57.160 --> 00:06:02.279 allowed that Savior to carry you back, then... 00:06:02.840 --> 00:06:05.740 Maybe today's the day to do that, to say, Jesus, 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:08.819 I want you to be my Savior. Usually we do an 00:06:08.819 --> 00:06:11.259 appeal maybe at the end of the sermon, but why 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:13.680 not right here at the beginning? If you haven't 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:16.420 accepted Jesus as your Savior, I challenge you, 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:18.560 pull out one of those little pink cards in front 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:21.699 of you and say, I accept Jesus as my Savior. 00:06:21.740 --> 00:06:24.500 Give it to me at the end. I want to be baptized. 00:06:24.620 --> 00:06:28.000 Let's begin that process and make that happen 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:31.439 because that's what it's all about. All have 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:33.779 sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:37.660 and our Savior, like a shepherd, chases after 00:06:37.660 --> 00:06:40.600 us. Now we have to look at the context of this 00:06:40.600 --> 00:06:43.540 story for just a moment. So let's go back to 00:06:43.540 --> 00:06:50.019 verse 1, Luke 15 and verse 1. It says, Then all 00:06:50.019 --> 00:06:56.839 of the tax collectors and the sinners drew near 00:06:56.839 --> 00:07:01.279 to him to hear him. So Jesus is there. There's 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:04.819 this crowd of people, which some might say are 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:08.420 not the most popular people, the sinners and 00:07:08.420 --> 00:07:12.000 the tax collectors and the Pharisees and the 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:16.600 scribes. So we've got the religious people now. 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:22.759 They complained, saying, this man receives sinners 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:27.420 and eats with them. How dare he? And it's in 00:07:27.420 --> 00:07:30.939 the context of that complaint of that crowd of 00:07:30.939 --> 00:07:34.519 religious people complaining about Jesus welcoming 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:38.480 sinners and tax collectors that had made people 00:07:38.480 --> 00:07:42.540 uncomfortable. And Jesus told this story of pursuing 00:07:42.540 --> 00:07:46.180 the lost sheep and bringing them back. Jesus 00:07:46.180 --> 00:07:49.279 didn't care if it made other people uncomfortable. 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:53.379 Jesus was welcoming to those sinners. And those 00:07:53.379 --> 00:07:57.220 tax collectors, Jesus chased after them. He spent 00:07:57.220 --> 00:08:00.540 time with them. And it says that when one person 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:04.220 repents, there's joy. There's a celebration that 00:08:04.220 --> 00:08:06.920 takes place, not just on earth, but a celebration 00:08:06.920 --> 00:08:10.779 in heaven. There's joy when one person repents. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:13.779 And we have that same feeling. If we see one 00:08:13.779 --> 00:08:17.339 person accept Jesus, if we see somebody get in 00:08:17.339 --> 00:08:20.120 the baptistry and get baptized, we celebrate. 00:08:20.920 --> 00:08:23.120 Because we know there's a celebration going on 00:08:23.120 --> 00:08:27.540 in heaven when that happens. But then we could 00:08:27.540 --> 00:08:35.500 say, okay, we celebrate. But then what? Now, 00:08:35.500 --> 00:08:39.059 someone has accepted Jesus. Someone has become 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:45.620 a part of a church family. Then what? Are they 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:51.360 still welcomed a month later? Are they still 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:57.100 a part of who we want to be? Maybe they dress 00:08:57.100 --> 00:08:59.620 a little bit differently than we expect them 00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:02.080 to. Maybe they eat a little bit differently than 00:09:02.080 --> 00:09:05.460 we hope they would. Maybe their background's 00:09:05.460 --> 00:09:08.480 not the same as ours. Are we still going to be 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:11.440 as excited that they're here when maybe they 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:15.159 sit in our pew? Have mercy. Don't sit in my seat. 00:09:17.259 --> 00:09:19.759 What do we do with that? Let's turn over to John 