WEBVTT 00:00:05.470 --> 00:00:08.849 We're going to be in Luke chapter 15 this morning. 00:00:10.470 --> 00:00:17.789 Luke chapter 15. I'm going to tell you all why 00:00:17.789 --> 00:00:19.829 you're turning to Luke chapter 15. That's in 00:00:19.829 --> 00:00:21.449 the New Testament, close to the front of the 00:00:21.449 --> 00:00:24.850 New Testament. I don't know what heaven's going 00:00:24.850 --> 00:00:26.750 to be like, but I think it's going to be a lot 00:00:26.750 --> 00:00:28.510 like what it was like up here yesterday at the 00:00:28.510 --> 00:00:31.510 church. It was a lot of love and a lot of joy. 00:00:31.850 --> 00:00:35.450 Just brothers and sisters in Christ. Just loving 00:00:35.450 --> 00:00:37.789 each other and serving God and rejoicing in what 00:00:37.789 --> 00:00:40.590 we were doing. And I think that that's just probably 00:00:40.590 --> 00:00:42.670 a glimpse of what it's going to be like. That's 00:00:42.670 --> 00:00:45.270 going to be a good day. When we get to be united 00:00:45.270 --> 00:00:48.189 with all the brothers and sisters in Christ, 00:00:48.270 --> 00:00:50.509 all the loved ones that have gone before us, 00:00:50.549 --> 00:00:54.490 that's a good day. So we thank the Lord that 00:00:54.490 --> 00:00:57.189 he gives us little previews of that in this life. 00:00:57.369 --> 00:01:02.250 Luke chapter 15. I've got bad news for you today. 00:01:02.289 --> 00:01:06.159 We're reading a whole chapter. No, all, I think 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:09.260 31 verses it is. So that's the bad news. But 00:01:09.260 --> 00:01:11.640 the good news is, is we're not going to go through 00:01:11.640 --> 00:01:14.319 it verse by verse. So we'll probably be out on 00:01:14.319 --> 00:01:17.040 time. Unless the Lord changes my heart. You never 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:19.379 know. Sometimes that happens. We might be here 00:01:19.379 --> 00:01:22.680 till 5 o 'clock. But we'll go till we get done. 00:01:22.980 --> 00:01:25.140 I didn't hear no amens on being here till 5 o 00:01:25.140 --> 00:01:27.599 'clock. Nobody amen that. If I'd have said we're 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:29.739 going to be out by 1145, half of y 'all would 00:01:29.739 --> 00:01:33.090 have said amen. Say 5 o 'clock. Everybody just 00:01:33.090 --> 00:01:35.569 kind of there say, I hope he's joking. I know 00:01:35.569 --> 00:01:37.510 exactly what y 'all were thinking. All right. 00:01:38.510 --> 00:01:40.870 Luke chapter 15. We're going to read through 00:01:40.870 --> 00:01:43.489 the whole chapter. Then we're going to pray. 00:01:43.709 --> 00:01:50.250 And then we'll get started. All the tax collectors 00:01:50.250 --> 00:01:53.109 and sinners were approaching to listen to him. 00:01:53.230 --> 00:01:57.030 That's Jesus. And the Pharisees and scribes were 00:01:57.030 --> 00:02:00.909 complaining. This man welcomes sinners and eats 00:02:00.909 --> 00:02:05.069 with them. So he told them this parable. What 00:02:05.069 --> 00:02:08.090 man among you who has 100 sheep and loses one 00:02:08.090 --> 00:02:11.789 of them does not leave the 99 in the open field 00:02:11.789 --> 00:02:14.889 and go after the lost one until he finds it? 00:02:15.370 --> 00:02:18.650 When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on 00:02:18.650 --> 00:02:21.849 his shoulders, and coming home he calls his friends 00:02:21.849 --> 00:02:26.150 and neighbors together, saying to them, Rejoice 00:02:26.150 --> 00:02:29.500 with me. because I have found my lost sheep. 00:02:29.900 --> 00:02:33.740 I tell you, in the same way there will be more 00:02:33.740 --> 00:02:38.259 joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than 00:02:38.259 --> 00:02:41.020 over ninety -nine righteous people who don't 00:02:41.020 --> 00:02:46.400 need repentance. Or what woman who has ten silver 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:49.900 coins, if she loses one coin, does not light 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:53.020 a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully 00:02:53.020 --> 00:02:57.409 until she finds it? When she finds it, She calls 00:02:57.409 --> 00:02:59.909 her women friends and neighbors together, saying, 00:03:00.229 --> 00:03:04.069 Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver 00:03:04.069 --> 00:03:08.830 coin I lost. I tell you, in the same way there 00:03:08.830 --> 00:03:12.889 is joy in the presence of God's angels over one 00:03:12.889 --> 00:03:20.469 sinner who repents. He also said, A man had two 00:03:20.469 --> 00:03:24.090 sons. The younger of them said to his father, 00:03:24.349 --> 00:03:28.099 Father, Give me the share of the estate I have 00:03:28.099 --> 00:03:31.680 coming to me. So he distributed the assets to 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:36.060 them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered 00:03:36.060 --> 00:03:38.719 together all he had and traveled to a distant 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:42.699 country, where he squandered his estate in foolish 00:03:42.699 --> 00:03:46.599 living. After he had spent everything, a severe 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:50.240 famine struck that country, and he had nothing. 00:03:51.469 --> 00:03:53.689 Then he went to work for one of the citizens 00:03:53.689 --> 00:03:55.990 of that country who sent him into his fields 00:03:55.990 --> 00:04:00.030 to feed pigs. He longed to eat his field from 00:04:00.030 --> 00:04:03.650 the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one 00:04:03.650 --> 00:04:07.469 would give him any. When he came to his senses, 00:04:07.550 --> 00:04:11.270 he said, How many of my father's hired hands 00:04:11.270 --> 00:04:15.289 have more than enough food? And here I am dying 00:04:15.289 --> 00:04:19.569 of hunger. I'll get up, go to my father, and 00:04:19.569 --> 00:04:23.779 say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven 00:04:23.779 --> 00:04:27.699 and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be 00:04:27.699 --> 00:04:31.819 called your son. Make me like one of your hired 00:04:31.819 --> 00:04:37.180 hands. So he got up and went to his father. But 00:04:37.180 --> 00:04:41.240 while the son was still a long way off, his father 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:45.579 saw him and was filled with compassion. He threw 00:04:45.579 --> 00:04:49.160 his arms around his neck and kissed him. The 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:53.019 son said to him, Father, I have sinned against 00:04:53.019 --> 00:04:56.399 heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:00.660 to be called your son. But the father told his 00:05:00.660 --> 00:05:04.560 slaves, Quick, bring out the best robe and put 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:07.620 it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals 00:05:07.620 --> 00:05:11.519 on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and 00:05:11.519 --> 00:05:14.480 slaughter it, and let's celebrate with a feast. 