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:23.220 chapter 21. Because there's one of the disciples 00:09:23.220 --> 00:09:26.519 of Jesus who heard that parable, because he was 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:29.320 one of the inner three, one of the closest ones, 00:09:29.580 --> 00:09:32.740 and he probably didn't imagine it, but it wasn't 00:09:32.740 --> 00:09:36.919 too long later that Peter kind of became like 00:09:36.919 --> 00:09:41.080 this wandering sheep. Because it was on the night 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:43.720 of the crucifixion, even though Peter had promised 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:47.419 Jesus, even if everybody else forsakes you, I'm 00:09:47.419 --> 00:09:49.139 going to be by you. I'm not going to forsake 00:09:49.139 --> 00:09:52.820 you. And when that crowd came to Jesus in the 00:09:52.820 --> 00:09:55.899 Garden of Gethsemane, Peter was there. He was 00:09:55.899 --> 00:09:58.159 swinging that sword. He was chopping ears off. 00:09:59.159 --> 00:10:03.080 He followed along at a distance after Jesus was 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:07.980 arrested. He made his way into the court place, 00:10:08.100 --> 00:10:12.039 into where the people were. He was standing close 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:17.330 by until somebody asked him about it. Hey, don't 00:10:17.330 --> 00:10:21.129 you know this guy? Aren't you one of his followers? 00:10:21.870 --> 00:10:25.490 Your accent sounds like you're from, you must 00:10:25.490 --> 00:10:31.690 know Jesus. No, I don't know. No, I do not know 00:10:31.690 --> 00:10:36.450 him. And about that time, anybody got a rooster 00:10:36.450 --> 00:10:43.289 call? Eh, the lamb was better. Okay, that second 00:10:43.289 --> 00:10:46.980 one could work. The rooster crowed. And Peter 00:10:46.980 --> 00:10:50.639 realized, I promised Jesus that I wasn't going 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:55.200 to leave him, and here I have denied him. And 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:57.519 as Jesus went to the cross and he died for our 00:10:57.519 --> 00:11:00.899 sins, he rested in the grave, he was resurrected 00:11:00.899 --> 00:11:04.600 on Sunday, and when someone came to the tomb, 00:11:04.659 --> 00:11:07.820 they said, go and tell the disciples and Peter 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:13.279 that the tomb is empty. Is he still part of this 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:16.039 group? And then sometime later, we don't know 00:11:16.039 --> 00:11:20.899 exactly how long, Peter decides in John 21, in 00:11:20.899 --> 00:11:24.500 verse 3, Peter said to them, I am going fishing. 00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:27.659 That's what he knew. He was going back to that. 00:11:27.740 --> 00:11:30.460 I'm going to go fishing. Probably still wracked 00:11:30.460 --> 00:11:34.720 with guilt. Unsure of where he stood in his relationship 00:11:34.720 --> 00:11:37.860 with Jesus. I am going fishing. And a group of 00:11:37.860 --> 00:11:43.980 them said, okay, we'll go with you. It says that 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:47.080 they spent the night, verse 3, they went out 00:11:47.080 --> 00:11:49.700 and immediately got into the boat, and that night 00:11:49.700 --> 00:11:55.120 they caught nothing. That seems to have happened 00:11:55.120 --> 00:11:58.019 to them a couple of times, so that was also familiar 00:11:58.019 --> 00:12:01.460 to them. And as they're coming back towards shore 00:12:01.460 --> 00:12:04.700 with their boat empty, with their nets empty, 00:12:04.820 --> 00:12:07.120 they see someone on the beach, they don't know 00:12:07.120 --> 00:12:10.759 who it is, and a voice calls out, did you catch 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:14.549 any fish? That would probably make them really 00:12:14.549 --> 00:12:19.929 upset to have to answer that, no. And then the 00:12:19.929 --> 00:12:22.870 voice says, well, throw your net on the other 00:12:22.870 --> 00:12:26.029 side of the boat. And that might have annoyed 00:12:26.029 --> 00:12:28.929 them a little bit. We know how to fish. We're 00:12:28.929 --> 00:12:32.669 fishermen. But they did it. And as soon as the 00:12:32.669 --> 00:12:37.679 net entered the water, a miracle happened. Because 00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:40.919 those fish came out of nowhere and began to fill 00:12:40.919 --> 00:12:43.659 that net. And it was so full that they couldn't 00:12:43.659 --> 00:12:46.799 even pull the net in. And the boat was even almost 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:51.120 sinking. And Peter had experienced this before. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:54.559 And he dove in the water. He said, it's the Lord. 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:58.919 He swims to shore. And it's Jesus. And Jesus 00:12:58.919 --> 00:13:03.419 is there, and they dragged the fish up 153. They 00:13:03.419 --> 00:13:07.019 counted them, and Jesus had a fish breakfast 00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:10.299 for them, and they ate breakfast together. And 00:13:10.299 --> 00:13:15.360 after breakfast, Jesus has a conversation with 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:19.360 Peter. And I'm not sure, was the whole group 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:21.259 there? Were they sitting around the campfire? 00:13:22.100 --> 00:13:25.820 Or maybe Jesus took Peter off a little bit. I'm 00:13:25.820 --> 00:13:28.789 not sure how that went down. But it says in verse 00:13:28.789 --> 00:13:31.909 15, when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said 00:13:31.909 --> 00:13:36.429 to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love 00:13:36.429 --> 00:13:40.830 me more than these? He said to him, yes, Lord, 00:13:40.990 --> 00:13:44.649 you know that I love you. And so Jesus said to 00:13:44.649 --> 00:13:48.870 him, feed my lambs. And then it happened again 00:13:48.870 --> 00:13:52.970 a second time. Verse 16, do you love me more 00:13:52.970 --> 00:13:55.690 than these? Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. 00:13:56.519 --> 00:13:58.659 And then the response is similar, but not quite 00:13:58.659 --> 00:14:03.039 the same. Tend my sheep. And then verse 17, he 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:06.139 said to him a third time, Simon, son of Jonah, 00:14:06.259 --> 00:14:10.080 do you love me? And it says Peter was grieved 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:13.559 because he asked him another time. And he said, 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:17.799 Lord, you know all things. You know that I love 00:14:17.799 --> 00:14:24.490 you. And Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. Peter 00:14:24.490 --> 00:14:28.850 had denied Jesus three times. And now three times, 00:14:28.889 --> 00:14:35.129 Jesus is, in essence, restoring Peter. Now, there's 00:14:35.129 --> 00:14:38.850 two different words here that are used for love. 00:14:39.169 --> 00:14:41.570 In our English word, we use the word love, and 00:14:41.570 --> 00:14:44.070 it covers a lot of emotions and a lot of different 00:14:44.070 --> 00:14:46.929 things. But in Greek, there's multiple words. 00:14:47.190 --> 00:14:49.970 And if you look at different Bible commentaries, 00:14:50.029 --> 00:14:51.990 some will say, yeah, there's two different words 00:14:51.990 --> 00:14:55.500 here. Maybe it doesn't matter. Others will say, 00:14:55.600 --> 00:15:00.580 maybe it does matter. So when Jesus asked Peter 00:15:00.580 --> 00:15:03.759 the first two times, he used the word agape, 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:08.059 which is an unconditional love, a God -like love, 00:15:08.159 --> 00:15:10.379 a love that is going to love no matter what. 00:15:10.440 --> 00:15:15.519 Do you agape me? And when Peter responded, he 00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:18.259 said, well, Lord, you know that I, he used a 00:15:18.259 --> 00:15:21.909 different word. He used phileo. Philos, which 00:15:21.909 --> 00:15:24.629 would be like Philadelphia, which is the city 00:15:24.629 --> 00:15:28.529 of what? Brotherly love. So not an unconditional 00:15:28.529 --> 00:15:32.470 love, but a love of friendship, the way you appreciate 00:15:32.470 --> 00:15:36.330 your friend or your companion. And so Jesus says, 00:15:36.429 --> 00:15:41.129 do you agape me? And Peter says, well, I philos 00:15:41.129 --> 00:15:44.730 you. I love you like a brother. Do you love me 00:15:44.730 --> 00:15:47.230 unconditionally? I love you like a brother. And 00:15:47.230 --> 00:15:49.409 then the third time Jesus asked the question, 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:53.200 He changes the word. He says, do you love me 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:56.820 like a brother? And that grieved Peter, and Peter 00:15:56.820 --> 00:16:00.059 said, yes, Lord, you know I love you like a brother. 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:03.240 And so, again, some commentators would say, oh, 00:16:03.320 --> 00:16:06.019 you can use those interchangeably. Others would 00:16:06.019 --> 00:16:10.500 say, even though Peter in this moment could not 00:16:10.500 --> 00:16:13.659 acknowledge that he had a complete and perfect 00:16:13.659 --> 00:16:18.259 God -like love, Jesus still gave him a mission. 