00:05:15.300 --> 00:05:18.199 Because this son of mine was dead and is alive 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:23.480 again. He was lost and is found. So they began 00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:27.699 to celebrate. Now his older son was in the field. 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:31.040 As he came near the house, he heard music and 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:33.759 dancing. So he summoned one of the servants and 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:36.980 asked what these things meant. Your brother is 00:05:36.980 --> 00:05:39.959 here, he told him, and your father has slaughtered 00:05:39.959 --> 00:05:42.839 the fattened calf because he has him back safe 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:46.759 and sound. Then he became angry and didn't want 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:50.399 to go in. So his father came out and pleaded 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:54.439 with him. But he replied to his father, Look, 00:05:54.579 --> 00:05:58.000 I've been slaving many years from you, and I 00:05:58.000 --> 00:06:02.139 have never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never 00:06:02.139 --> 00:06:04.720 gave me a young goat so I could celebrate with 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:08.560 my friends. But when this son of yours came, 00:06:08.819 --> 00:06:12.300 who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, 00:06:12.459 --> 00:06:16.879 you slaughtered the fattened calf for him. Son, 00:06:16.980 --> 00:06:21.819 he said to him, you are always with me and everything 00:06:21.819 --> 00:06:26.360 I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:29.899 rejoice because this brother of yours was dead 00:06:29.899 --> 00:06:35.279 and is alive again. He was lost and is found. 00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:39.360 Let's pray. God, we come to you. We thank you 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:43.620 for these beautiful words, these beautiful parables 00:06:43.620 --> 00:06:48.339 that Jesus has shared with us, God. I pray that 00:06:48.339 --> 00:06:51.259 as we hear these words, that we would examine 00:06:51.259 --> 00:06:53.980 our own lives, God, that your Holy Spirit would 00:06:53.980 --> 00:06:57.420 help us to see how they apply to us, dear Lord. 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:01.680 Help us to see who we may be in this story, dear 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:04.660 Lord. Of all the characters and all the situations, 00:07:04.819 --> 00:07:08.240 dear Lord, who and where are we in the story? 00:07:09.759 --> 00:07:12.379 Are we one who is lost that needs to be found? 00:07:13.680 --> 00:07:17.220 Are we one who is like you, but perhaps our heart 00:07:17.220 --> 00:07:21.860 is not in the right place? So God, I pray that 00:07:21.860 --> 00:07:24.180 your Holy Spirit would be among us today. I pray 00:07:24.180 --> 00:07:26.660 that you would just lead me, that I would preach 00:07:26.660 --> 00:07:28.699 and teach in a way that brings glory and honor 00:07:28.699 --> 00:07:31.139 to you, that you take away any fear or any pride 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:33.540 that I have today, that you take away any distractions 00:07:33.540 --> 00:07:36.300 that the enemy has placed before us, and that 00:07:36.300 --> 00:07:40.300 in these few minutes we would seek you. And I 00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:45.300 ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Oftentimes 00:07:45.300 --> 00:07:49.740 when we look at Luke chapter 15, of course there's 00:07:49.740 --> 00:07:52.500 a lot of emphasis placed on the last parable 00:07:52.500 --> 00:07:55.100 that Jesus gave, the parable of the prodigal 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:57.860 son. And rightly so. It's a great parable. And 00:07:57.860 --> 00:07:59.899 really no matter how many times you read it, 00:07:59.939 --> 00:08:02.879 it's very powerful because it connects with us 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:05.220 in a way that we can really understand. And that's 00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:08.000 the power of the parable. That's the power of 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:11.899 a simple story. that Jesus so often used. A story 00:08:11.899 --> 00:08:15.000 that was simple and not even necessarily religious 00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:18.060 in what it was talking about, but the connection 00:08:18.060 --> 00:08:21.579 to the spiritual point that Jesus was trying 00:08:21.579 --> 00:08:25.199 to make was fairly obvious for those who were 00:08:25.199 --> 00:08:27.500 really seeking and listening and paying attention 00:08:27.500 --> 00:08:30.839 to what Jesus said. And while the... Parable 00:08:30.839 --> 00:08:34.179 of the prodigal son is a beautiful parable. Really, 00:08:34.259 --> 00:08:36.919 to understand what's going on, we have to read 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:41.059 the whole of chapter 15. It all really goes together. 00:08:41.419 --> 00:08:45.340 And what brought this whole set of parables about 00:08:45.340 --> 00:08:49.600 was a situation that had arose. And here was 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:51.820 the situation. This is something we see throughout 00:08:51.820 --> 00:08:55.740 Jesus' ministry. Jesus, the Son of God, came 00:08:55.740 --> 00:08:59.480 into the world. And he did not just go and hang 00:08:59.480 --> 00:09:02.440 out with the church folks. Now, Jesus liked the 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:04.899 righteous people. He liked those who loved God. 00:09:05.100 --> 00:09:07.840 It was great. He served alongside those people, 00:09:07.940 --> 00:09:11.279 and he loved those people. But Jesus didn't just 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:14.759 love the church folks. Jesus loved everybody. 