00:16:18.809 --> 00:16:22.590 Jesus still gave him a role to do. He said, feed 00:16:22.590 --> 00:16:26.429 my lambs, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. And I 00:16:26.429 --> 00:16:28.590 don't think Jesus was saying, Peter, you need 00:16:28.590 --> 00:16:30.950 to go start a ranch. You need to go start a farm, 00:16:31.090 --> 00:16:34.289 get a flock, get some livestock to care for. 00:16:34.690 --> 00:16:37.750 That's not what Jesus is saying. Because you 00:16:37.750 --> 00:16:39.730 can look in many places, for instance, like John 00:16:39.730 --> 00:16:43.990 chapter 10, where Jesus says, I am the good shepherd 00:16:43.990 --> 00:16:47.870 and my sheep. Hear my voice. Many sheep I have 00:16:47.870 --> 00:16:50.929 who are not of this fold. Jesus is talking about 00:16:50.929 --> 00:16:55.889 his people, his followers, those who are accepting 00:16:55.889 --> 00:17:00.299 him. Jesus is telling Peter, take care. of those 00:17:00.299 --> 00:17:03.879 who are accepting me. Peter, even though you 00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:07.380 denied me three times, I'm reclaiming you three 00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:09.920 times, and I'm giving you a mission. You've got 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:12.359 to take care of those that are coming after you. 00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:14.480 Even though you were the little sheep who was 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:17.859 wandering off, now you have to take care of the 00:17:17.859 --> 00:17:21.220 sheep that are going to come after you. Jesus 00:17:21.220 --> 00:17:24.980 was the good shepherd, and we, the followers 00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:28.329 of Jesus, are the flock, are the sheep. Turn 00:17:28.329 --> 00:17:30.089 over just a page or two. We're going to go to 00:17:30.089 --> 00:17:32.690 Acts chapter 2 because we're going to see that 00:17:32.690 --> 00:17:36.589 Peter took this to heart. Now, Acts chapter 2 00:17:36.589 --> 00:17:40.910 is not too long after John 21. We don't know 00:17:40.910 --> 00:17:44.309 exactly how long, but Acts chapter 2 is on the 00:17:44.309 --> 00:17:48.930 day of Pentecost, which was 50 days after the 00:17:48.930 --> 00:17:52.670 resurrection. So 50 days after that crucifixion 00:17:52.670 --> 00:17:56.029 story was the day of Pentecost. And in Acts chapter 00:17:56.029 --> 00:18:01.130 2, The apostles had been in the upper room for 00:18:01.130 --> 00:18:06.150 10 days. Somewhere before that, they had met 00:18:06.150 --> 00:18:09.269 Jesus by the lakeshore. They had gone fishing. 00:18:09.490 --> 00:18:12.509 Jesus said, feed my lambs. And so then after 00:18:12.509 --> 00:18:15.390 10 days of praying together in the upper room, 00:18:15.509 --> 00:18:18.670 on that day of Pentecost, it says the Holy Spirit 00:18:18.670 --> 00:18:22.589 fell like tongues of fire. It says the place 00:18:22.589 --> 00:18:26.109 was shaken. The building was shaken. The town 00:18:26.109 --> 00:18:30.630 was shaken. There was enough to draw people to 00:18:30.630 --> 00:18:34.049 see what was going on. And those disciples began 00:18:34.049 --> 00:18:37.430 to stand up and teach and to preach. And it says 00:18:37.430 --> 00:18:39.930 they preached in different languages. And it 00:18:39.930 --> 00:18:43.289 lists off about 15 or so different languages 00:18:43.289 --> 00:18:45.789 that people were from. And they said, we all 00:18:45.789 --> 00:18:49.650 hear it in our own language. And it records the 00:18:49.650 --> 00:18:53.549 sermon of Peter. The one that Jesus had said, 00:18:53.730 --> 00:18:57.029 feed my lambs, feed my sheep. And Jesus, if you 00:18:57.029 --> 00:19:01.750 were to read Acts chapter 2, he talks about this 00:19:01.750 --> 00:19:05.049 Jesus who had been crucified. This group, you 00:19:05.049 --> 00:19:07.730 guys crucified him, is what he tells them. He 00:19:07.730 --> 00:19:10.789 talks about grace. He talks about a resurrection. 00:19:10.890 --> 00:19:15.150 He talks about salvation. And as Peter is preaching, 00:19:15.450 --> 00:19:18.369 he doesn't get to say, and in conclusion, our 00:19:18.369 --> 00:19:20.849 final text is, he doesn't get to that point. 00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:25.440 Because the people say, wait, stop. We like what 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:30.640 you're saying. What must we do to be saved? It 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:33.920 says in verse 37, when they heard this, they 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:36.299 were cut to the heart and they said to Peter 00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:39.099 and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:43.559 what shall we do? Then in verse 38, Peter said 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:46.279 to them, repent. and let every one of you be 00:19:46.279 --> 00:19:49.220 baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the 00:19:49.220 --> 00:19:52.119 remission of sins, and you shall receive the 00:19:52.119 --> 00:19:55.720 gift of the Holy Spirit. What shall we do? Repent 00:19:55.720 --> 00:19:58.619 and be baptized. If you haven't been baptized, 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:00.559 I'm going to say it again. Take out one of those 00:20:00.559 --> 00:20:02.619 little cards. Write it down. Let's begin to make 00:20:02.619 --> 00:20:06.279 that happen. And on this day, the Spirit was 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:08.460 poured out in a powerful way because in verse 00:20:08.460 --> 00:20:14.920 41, it says, who gladly received his word, were 00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:20.579 baptized, and that day, how many? 3 ,000 people 00:20:20.579 --> 00:20:26.299 were baptized on one day. 3 ,000. What an incredible 00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:29.539 miracle that was, because they started the day 00:20:29.539 --> 00:20:33.980 120 in the upper room, and they ended the day 00:20:33.980 --> 00:20:41.150 3 ,120. now coming together. Imagine what would 00:20:41.150 --> 00:20:43.009 happen. We've got some visitors here. You may 00:20:43.009 --> 00:20:45.309 not know what we're in the midst of, but we've 00:20:45.309 --> 00:20:48.130 got some young people, some college -age students 00:20:48.130 --> 00:20:52.150 from Southern in the SALT program with It Is 00:20:52.150 --> 00:20:55.589 Written in Southern, and they are knocking on 00:20:55.589 --> 00:20:58.710 doors, meeting people in our community. And at 00:20:58.710 --> 00:21:01.269 the end of October, we're going to have an evangelistic 00:21:01.269 --> 00:21:06.980 series. And what if we had 3 ,000 people? They 00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:10.420 got baptized. They wouldn't fit in here, for 00:21:10.420 --> 00:21:14.819 one. Okay, so maybe that's too big of a dream 00:21:14.819 --> 00:21:20.220 here. What about 300? Amen. We could squeeze. 00:21:20.380 --> 00:21:29.019 What about 30? Amen. 30. Is that something we 00:21:29.019 --> 00:21:34.640 could pray for? 30 people? 30 people that would 00:21:34.640 --> 00:21:37.799 say, Jesus, I want to take a stand for you. I've 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:41.200 discovered something new. I want to commit myself 00:21:41.200 --> 00:21:45.200 to you. I want to be baptized. And heaven would 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.460 rejoice because heaven rejoices when one person 00:21:48.460 --> 00:21:54.400 comes. What about 30? But then I'm going to ask 00:21:54.400 --> 00:22:01.779 the question, what then? Okay, 30 people, what? 00:22:02.490 --> 00:22:05.269 What then? Well, what happened with 3 ,000 here? 00:22:05.589 --> 00:22:08.849 120 to 3 ,000. They had to do something with 00:22:08.849 --> 00:22:11.269 them. Remember, Peter had been told by Jesus, 00:22:11.369 --> 00:22:14.529 feed my lamb, take care of these people. Verse 00:22:14.529 --> 00:22:19.130 42 gives us a little hint. It says they continued 00:22:19.130 --> 00:22:25.690 steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, 00:22:25.789 --> 00:22:32.089 in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Okay, 00:22:32.150 --> 00:22:34.829 there's 3 ,000 people. And we could look down 00:22:34.829 --> 00:22:39.710 at verse 46. It says, So continuing daily with 00:22:39.710 --> 00:22:43.650 one accord in the temple and breaking bread from 00:22:43.650 --> 00:22:46.829 house to house, they ate their food with gladness 00:22:46.829 --> 00:22:50.289 and simplicity of heart, praising God and having 00:22:50.289 --> 00:22:53.230 favor with all the people. And the Lord added 00:22:53.230 --> 00:22:56.829 to the church daily those who were being saved. 00:22:57.549 --> 00:23:01.470 So maybe we can learn something here. See how 00:23:01.470 --> 00:23:05.869 they cared for the sheep, cared for the flock? 00:23:06.349 --> 00:23:09.309 Maybe we could come up with some categories here. 00:23:09.470 --> 00:23:11.609 And there's other categories that we could come 00:23:11.609 --> 00:23:14.369 up with. But one thing they did, they continued 00:23:14.369 --> 00:23:16.690 in the apostles' doctrine. Well, the apostles 00:23:16.690 --> 00:23:21.849 wrote the New Testament, basically. So studying 00:23:21.849 --> 00:23:27.269 the Bible, studying God's Word, Bible study. 