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:19.980 Everybody. The undesirables. The ones that were 00:09:19.980 --> 00:09:23.340 evil and horrible, the murderers and the prostitutes 00:09:23.340 --> 00:09:26.220 and the tax collectors, the thieves, the liars, 00:09:26.259 --> 00:09:30.480 everybody. Jesus didn't pick favorites. He would 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:33.019 associate with the righteous. He would eat with 00:09:33.019 --> 00:09:37.220 the sinners. Jesus came to do what he came to 00:09:37.220 --> 00:09:40.080 do, and that was to share the love of God and 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:43.429 to let people know and to see his example. that 00:09:43.429 --> 00:09:46.250 he was going to be the sacrifice that was going 00:09:46.250 --> 00:09:49.350 to be given for us so that our sins could be 00:09:49.350 --> 00:09:52.389 forgiven. He came to promote the good news, to 00:09:52.389 --> 00:09:55.350 let people know that the kingdom of God had come 00:09:55.350 --> 00:09:59.990 near. And the only entrance into the kingdom 00:09:59.990 --> 00:10:02.789 of God would be through Jesus Christ. And so 00:10:02.789 --> 00:10:05.769 Jesus went and he talked to everybody that he 00:10:05.769 --> 00:10:08.710 could encounter. But there were some who had 00:10:08.710 --> 00:10:10.909 a problem with that, and we see that at the beginning 00:10:10.909 --> 00:10:14.509 of Luke chapter 15. that there were some of these 00:10:14.509 --> 00:10:18.690 Pharisees and scribes that were complaining. 00:10:19.210 --> 00:10:21.850 And what was their complaint? Their complaint 00:10:21.850 --> 00:10:25.730 was this, that he eats with sinners, that he 00:10:25.730 --> 00:10:28.190 eats with the evil people, that he welcomes sinners 00:10:28.190 --> 00:10:31.549 and eats with them. And they took offense to 00:10:31.549 --> 00:10:34.259 that. Now these Pharisees would have probably 00:10:34.259 --> 00:10:37.259 considered themselves to be pretty religious. 00:10:37.580 --> 00:10:39.379 They probably would have considered themselves 00:10:39.379 --> 00:10:42.320 to be holier than thou. I think that's obvious 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:45.139 from their statement. Now wait a minute. This 00:10:45.139 --> 00:10:48.019 guy, he's supposed to be somebody. He's supposed 00:10:48.019 --> 00:10:50.399 to be representing God, the things that he says, 00:10:50.480 --> 00:10:53.120 the things that he does. And yet look at what 00:10:53.120 --> 00:10:56.360 he's doing. He's associating with these sinners. 00:10:57.179 --> 00:11:01.080 Shouldn't he know better than that? And we have 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:03.220 to pause for a moment here and we have to examine 00:11:03.220 --> 00:11:06.700 our own life. Do we ever fall into that trap? 00:11:07.799 --> 00:11:10.600 Do we ever think that we are too good to serve 00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:14.279 somebody else? You are not. You are not too good 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:17.879 to do anything. You are not too good to do the 00:11:17.879 --> 00:11:20.519 dirtiest and the nastiest and the stinkiest and 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:23.120 the hardest jobs. You are not too good for that. 00:11:24.370 --> 00:11:26.629 There are things sometimes that God puts in our 00:11:26.629 --> 00:11:29.570 path, opportunities that he calls us to, and 00:11:29.570 --> 00:11:32.850 we pass them up because they're too nasty and 00:11:32.850 --> 00:11:36.429 they're too dirty and they're too scary. And 00:11:36.429 --> 00:11:38.490 we might justify it by saying to ourselves, well, 00:11:38.529 --> 00:11:40.190 God will just have to send somebody else for 00:11:40.190 --> 00:11:42.929 that. Well, maybe he sent you for that. And who 00:11:42.929 --> 00:11:45.769 are we that we are too good to help the poorest 00:11:45.769 --> 00:11:49.769 of the poor and the worst of the worst? We are 00:11:49.769 --> 00:11:53.080 not too good for that. And if we are, then we 00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:56.340 need to be careful. Because if we are, even if 00:11:56.340 --> 00:11:59.059 we don't utter these words the Pharisees uttered 00:11:59.059 --> 00:12:02.200 with our mouth, they are in our heart. And we 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:05.539 are just as guilty if we want to avoid sinners 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:08.679 and avoid those who are least of these. Jesus 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:11.820 calls us who are Christians to minister and to 00:12:11.820 --> 00:12:14.360 love those who are the least of these. And whatever 00:12:14.360 --> 00:12:16.960 we do to them, Jesus says we have done for him. 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:21.899 So we are not too good. To humble ourselves before 00:12:21.899 --> 00:12:25.700 those who are in need and to serve those who 00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:29.440 are sinners. Because I've got news for you. You 00:12:29.440 --> 00:12:32.840 yourself are a sinner. And if you've called on 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:35.299 Jesus Christ, you are a sinner saved by grace. 00:12:36.419 --> 00:12:39.480 And if you've experienced the grace of God, then 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:41.620 how can you not share the grace of God with someone 00:12:41.620 --> 00:12:45.399 else? And if you can't share the grace of God 00:12:45.399 --> 00:12:48.059 with those you encounter, then perhaps you have 00:12:48.059 --> 00:12:52.840 not experienced. The grace of God. So that's 00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:56.259 the charge against Jesus. This man, he ain't 00:12:56.259 --> 00:12:58.940 nothing because, look, he eats with sinners. 00:12:59.019 --> 00:13:03.879 He values these people that have no value. They're 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:10.259 the garbage of society. And Jesus told them a 00:13:10.259 --> 00:13:13.500 parable. He tells them a series of parables here. 00:13:14.340 --> 00:13:19.259 All with a common theme. He shares a simple parable. 00:13:20.110 --> 00:13:21.929 A lot of these people probably would have known 00:13:21.929 --> 00:13:23.909 what it was like to raise sheep, have a lot of 00:13:23.909 --> 00:13:27.789 sheep. And Jesus says, look, there's a shepherd. 00:13:28.230 --> 00:13:31.769 Had a hundred sheep. And one of those sheep were 00:13:31.769 --> 00:13:36.610 lost. And what did the shepherd do? He went and 00:13:36.610 --> 00:13:39.809 he found that lost sheep. And what did he do 00:13:39.809 --> 00:13:42.590 when he found it? He rejoiced. He said, look, 00:13:42.950 --> 00:13:45.690 my sheep. I found my sheep. He told everybody 00:13:45.690 --> 00:13:49.019 around, I found my sheep. My sheep was lost and 00:13:49.019 --> 00:13:52.600 I found him. And what beautiful imagery there 00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:54.759 because how does he, not only does he find him, 00:13:54.840 --> 00:13:56.200 he doesn't just say, hey sheep, you're over there. 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:57.960 Come on back over here sheep, there you are, 00:13:58.039 --> 00:14:00.419 come on. He doesn't do that. It says that he 00:14:00.419 --> 00:14:03.059 goes and he places the sheep on his shoulder. 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:06.440 The shepherd goes and he retrieves the sheep. 00:14:07.960 --> 00:14:11.620 And there is rejoicing when one that is lost 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:15.899 is found. And Jesus says there's rejoicing in 00:14:15.899 --> 00:14:19.120 heaven. over one sinner who comes to repentance. 00:14:19.200 --> 00:14:22.139 More so than over 99 who don't need repentance. 00:14:23.039 --> 00:14:25.100 Now, he's not saying that there are people that 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:28.080 don't need repentance. He's making a point. He's 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:30.200 saying, look, there are some people who are obedient 00:14:30.200 --> 00:14:32.740 to God. There are some people who are following 00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:35.419 God. There are some people who are God's children 00:14:35.419 --> 00:14:39.340 and they are His. But there are some who are 00:14:39.340 --> 00:14:42.340 lost. And it's not that God doesn't love the 00:14:42.340 --> 00:14:46.899 99, but He wants the one. He even values the 00:14:46.899 --> 00:14:51.960 one. He values the 1%. Even if he's got 99%, 00:14:51.960 --> 00:14:56.240 God says, but I want 100%. God is not greedy. 00:14:56.379 --> 00:15:01.620 He is just a God who loves you. God values people. 00:15:02.740 --> 00:15:05.019 That's kind of the point that Jesus is making 00:15:05.019 --> 00:15:07.519 as he goes through these parables, is that God 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:14.860 values people. And maybe you're lost today. Maybe 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:16.940 you're lost today. I want to tell you, you need 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:20.799 to know this today. Listen to this. You are valuable 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:26.139 in the eyes of God. You may not think so. The 00:15:26.139 --> 00:15:28.779 world may bully you and push you around and tell 00:15:28.779 --> 00:15:31.240 you you're not worth anything, but that is a 00:15:31.240 --> 00:15:35.019 lie from the pits of hell. I want to tell you 00:15:35.019 --> 00:15:39.389 today that you are valuable in God's sight. So 00:15:39.389 --> 00:15:42.490 valuable that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died 00:15:42.490 --> 00:15:45.850 on a cross for you. That's how much God loves 00:15:45.850 --> 00:15:48.470 you. And he'd have done it even for the one. 00:15:49.750 --> 00:15:53.070 And there's rejoicing when a lost soul comes 00:15:53.070 --> 00:15:56.669 to Jesus Christ. There's rejoicing when Jesus 00:15:56.669 --> 00:15:59.309 Christ, the shepherd, comes and you become a 00:15:59.309 --> 00:16:03.149 sheep who is part of his fold. There is rejoicing 00:16:03.149 --> 00:16:07.419 that takes place. And Jesus continues on. With 00:16:07.419 --> 00:16:11.399 another very simple story. Woman's got ten coins. 00:16:12.139 --> 00:16:15.960 She loses one of them. She's frantically sweeping 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:20.600 the house. Trying to find that coin. She finally 00:16:20.600 --> 00:16:24.580 finds it. And what does she do? She calls all 00:16:24.580 --> 00:16:26.480 of her girlfriends up and says, Hey girls, guess 00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:31.059 what? That coin I lost, I finally found it. And 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:35.159 there's rejoicing. And the same idea. There's 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:39.299 rejoicing. In heaven, when the lost is found, 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:43.179 when the sinner comes to repentance. Now notice 00:16:43.179 --> 00:16:46.940 as the story progresses what we see. In the first 00:16:46.940 --> 00:16:49.279 little parable that Jesus gives about the sheep, 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:53.139 there's 1 % of what the shepherd has that's lost. 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:56.440 And yet he cares about that 1%. Now what about 00:16:56.440 --> 00:16:59.740 us? Do we care about the 1 %? Now I suspect we're 00:16:59.740 --> 00:17:02.240 all guilty of this. You ever go somewhere? and 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:03.700 you pay for something, well, probably not now 00:17:03.700 --> 00:17:05.660 because we don't use cash, but back in the day, 00:17:05.740 --> 00:17:08.079 and they'd give you some coins, and you'd drop 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:09.920 a penny, and it would kind of roll like under 00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:11.740 the counter or something, and you'd say, oh, 00:17:11.839 --> 00:17:13.160 I'm not worried about that. It's just a penny, 00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:16.000 right? We're not worried about a penny. If you 00:17:16.000 --> 00:17:20.180 lost today, if you lost 1 % of everything you 00:17:20.180 --> 00:17:22.599 own, well, it might be kind of a bummer, but 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:27.720 it probably wouldn't bother you too much. But 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:31.339 God's not like us. He values everything. He values 00:17:31.339 --> 00:17:36.059 even the 1%. And so that scent that we leave 00:17:36.059 --> 00:17:40.259 behind, that we take for granted, God's not like 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:45.079 that. He values things that we don't value more 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:48.440 than we value them. So in the first story, there's 00:17:48.440 --> 00:17:50.599 1 % of what the shepherd has that's lost. What 00:17:50.599 --> 00:17:52.880 about the second story? Well, there's 1 out of 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:55.380 10 coins. Okay, the percentage is getting greater. 00:17:55.660 --> 00:18:00.480 And this is 10%. of what this woman had was lost. 00:18:00.779 --> 00:18:03.019 Now, if you lost 10 % of what you had today, 00:18:03.180 --> 00:18:05.000 you'd probably be sweeping the house too, right? 