00:23:27.549 --> 00:23:30.589 That seems like an important thing. that we need 00:23:30.589 --> 00:23:35.369 to help people to do. We have a Bible study that 00:23:35.369 --> 00:23:38.509 meets every Saturday morning at 9 .30. We call 00:23:38.509 --> 00:23:42.750 it Sabbath School. There's one upstairs in Español. 00:23:43.690 --> 00:23:47.369 Also, Feliz Sabado to those who are here with 00:23:47.369 --> 00:23:50.470 our Spanish Sabbath School. We have a women's 00:23:50.470 --> 00:23:53.230 Bible study that meets on Tuesday morning. We 00:23:53.230 --> 00:23:56.009 have a Bible study that meets Wednesday evening. 00:23:56.850 --> 00:24:00.190 Next Sabbath, as Cindy mentioned during the announcement 00:24:00.190 --> 00:24:04.710 time, do you want to learn how to help study 00:24:04.710 --> 00:24:09.109 the Bible with somebody? Stay by after church 00:24:09.109 --> 00:24:12.089 next week, and Felicia, one of the salt leaders, 00:24:12.309 --> 00:24:15.329 is going to be doing a training session. So that's 00:24:15.329 --> 00:24:17.890 something they did. They got people continuing 00:24:17.890 --> 00:24:20.930 to study the Bible. And then it says fellowship. 00:24:22.269 --> 00:24:25.900 Fellowship. What's that? Well, that's... Spending 00:24:25.900 --> 00:24:30.420 time together. That's enjoying each other's company. 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:34.700 That's sitting by somebody new at a potluck. 00:24:35.200 --> 00:24:39.319 That's coming to sit by a fire and roast a potato 00:24:39.319 --> 00:24:44.140 at a church social and enjoying time with somebody 00:24:44.140 --> 00:24:47.359 else, fellowshipping, having fun together. And 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:50.920 then it says breaking bread, eating from house 00:24:50.920 --> 00:24:56.109 to house. How many have to eat today? At least 00:24:56.109 --> 00:24:59.309 one time. Okay, maybe you're fasting today. You're 00:24:59.309 --> 00:25:02.450 going to have to eat in the next few days. It's 00:25:02.450 --> 00:25:06.069 something we do. And we can do it together at 00:25:06.069 --> 00:25:09.569 a potluck. Maybe invite somebody to your home 00:25:09.569 --> 00:25:12.269 and get to know somebody in a different way. 00:25:12.349 --> 00:25:16.049 There are few things in life more intimate than 00:25:16.049 --> 00:25:19.109 eating with someone else, than eating together, 00:25:19.250 --> 00:25:21.890 eating with another person. And then the final 00:25:21.890 --> 00:25:24.960 one, it says they continued in prayer. Or if 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:27.359 we look down, they were in the temple. They were 00:25:27.359 --> 00:25:31.480 praising God. That's our worship time. That's 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:35.559 our prayer time together. And so this is how 00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:39.259 Peter and those other church leaders begun to 00:25:39.259 --> 00:25:43.660 envelop, begin to tend and care for the sheep 00:25:43.660 --> 00:25:46.980 that were brought into their fold on that day. 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:50.329 Now, there's been studies. that have been shown 00:25:50.329 --> 00:25:53.549 that when someone joins a new church or a new 00:25:53.549 --> 00:25:57.009 group, whether it's through baptism or maybe 00:25:57.009 --> 00:26:00.849 even someone has transferred from another church 00:26:00.849 --> 00:26:03.710 in the area. I know some have done that. If you 00:26:03.710 --> 00:26:06.069 haven't and would like to, fill out that card. 00:26:06.690 --> 00:26:10.430 If you've moved from another place and have decided 00:26:10.430 --> 00:26:13.289 to join a church, maybe there's some that need 00:26:13.289 --> 00:26:17.109 to do that. Whenever you join a church within 00:26:17.109 --> 00:26:21.910 six months, Within a year, statistics show that 00:26:21.910 --> 00:26:27.609 you need to have made some connections. You need 00:26:27.609 --> 00:26:31.490 to have met some other people besides yourself 00:26:31.490 --> 00:26:35.170 and your own family. Anybody have a guess what 00:26:35.170 --> 00:26:39.630 a number is? How many connections do people need 00:26:39.630 --> 00:26:41.869 to have within the first few months or a year? 00:26:42.589 --> 00:26:46.009 There's kind of a number. I see 10 out there. 00:26:46.869 --> 00:26:50.309 Five. Any other guesses? It's kind of almost 00:26:50.309 --> 00:26:54.170 a biblical number. Seven. Seven is the number 00:26:54.170 --> 00:26:56.509 that a lot of studies show, that if you have 00:26:56.509 --> 00:27:01.150 seven connections, seven people, seven people 00:27:01.150 --> 00:27:04.029 that you could say, hey, how's your day going? 