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:07.660 You'd probably be looking around. If you had 00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:10.380 a $100 bill in your wallet, you had 10 of them 00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:12.220 and you lost one of them, well, you're going 00:18:12.220 --> 00:18:13.440 to look for that more than you're going to look 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:17.380 for that one cent. And so we see that the value 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:22.079 of the main characters or the main portion of 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:25.420 this story is increasing. It goes from 1 % to 00:18:25.420 --> 00:18:29.140 10%. And no matter what the percentage is, it's 00:18:29.140 --> 00:18:32.460 all valued by God, but the value of what's in 00:18:32.460 --> 00:18:36.180 question is rising throughout the story. The 00:18:36.180 --> 00:18:38.740 value is rising and there's excitement because 00:18:38.740 --> 00:18:42.400 what is lost is valuable. And the sheep's not 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.259 that valuable, but the coin is a little more 00:18:44.259 --> 00:18:47.500 valuable. And then we get to the third part of 00:18:47.500 --> 00:18:50.609 the story. This is where Jesus is really kind 00:18:50.609 --> 00:18:53.069 of bringing the point home. The first two were 00:18:53.069 --> 00:18:55.190 kind of real simple stories that they could relate 00:18:55.190 --> 00:18:57.690 to and understand. Okay, yeah, one sheep, not 00:18:57.690 --> 00:19:00.369 that big a deal. One coin, okay, maybe we'll 00:19:00.369 --> 00:19:02.869 look a little more for that. But what do we see 00:19:02.869 --> 00:19:07.349 the value in the last story? It's 50%. The man 00:19:07.349 --> 00:19:11.390 had two sons and he lost one of those sons. He 00:19:11.390 --> 00:19:16.190 lost 50 % of what he had. And what a beautiful 00:19:16.190 --> 00:19:21.269 story it is. We see in the story that there's 00:19:21.269 --> 00:19:25.970 two sons. And one son says, Dad, I want my inheritance. 00:19:25.970 --> 00:19:27.450 Give it to me or I don't want to wait on you 00:19:27.450 --> 00:19:30.210 to die. Just give me what's coming to me. Well, 00:19:30.250 --> 00:19:32.009 that's a bad place to be. Sometimes you even 00:19:32.009 --> 00:19:33.569 see that with people today. That's not a good 00:19:33.569 --> 00:19:35.910 place to be. Your heart's in a bad place if that's 00:19:35.910 --> 00:19:39.029 where your heart's at. So this young man said, 00:19:39.109 --> 00:19:41.970 Dad, I want what's coming to me. Give me my inheritance. 00:19:42.230 --> 00:19:44.490 And the father said, Okay, son, if that's what 00:19:44.490 --> 00:19:47.289 you want, I'll give it to you. And so the son 00:19:47.289 --> 00:19:50.019 receives his inheritance. And guess what he does? 00:19:50.339 --> 00:19:52.779 He blows it. He goes out and he lives for the 00:19:52.779 --> 00:19:56.779 world and he does all these horrible things and 00:19:56.779 --> 00:20:01.640 blows his money and it's gone. And then guess 00:20:01.640 --> 00:20:05.099 what happens? Scripture says that a famine comes 00:20:05.099 --> 00:20:08.740 into the land. Well, now he's in bad shape. He 00:20:08.740 --> 00:20:12.460 was good at home. When he was at home, the father 00:20:12.460 --> 00:20:15.309 took care of everything. The father provided 00:20:15.309 --> 00:20:19.589 for him. The father protected him. The father 00:20:19.589 --> 00:20:23.069 gave him everything that he needed. In the father's 00:20:23.069 --> 00:20:28.130 house, he was in a good spot. But he chose to 00:20:28.130 --> 00:20:31.730 leave the father's house. And he found himself 00:20:31.730 --> 00:20:35.670 in a bad spot. He started feeding pigs. That's 00:20:35.670 --> 00:20:37.710 the job that he had, feeding pigs. And it said 00:20:37.710 --> 00:20:40.269 he longed to eat from the pig slot, but nobody 00:20:40.269 --> 00:20:43.450 would give him any. He didn't even have pig slop 00:20:43.450 --> 00:20:46.910 to eat. Boy, it looked pretty good at Daddy's 00:20:46.910 --> 00:20:49.670 house. I bet about that point. Isn't that amazing 00:20:49.670 --> 00:20:51.529 how it is when we're young? It seems like living 00:20:51.529 --> 00:20:54.109 with our parents is the worst thing ever. Like 00:20:54.109 --> 00:20:55.950 our parents are just so evil. Like they're anti 00:20:55.950 --> 00:20:58.049 -fun. Like they just had us and they just had 00:20:58.049 --> 00:20:59.769 a meeting and decided we're not going to do anything 00:20:59.769 --> 00:21:02.089 fun for them. We're going to be hard on them. 00:21:02.589 --> 00:21:04.690 And then we get to growing up. We can't wait 00:21:04.690 --> 00:21:06.750 to get out. And then we get out and we're not 00:21:06.750 --> 00:21:09.170 so different from the prodigal son, are we? We 00:21:09.170 --> 00:21:11.109 get out working to do things our way, and then 00:21:11.109 --> 00:21:14.029 we're eating like Hot Pockets like three times 00:21:14.029 --> 00:21:16.509 a day. And then we think, man, when I was at 00:21:16.509 --> 00:21:19.109 home, Dad used to make chicken wings, or he'd 00:21:19.109 --> 00:21:22.009 make a steak sometimes, and we realized that 00:21:22.009 --> 00:21:26.410 maybe being at home wasn't so bad. And the prodigal 00:21:26.410 --> 00:21:28.910 son, boy, he was ready to go, and he went, and 00:21:28.910 --> 00:21:31.869 he figured out that being apart from the Father 00:21:31.869 --> 00:21:36.490 was a bad place to be. So now he's in a bad, 00:21:36.569 --> 00:21:40.750 bad place. Now listen, maybe that's where some 00:21:40.750 --> 00:21:44.230 of you are today. Because sometimes in life, 00:21:44.269 --> 00:21:46.529 we make stupid decisions. I'm not talking about 00:21:46.529 --> 00:21:48.509 leaving home. We're talking about a bigger picture 00:21:48.509 --> 00:21:52.460 here. Sometimes we do stupid stuff. And we find 00:21:52.460 --> 00:21:55.799 ourselves going down a pathway that's leading 00:21:55.799 --> 00:21:58.640 us away from God the Father. That's leading us 00:21:58.640 --> 00:22:01.200 away from what God desires in our life and what 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:04.079 God calls us to in our life. And if we seek God 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:07.680 and follow Him, God takes care of us and He provides 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:11.039 for us. And it may not always be easy, but God 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:14.759 always comes through. But the moment that we 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:17.839 abandon God and we seek to live for ourselves, 00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:22.200 we are in a bad situation. And we find ourselves 00:22:22.200 --> 00:22:25.319 living in sin and living for the world and pretty 00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:29.339 soon we have hit rock bottom. And that's exactly 00:22:29.339 --> 00:22:33.319 where this son was. He had hit rock bottom. And 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:36.940 he knew that he was in a bad shape. He also knew 00:22:36.940 --> 00:22:39.380 that there was only one thing he could do. The 00:22:39.380 --> 00:22:43.539 scripture says that he came to his senses. I 00:22:43.539 --> 00:22:46.299 love that part of it. He came to his senses. 