00:27:05.329 --> 00:27:07.170 Maybe somebody that you could say, hey, I need 00:27:07.170 --> 00:27:11.140 you to pray for this situation. Maybe somebody 00:27:11.140 --> 00:27:14.220 that you could say, hey, could you come and water 00:27:14.220 --> 00:27:16.819 my plants? I'm going out of town for a few days. 00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:21.140 Maybe somebody that if you miss church, somebody 00:27:21.140 --> 00:27:24.160 would notice. And they would call you up and 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:28.200 say, hey, we missed you. Oh, I was sick. Well, 00:27:28.220 --> 00:27:32.799 what can we do for you? If people need seven 00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:41.000 connections, guess what? of those connections. 00:27:41.720 --> 00:27:44.680 And so that's an opportunity that each one of 00:27:44.680 --> 00:27:48.259 us have to help people continue in the teaching, 00:27:48.460 --> 00:27:51.319 to fellowship, to break bread together, to be 00:27:51.319 --> 00:27:55.519 in prayer. That's what a church is, a gathering 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:58.880 together and making sure that we can keep a connection 00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:02.519 so that as people come, they're going to stay. 00:28:02.900 --> 00:28:06.119 They're not going to come and go. We don't really 00:28:06.119 --> 00:28:08.539 have a back door. I think maybe we do over here. 00:28:09.529 --> 00:28:11.509 out the back door, but they're going to stay 00:28:11.509 --> 00:28:14.769 and be part of the church. I want to look at 00:28:14.769 --> 00:28:17.049 one more passage here, still with Peter, but 00:28:17.049 --> 00:28:20.130 we're going to go to 1 Peter, way back almost 00:28:20.130 --> 00:28:23.150 to the end of the Bible, the book of 1 Peter. 00:28:23.309 --> 00:28:27.049 We're going to look at chapter 5. Peter is now 00:28:27.049 --> 00:28:31.349 writing to believers who are scattered throughout 00:28:31.349 --> 00:28:34.369 the land, and he's writing to a group of them 00:28:34.369 --> 00:28:39.380 in 1 Peter chapter 5. And he says, the elders 00:28:39.380 --> 00:28:43.059 who are among you I exhort. I am a fellow elder 00:28:43.059 --> 00:28:45.740 and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and 00:28:45.740 --> 00:28:49.019 also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed. 00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:52.539 Yes, we acknowledge and we know that elder is 00:28:52.539 --> 00:28:56.319 a specific role in the church, a leadership role. 00:28:57.140 --> 00:29:00.680 But I think that Peter could also be talking 00:29:00.680 --> 00:29:05.789 to those who have been believers longer. than 00:29:05.789 --> 00:29:08.990 somebody else. They're elder believers compared 00:29:08.990 --> 00:29:12.170 to a new believer, compared to one of these little 00:29:12.170 --> 00:29:16.009 lambs. Because notice verse 2. Just like Jesus 00:29:16.009 --> 00:29:20.509 told Peter, Peter said, Shepherd the flock of 00:29:20.509 --> 00:29:24.930 God which was among you, serving as overseers, 00:29:24.950 --> 00:29:29.730 not by compulsion, but willingly, not for dishonest 00:29:29.730 --> 00:29:33.930 gain, but eagerly, not as being lords or masters, 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:39.299 over those entrusted to you, but by being examples 00:29:39.299 --> 00:29:43.640 to the flock. That's what we're supposed to be. 00:29:43.779 --> 00:29:46.400 As we're making a connection with somebody, we're 00:29:46.400 --> 00:29:49.559 supposed to be an example to them, an example 00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:53.160 of how to study the Word, an example of how to 00:29:53.160 --> 00:29:56.359 fellowship with other believers, an example of 00:29:56.359 --> 00:29:59.500 how to pray, how to enjoy each other's company. 00:29:59.660 --> 00:30:04.460 And then notice verse 4. It says, That's not 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:07.200 us. That's Jesus. When the chief shepherd appears, 00:30:07.519 --> 00:30:12.240 you will receive the crown of glory that does 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:15.660 not fade away. And isn't that what we want? That 00:30:15.660 --> 00:30:20.000 eternal life with Jesus to receive. It's not 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:22.380 about a crown, but it's about spending eternity 00:30:22.380 --> 00:30:26.059 with Jesus. But as a part of that, we can receive 00:30:26.059 --> 00:30:29.779 this crown of Christ's glory that will not fade 00:30:29.779 --> 00:30:33.710 away. Let's make sure that we are taking part 00:30:33.710 --> 00:30:38.269 in being a connection with somebody else. There's 00:30:38.269 --> 00:30:40.490 an old story, you probably have heard it in some 00:30:40.490 --> 00:30:44.029 other sermon, of a church service that was going 00:30:44.029 --> 00:30:47.690 on and suddenly the back door opens. And what's 00:30:47.690 --> 00:30:49.789 the natural response when you hear the back door 00:30:49.789 --> 00:30:54.509 open? Everybody turns to look. The service is 00:30:54.509 --> 00:30:58.450 midway done and the door opens and in walks somebody. 00:30:59.009 --> 00:31:02.059 And man, he is not... Dressed very nice. His 00:31:02.059 --> 00:31:07.119 jeans are torn. He's a little dirty. He may even 00:31:07.119 --> 00:31:10.460 smell if you get too close to him. And he begins 00:31:10.460 --> 00:31:13.680 to walk down the aisle. And he's looking for 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:17.380 a place to sit. And thankfully, like here, there's 00:31:17.380 --> 00:31:19.380 not too many seats along the aisle. So he gets 00:31:19.380 --> 00:31:23.420 closer and closer. And maybe there's a seat there 00:31:23.420 --> 00:31:25.660 next to Paul. But Paul, you know, he leans over 00:31:25.660 --> 00:31:28.349 just a little bit. Because he's not sure about 00:31:28.349 --> 00:31:31.869 that. No, the other way, the other way. And this 00:31:31.869 --> 00:31:35.950 young man doesn't really have a place to sit. 00:31:36.009 --> 00:31:40.109 And he comes all the way down. And finally he 00:31:40.109 --> 00:31:43.150 just plops down right in the middle of the aisle 00:31:43.150 --> 00:31:46.789 and sits down. And about that time, another noise, 00:31:46.809 --> 00:31:48.890 another sound, because someone stands up in the 00:31:48.890 --> 00:31:53.250 back. And this is the elder of the church. And 00:31:53.250 --> 00:31:56.579 he begins to make his way down. And everybody's 00:31:56.579 --> 00:31:58.940 eyes are now riveted on him because they know 00:31:58.940 --> 00:32:01.859 that, okay, he's going to help them find a seat, 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:04.299 maybe somewhere else, maybe in the mother's room. 00:32:04.480 --> 00:32:06.559 Maybe he'll give them some food, you know, from 00:32:06.559 --> 00:32:09.019 the pot. He's going to move him out of there, 00:32:09.079 --> 00:32:11.559 surely. And so all eyes are watching, and as 00:32:11.559 --> 00:32:15.279 he gets closer, breath is held. There's a confrontation 00:32:15.279 --> 00:32:18.859 that's about to take place. And the old elder 00:32:18.859 --> 00:32:22.259 comes, and he puts his hand on the shoulder of 00:32:22.259 --> 00:32:25.769 the young man, and he... uses the shoulder to 00:32:25.769 --> 00:32:31.089 support him as he sits down beside him. And they 00:32:31.089 --> 00:32:34.230 watch the rest of the service together because 00:32:34.230 --> 00:32:37.150 he said, you know, in his mind, this is someone 00:32:37.150 --> 00:32:41.549 who needs to hear about Jesus. And I want to 00:32:41.549 --> 00:32:45.569 help him hear about Jesus. Let's make sure that 00:32:45.569 --> 00:32:49.049 in all we do, we are doing something to help 00:32:49.049 --> 00:32:51.650 other people hear about Jesus. Let's bow our 00:32:51.650 --> 00:32:55.630 heads for prayer. Dear God, What an awesome privilege 00:32:55.630 --> 00:32:59.750 it is that you chase after us. Even though we're 00:32:59.750 --> 00:33:02.329 that little lamb that has run away, you are the 00:33:02.329 --> 00:33:05.170 good shepherd who pursues after us and loves 00:33:05.170 --> 00:33:09.289 us. And Lord, you've invited us to take care 00:33:09.289 --> 00:33:12.869 of your flock, to feed your sheep. And Lord, 00:33:12.930 --> 00:33:16.890 we're imperfect. We make mistakes. We stray. 00:33:17.009 --> 00:33:20.940 We continue to be distracted. But Lord, help 00:33:20.940 --> 00:33:23.880 us to serve you. Help us to look for ways that 00:33:23.880 --> 00:33:28.599 we can meet someone new, that we can learn a 00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:32.559 name, that we can notice when somebody isn't 00:33:32.559 --> 00:33:36.400 here, that we can invite somebody to join us 00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:39.019 for a Bible study, that we can invite someone 00:33:39.019 --> 00:33:42.700 to sit next to us at a fellowship dinner. Because 00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:46.900 those little things can make a huge impact as 00:33:46.900 --> 00:33:50.579 we help others to learn about you. In your name 00:33:50.579 --> 00:33:51.839 we pray, amen.