00:22:47.789 --> 00:22:50.650 Now maybe God's calling some of us today to come 00:22:50.650 --> 00:22:54.000 to our senses. It's time to wake up. It's time 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:57.460 to repent. That's what this is about. These parables, 00:22:57.500 --> 00:22:59.759 they have a theme. They're about repentance. 00:23:00.180 --> 00:23:03.579 They're about God values people. He values you. 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:06.779 You have value in His sight. He sent Jesus to 00:23:06.779 --> 00:23:09.220 die for you so that you would come to Him so 00:23:09.220 --> 00:23:11.380 that He could provide for you and take care of 00:23:11.380 --> 00:23:13.720 you so that you would live in obedience to Him 00:23:13.720 --> 00:23:16.319 under His protection and under His care that 00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:20.220 He would guide your path. That's kind of the 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:23.190 theme that we see. Is that you are valued by 00:23:23.190 --> 00:23:26.049 God and what God wants is for you to repent of 00:23:26.049 --> 00:23:31.430 your sinfulness and to come to Him. Maybe today 00:23:31.430 --> 00:23:35.589 there are some of us. Maybe you used to walk 00:23:35.589 --> 00:23:39.029 real close to the Lord. Maybe you've never trusted 00:23:39.029 --> 00:23:42.069 in the Lord. Maybe you've been living your way 00:23:42.069 --> 00:23:45.660 and your sin for a long time. Maybe today the 00:23:45.660 --> 00:23:47.599 Holy Spirit is working on your heart and you 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:49.960 feel that conviction and you know today that 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:52.460 you need to seek Him while I pray that today 00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:55.519 you would come to your senses. That you would 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:58.059 say, this is foolishness for me to live for the 00:23:58.059 --> 00:24:00.440 world and to do the things that I've been doing. 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:03.319 It's foolishness. God, I want to seek You and 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:06.759 I want to come to You. And that's exactly what 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:10.259 the Son does. He realizes that He is in bad shape. 00:24:10.910 --> 00:24:13.390 And he comes to his senses and he says to himself, 00:24:13.569 --> 00:24:17.589 he says, you know what? He said, even my father's 00:24:17.589 --> 00:24:22.190 slaves have it better than I do. I can't even 00:24:22.190 --> 00:24:24.309 eat the pig slop. Nobody will even give me that. 00:24:24.490 --> 00:24:27.369 Even my father's slaves are better off than me. 00:24:28.849 --> 00:24:32.329 So he says to himself, I'll tell you what I'm 00:24:32.329 --> 00:24:36.210 going to do. I'll go back. Boy, that's hard. 00:24:36.329 --> 00:24:38.829 That's hard, ain't it, right? That's hard when 00:24:38.829 --> 00:24:41.609 you mess up and you leave home or you have an 00:24:41.609 --> 00:24:44.809 argument with your parents and they say, well, 00:24:44.910 --> 00:24:47.849 my house, I mean, my roof, my rules. And then 00:24:47.849 --> 00:24:49.250 you say something like, well, it's time for me 00:24:49.250 --> 00:24:51.670 to find a new roof. And then you go out and find 00:24:51.670 --> 00:24:53.470 a new roof and you find out things under your 00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:56.789 roof are pretty bad. And then you've got to make 00:24:56.789 --> 00:25:00.849 that trip back home. And you've got to say, Diddy, 00:25:00.910 --> 00:25:06.779 can I move back in for a couple months? Boy, 00:25:06.799 --> 00:25:10.079 that's tough right there. That's exactly what 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:13.599 he had to do. He said, I'm going to go back and 00:25:13.599 --> 00:25:14.960 I'm going to just tell my daddy. I'm going to 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.519 say this. I'm going to say, look, if you would 00:25:18.519 --> 00:25:22.339 just let me come and be one of your hired hands, 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:25.440 if you just let me come be your slave, I have 00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:28.099 sinned against heaven. I've sinned against God. 00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:31.180 I've sinned against you. Father, I know that 00:25:31.180 --> 00:25:34.450 I have done wrong. I know that I have and I'm 00:25:34.450 --> 00:25:37.410 not asking to be your son again. I'm not asking 00:25:37.410 --> 00:25:40.069 for the benefits of the son. I'm just asking 00:25:40.069 --> 00:25:43.109 if I could just come and work for you. If I could 00:25:43.109 --> 00:25:47.910 just be a slave for you. And so there's his little 00:25:47.910 --> 00:25:50.410 speech he's going to give. He's ready to give 00:25:50.410 --> 00:25:53.589 it. And so he heads back on his way. And I bet 00:25:53.589 --> 00:25:56.630 you he is. Boy, that's a tough walk. That's a 00:25:56.630 --> 00:26:03.259 tough walk. And he gets close to the house. And 00:26:03.259 --> 00:26:06.440 his father runs out and says, boy, I told you 00:26:06.440 --> 00:26:09.640 so. No, that's not what he says at all, praise 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:12.180 the Lord. If you're a father, maybe you don't 00:26:12.180 --> 00:26:14.940 need to say that too. He doesn't say that at 00:26:14.940 --> 00:26:18.519 all. He gets close to the house and he sees his 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:21.720 son in the distance and he knows it's his son. 00:26:22.579 --> 00:26:24.819 And he runs out to him and gives him a big old 00:26:24.819 --> 00:26:31.160 embrace. My son is home. He rejoices that his 00:26:31.160 --> 00:26:35.299 son is home. That that which is lost is found. 00:26:36.200 --> 00:26:39.240 The same that we see in the other parables. He 00:26:39.240 --> 00:26:42.240 rejoices that the one he had lost was found. 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:45.900 And he tells everybody, my son has come home. 00:26:47.420 --> 00:26:49.380 And then the son gives us a little speech. He 00:26:49.380 --> 00:26:52.039 says, dad, I know I've sinned against God. And 00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:56.000 I've sinned against you. If I could just be your 00:26:56.000 --> 00:27:01.450 slave. You know what the father does? He says, 00:27:01.490 --> 00:27:05.910 bring my son a robe, put a ring on my son's finger, 00:27:06.190 --> 00:27:12.890 prepare a feast for my son, for my son has come 00:27:12.890 --> 00:27:18.569 home. It's hard for us sometimes when we have 00:27:18.569 --> 00:27:22.690 been living in sin. We have done some wretched 00:27:22.690 --> 00:27:25.150 stuff. I'm talking about some wretched stuff. 00:27:25.710 --> 00:27:27.890 Every one of us. We have done some stuff that 00:27:27.890 --> 00:27:30.930 we are so ashamed of. We have done some stuff 00:27:30.930 --> 00:27:34.410 that is so evil. Maybe even last night. Maybe 00:27:34.410 --> 00:27:37.269 even this morning. Stuff that you just feel that 00:27:37.269 --> 00:27:40.029 conviction about now. And you know that you've 00:27:40.029 --> 00:27:43.089 done wrong. And you know that you are sinful. 00:27:44.750 --> 00:27:47.549 And it's hard for us sometimes in the midst of 00:27:47.549 --> 00:27:51.049 our sin, in the midst of our darkness, and all 00:27:51.049 --> 00:27:54.960 the evil that's within us. Sometimes it's hard 00:27:54.960 --> 00:27:57.359 for us to come before the Lord and there's probably 00:27:57.359 --> 00:28:00.039 a part of you that says, I've done too much and 00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:02.599 there's no hope and God doesn't love me. But 00:28:02.599 --> 00:28:04.779 I want to tell you today that if you would come 00:28:04.779 --> 00:28:08.740 to your senses, if you would come to your senses, 00:28:08.759 --> 00:28:11.099 if you would take that step and you would go 00:28:11.099 --> 00:28:14.019 before the Father and humble yourself before 00:28:14.019 --> 00:28:19.490 Him, God will embrace you as a son. If we would 00:28:19.490 --> 00:28:22.549 humble ourselves as the son did, the scripture 00:28:22.549 --> 00:28:24.970 says that we are slaves of God. If we humble 00:28:24.970 --> 00:28:28.230 ourselves as slaves of God and say, God, I know 00:28:28.230 --> 00:28:30.789 that I'm a sinner and I know that I don't deserve 00:28:30.789 --> 00:28:33.470 your grace, but God, if you would just forgive 00:28:33.470 --> 00:28:37.170 me and just give me the crumbs, God, I don't 00:28:37.170 --> 00:28:40.789 want anything. Just give me enough to get by, 00:28:40.869 --> 00:28:44.309 dear Lord. If we humble ourselves as slaves, 00:28:44.410 --> 00:28:49.289 God accepts us as sons. And he lets us eat of 00:28:49.289 --> 00:28:53.869 the feast of the table. I don't know what the 00:28:53.869 --> 00:28:59.250 son felt. I suspect a lot of relief. I suspect 00:28:59.250 --> 00:29:02.109 the burden of preparing that speech. He probably 00:29:02.109 --> 00:29:04.190 said it a thousand times before he got there. 00:29:04.329 --> 00:29:06.470 And knowing what he was going back to and knowing 00:29:06.470 --> 00:29:08.970 what he had done, I suspect the burden of that 00:29:08.970 --> 00:29:13.369 was heavy on him. But I would just bet you anything. 00:29:14.730 --> 00:29:16.890 That the moment his father come and embraced 00:29:16.890 --> 00:29:22.829 him and welcomed him home as a son, that instantly 00:29:22.829 --> 00:29:26.410 his burden was lifted. There's a lot of burden 00:29:26.410 --> 00:29:28.410 in this world. Some of you came into this room 00:29:28.410 --> 00:29:30.410 today carrying a lot of burden because of your 00:29:30.410 --> 00:29:34.589 sins and your decisions. But I want to tell you 00:29:34.589 --> 00:29:39.069 today, in the Father's house, there is peace, 00:29:39.269 --> 00:29:43.619 there is grace, there is mercy. And the moment 00:29:43.619 --> 00:29:47.440 you seek God, the moment that you ask Him to 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:50.299 forgive you, the moment that you humble yourself 00:29:50.299 --> 00:29:54.019 before Him, in an instant your burden will be 00:29:54.019 --> 00:29:56.700 lifted. You might have brought it in here today, 00:29:56.779 --> 00:29:58.400 but I'm going to tell you through Jesus Christ, 00:29:58.480 --> 00:30:01.539 you do not have to take it with you when you 00:30:01.539 --> 00:30:06.279 leave. And so everybody is feasting and celebrating 00:30:06.279 --> 00:30:08.500 and having a big party because that which is 00:30:08.500 --> 00:30:13.079 lost is found. The lost son has returned. And 00:30:13.079 --> 00:30:18.519 everybody is happy except for the other son. 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:21.859 The other son's out there working. He hears what's 00:30:21.859 --> 00:30:23.940 going on. He says, hey, what's going on up there 00:30:23.940 --> 00:30:25.240 at the house? They said, oh, wait, you didn't 00:30:25.240 --> 00:30:27.720 know? Your brother's home. Your brother's home. 00:30:29.440 --> 00:30:33.039 He didn't say hallelujah. He was mad as could 00:30:33.039 --> 00:30:35.759 be. He finds out that his daddy had killed a 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:38.079 fatted calf. Are you kidding me? The fatted calf? 00:30:38.750 --> 00:30:40.569 He probably says, I've been eating Hot Pockets 00:30:40.569 --> 00:30:44.490 all my life, and he gets a fatty cat. And he 00:30:44.490 --> 00:30:48.390 goes to his father, and he's so angry. He's so 00:30:48.390 --> 00:30:53.750 angry. He says, why are you doing this? This 00:30:53.750 --> 00:30:58.569 son of yours went out, and he took your money, 00:30:58.630 --> 00:31:01.970 and he wasted it on junk and on prostitutes and 00:31:01.970 --> 00:31:05.289 on the things of the world. And now he comes 00:31:05.289 --> 00:31:07.250 back into the picture, and you're going to celebrate? 00:31:10.569 --> 00:31:14.630 And the father says, son, you're always here 00:31:14.630 --> 00:31:20.609 with me. Everything I have is yours. You've been 00:31:20.609 --> 00:31:23.450 in my presence. You've been in my household. 00:31:23.990 --> 00:31:26.710 You have been my son throughout all of this. 00:31:28.650 --> 00:31:33.650 But your brother had left. He was lost. I didn't 00:31:33.650 --> 00:31:37.630 know if I would ever see him again. But he came 00:31:37.630 --> 00:31:42.640 back. That which is lost was found. We have to 00:31:42.640 --> 00:31:48.500 rejoice when that which is lost is found. And 00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:54.099 Jesus ends the parable there. All of these parables 00:31:54.099 --> 00:31:58.460 have a common theme. In each one, the value of 00:31:58.460 --> 00:32:04.039 what was lost increases from 1 % to 10 % to 50%. 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:09.369 And in each case, there is rejoicing. Over that 00:32:09.369 --> 00:32:14.549 which is lost. The Pharisees and the scribes 00:32:14.549 --> 00:32:20.150 came to Jesus. And says how dare he eat with 00:32:20.150 --> 00:32:24.269 sinners. And through these parables what Jesus 00:32:24.269 --> 00:32:28.829 is telling us. Is that Jesus values sinners. 00:32:29.210 --> 00:32:33.190 Praise the Lord. Because that's every one of 00:32:33.190 --> 00:32:39.359 us. Jesus values you today. The question is, 00:32:39.380 --> 00:32:41.599 of all of these characters we see in Luke chapter 00:32:41.599 --> 00:32:48.099 15, which one do you most relate to today? Are 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:51.279 you the lost sheep that needs to be rescued? 00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:56.599 Are you the lost son who has gone astray and 00:32:56.599 --> 00:33:01.119 lived for himself and lived for the world? Are 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:04.039 you the father who longs for your children to 00:33:04.039 --> 00:33:08.180 be restored to you? Are you the Pharisees and 00:33:08.180 --> 00:33:12.039 the scribes and the other brother who are angry 00:33:12.039 --> 00:33:16.960 at the grace of God? Who are angry because God 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:22.059 loves sinners? I don't know who you are in the 00:33:22.059 --> 00:33:25.079 story today. Perhaps you're the brother who has 00:33:25.079 --> 00:33:27.220 strayed and today you feel like you need to come 00:33:27.220 --> 00:33:30.700 to your senses. Well, praise God. But who we 00:33:30.700 --> 00:33:33.859 do not want to be today is the other brother. 00:33:34.890 --> 00:33:37.470 Who we do not want to be today are the Pharisees 00:33:37.470 --> 00:33:40.630 and the scribes. We don't want to be those who 00:33:40.630 --> 00:33:44.329 look down upon sinners. We want to be those who 00:33:44.329 --> 00:33:49.190 rejoice when sinners are saved. And we need to 00:33:49.190 --> 00:33:54.630 be reminded that we ourselves are sinners. That 00:33:54.630 --> 00:33:59.789 it is God's grace that has saved us. That it 00:33:59.789 --> 00:34:03.230 is the love of Jesus Christ on the cross. That 00:34:03.230 --> 00:34:09.110 has saved us. Who are we today. To not love others. 00:34:10.150 --> 00:34:13.250 Let us not avoid sinners. Let us love sinners. 00:34:13.710 --> 00:34:16.949 Let us follow the example of Jesus Christ. That 00:34:16.949 --> 00:34:19.809 we can bring the love of God. And the love of 00:34:19.809 --> 00:34:22.909 Jesus Christ. And the compassion of Jesus Christ. 00:34:23.090 --> 00:34:26.530 And the message of hope. To those who need to 00:34:26.530 --> 00:34:30.369 hear it. Perhaps you need a message of hope today. 00:34:32.010 --> 00:34:34.269 And the hope that we see in this story and the 00:34:34.269 --> 00:34:36.409 hope that we have in Jesus Christ is that you 00:34:36.409 --> 00:34:43.210 are valued by God. Whether it's the 1 % or whether 00:34:43.210 --> 00:34:47.929 it's the 50%, God values every soul. We see that 00:34:47.929 --> 00:34:51.769 in this parable. God values you today. God loves 00:34:51.769 --> 00:34:54.869 you today. If you've not followed Jesus Christ, 00:34:55.010 --> 00:34:58.590 I pray that today you'd come to your senses and 00:34:58.590 --> 00:35:02.500 seek Him. Let's pray. God, we thank you for this 00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:07.519 good word. Dear Lord, I pray that we would never 00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:10.840 fall into that trap of thinking that we are holier 00:35:10.840 --> 00:35:14.800 than thou, thinking that we are somehow better 00:35:14.800 --> 00:35:17.840 than anyone else, dear Lord. We thank you that 00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:22.679 Jesus came to save sinners, and perhaps we need 00:35:22.679 --> 00:35:26.940 to follow the words of Paul in which he says 00:35:26.940 --> 00:35:29.579 that... Jesus came to save sinners of which I 00:35:29.579 --> 00:35:33.360 am the worst, dear Lord. We need to realize just 00:35:33.360 --> 00:35:38.659 how bad our sin is. And God, maybe our sin is 00:35:38.659 --> 00:35:42.280 ever before us. And the pain of our sin is ever 00:35:42.280 --> 00:35:44.920 before us. And the condemnation of our sin is 00:35:44.920 --> 00:35:48.940 ever before us, dear Lord. And I pray that there 00:35:48.940 --> 00:35:51.360 is one that is burdened down with their sin today. 00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:54.480 I pray that they would just seek you right now. 00:35:55.559 --> 00:35:57.679 I pray that they would come before you and know 00:35:57.679 --> 00:36:01.239 that you love them dear Lord. That you sent Jesus 00:36:01.239 --> 00:36:04.699 Christ to die for them. And that today Jesus 00:36:04.699 --> 00:36:08.800 wants to bring you into the kingdom. But God 00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:10.980 as we see in the story of the prodigal son. We 00:36:10.980 --> 00:36:15.599 have to make that choice. We have to come to 00:36:15.599 --> 00:36:19.559 our senses. So I pray God if there is one today 00:36:19.559 --> 00:36:21.860 that is just struggling under the weight of their 00:36:21.860 --> 00:36:24.800 sin. That today that they would repent. that 00:36:24.800 --> 00:36:26.480 they would ask for forgiveness, that they would 00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:29.019 accept Jesus Christ and put their faith in Him, 00:36:29.159 --> 00:36:32.280 to know that He has died on a cross and His life 00:36:32.280 --> 00:36:36.099 was given so that they could be forgiven. God, 00:36:36.199 --> 00:36:37.920 I pray that if there is some burden with sin 00:36:37.920 --> 00:36:40.480 today, that they would know that You value them, 00:36:40.679 --> 00:36:43.099 that You are worth something to them, that You 00:36:43.099 --> 00:36:45.380 love everybody. We see that in the Scriptures 00:36:45.380 --> 00:36:48.500 time and again with Jesus, God. He loves everybody, 00:36:48.900 --> 00:36:53.940 all of us here today. God, maybe there are some 00:36:53.940 --> 00:36:57.320 here today and maybe they're yours. But maybe 00:36:57.320 --> 00:36:59.760 they're like that prodigal son who has wandered 00:36:59.760 --> 00:37:03.480 away. I pray today that they would come home. 00:37:04.099 --> 00:37:06.960 That they would come to their senses, dear Lord. 00:37:08.340 --> 00:37:10.900 I pray, God, that we would be those who rejoice. 00:37:12.019 --> 00:37:14.579 That we don't just seek judgment and punishment 00:37:14.579 --> 00:37:17.699 for sinners, dear Lord. But that we seek restoration, 00:37:18.079 --> 00:37:21.599 God. We ourselves are sinners. And yet you were 00:37:21.599 --> 00:37:24.320 gracious to us. So God, our desire should be 00:37:24.320 --> 00:37:28.480 for your grace to extend to others. So let us 00:37:28.480 --> 00:37:32.679 be those who long to see lost souls saved. Let 00:37:32.679 --> 00:37:35.800 us be those who rejoice, dear Lord, over that 00:37:35.800 --> 00:37:39.800 which is lost and is found in Jesus Christ. I 00:37:39.800 --> 00:37:41.400 thank you for each one that's here. I pray that 00:37:41.400 --> 00:37:43.900 you bless them, God. And as we take these few 00:37:43.900 --> 00:37:46.079 moments to close, God, if you've spoken to anyone 00:37:46.079 --> 00:37:49.619 today, I pray that they would respond to you 00:37:49.619 --> 00:37:52.690 today. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen.