Latest / Providence Baptist Church - Sermons / Luke 15:1-10

Transcript

Luke 15:1-10 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

0:00
Let me give you a bit of a warning. I'm a little tired this morning, so I thought I would get a cup of tea.
0:07
You know, tea's supposed to kind of help wake you up, kind of like coffee.
0:12
Sounds right. Do I look like a tea drinker, though, first of all. I'm not really educated on tea much, but I picked up something because it said, you know, I've been drinking it.
0:21
It's been tasting good. But guess what? It's the kind of tea that makes you tired instead of, wait, cozy chamomile.
0:30
Deceived by the cozy part, I thought, man, I want to feel cozy. So I drank that.
0:36
So if I take a dive in the middle of this, like, that's what's going on. So just coffee from now on for me.
0:44
Anyway, Luke 15. We've been working our way through some of the parables of Jesus.
0:50
We took a break from going through the book of Daniel. And today we're going to embark and look at two different parables.
0:59
From Luke 15. There are three altogether. But as you're aware, the third one is lengthy and deserves a lot more attention than just one Sunday morning.
1:10
But just a background. Luke's gospel, the primary audience was non-Jews.
1:18
It was for mainly focused toward Gentiles. Luke was a physician. Luke was a historian.
1:24
And he wrote this gospel as a historical account of the life of Jesus.
1:30
And later on wrote Acts. But in his mind is a Gentile audience.
1:35
Those who, by a lot of people, were seen as outsiders of the covenant.
1:40
And to kind of show God's love and God's grace towards all people.
1:45
And so throughout the book of Luke, there's been a few times, even before where we are now,
1:52
where it says that Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem.
1:56
So he's kind of making his last journey toward the city of Jerusalem where he will die on the cross.
2:04
And so heavy stuff on his mind, obviously.
2:08
So we will just begin reading in chapter 15, verse 1.
2:16
It says,
2:17
Now the tax collectors and sinners were drawing near to him.
2:22
And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying,
2:26
This man receives sinners and eats with them.
2:30
So he told them a parable.
2:32
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them,
2:38
does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it?
2:46
And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
2:51
And when he comes home, he calls together all his friends and his neighbors,
2:55
saying to them,
2:56
Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.
3:01
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
3:09
than the ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
3:15
Or what woman, having ten silver coins,
3:19
if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp,
3:23
and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?
3:26
And when she has found it, she calls together her friends, her neighbors,
3:30
saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.
3:36
Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
3:45
Let's join me in a word of prayer.
3:46
Lord, we lift up this time together.
3:51
I pray that we would worship through our listening, through our hearing,
3:55
and then later by our obeying, by your grace.
3:58
What we hear from your word today,
4:01
just work in and through me to communicate the meaning and the application
4:05
in a way that would be pleasing to you.
4:08
Yeah, in Jesus' name, amen.
4:10
Amen.
4:11
So, just a little bit of the background, the introduction.
4:14
This is not an unfamiliar passage for a lot of you.
4:18
But first, just kind of notice that Jesus is hanging around some unruly company.
4:25
In ancient Palestine, tax collectors were representatives of the Roman authorities.
4:30
They were seen as outcasts.
4:32
They were seen as traitors to the nation.
4:35
They often used their authority to extort and take more money than they should from their own people,
4:42
not just to pay their own, but also to kind of layer their own pockets.
4:47
It was so bad that even most Jews didn't hang out with tax collectors,
4:51
not just the religious elite, but they were just seen as scumbags of society,
4:56
just traitors.
4:57
That's how they were viewed.
4:59
And Jesus has already kind of taken an aim at that
5:01
because he has called a tax collector to be among his disciples already.
5:07
So, he's kind of developing that stigma.
5:10
Then it says that he was around sinners
5:13
and all associated along with tax collectors.
5:19
At least in the way it's being used here,
5:21
it's just kind of implying to anyone who didn't follow or abide by the Mosaic law,
5:26
people that didn't really take that kind of life very seriously.
5:31
And so they were associated as outsiders in a lot of ways.
5:37
The Pharisees would have regarded the sinners as anyone who doesn't care about the law as they interpret it.
5:43
And it seemed to reflect a commonly understood meaning
5:46
that people were guilty of public sin,
5:49
but also just disinterested, disengaged from religious life as the Pharisees would have it.
5:56
And so it was culturally unacceptable for Jesus to keep with such company.
6:03
He receives and welcomes sinners.
6:06
If you read just in the last verse of chapter 14,
6:11
Jesus says,
6:12
Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
6:15
So, he knows people are listening in,
6:18
particularly the religious elite.
6:22
And so he welcomes sinners who have ears to hear.
6:25
His concern is for the outsider, the outcast of society.
6:29
So that's the unruly company,
6:31
but also you notice there's the religious leaders who are there,
6:34
the scribes and the Pharisees in verse 2.
6:38
And they're looking on at this with great disgust.
6:42
Pharisees means separated ones.
6:46
So if you want to think about it that way,
6:49
they really saw themselves as extra holy.
6:54
They were the most influential of three major Jewish sects
6:57
and a highly influential group.
7:01
And they were known for their meticulous observance of the law,
7:04
but they also had added on a lot of extra laws,
7:07
extra biblical laws,
7:08
laws in order to attain righteousness before God and God's favor.
7:14
They also believed that if they were righteous enough,
7:16
they could possibly obtain resurrection from the dead.
7:21
And so, a very religious, strict group looking on.
7:26
And the scribes are obviously those who copied the scripture,
7:29
copied the law,
7:31
and passed it on.
7:32
So both honorable professions in the eyes of culture.
7:37
It says they watched this spectacle of Jesus being with tax collectors and sinners.
7:43
It says they grumbled.
7:45
They murmured.
7:47
They indignantly complained among themselves.
7:53
They don't like what they see.
7:54
Jesus is not abiding by their rules,
7:57
not behaving in their mind as a rabbi ought to behave.
8:01
So what are they muttering about?
8:06
Highly agitated because he receives sinners and eats with them.
8:10
So not just that he came in contact with them,
8:12
but he actually was eating with them.
8:14
So it's not just like they're just grabbing a meal together real quick.
8:18
It's like sharing a meal at that time
8:21
meant sort of a way of expressing covenant friendship with someone.
8:28
And he's there with them.
8:29
He's associating with them.
8:32
Extended friendship.
8:34
And they saw these people as ritually unclean.
8:38
And their thinking was,
8:39
we are high up here.
8:41
They are way down here.
8:42
We can't mix with them or else they will pollute us.
8:46
They will corrupt us.
8:48
In this society,
8:50
such people were known as people of the land.
8:53
That's what they were referred to.
8:55
So the people of dirt,
8:57
kind of at the bottom of society.
9:00
Peasants,
9:01
unknown to God
9:02
and unknown to his ways.
9:05
So there was even a rabbinical teaching.
9:08
So again,
9:09
this is extra biblical,
9:10
not written in the law of Moses.
9:12
But to the Pharisees,
9:14
this is what it said.
9:15
Let not a man associate with the wicked,
9:18
not even to bring him closer to the law.
9:23
And how bad is that?
9:25
So Jesus is doing the opposite.
9:27
He could cleanse the leper rather than being made unclean by the leper.
9:32
And so when he's around sinners,
9:35
they don't affect him.
9:36
He affects them.
9:39
So he is not defiled by them.
9:42
So Jesus knows that this is what they're thinking.
9:44
He hears them muttering among themselves.
9:46
And just like our Lord took a time to tell a parable,
9:51
parable,
9:52
simple story to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.
9:57
And the intended receivers are the religious leaders.
10:01
Other people are listening,
10:01
of course,
10:02
but he's making a point to them particularly.
10:06
And he tells a parable.
10:08
Let me just think about his genius as a teacher.
10:13
Men love sheep.
10:16
Women,
10:16
coins.
10:18
Fathers love sons.
10:21
That's like what he's thinking.
10:23
And so a real simple outline.
10:28
And then we'll get into some more application.
10:29
But number one,
10:31
something lost.
10:33
Number two will be something is found.
10:36
And number three,
10:38
the rejoicing that results.
10:40
So something lost.
10:42
So the first parable,
10:44
he tells about a sheep that is lost from a flock,
10:47
one out of 99.
10:49
And,
10:50
you know,
10:51
pastors are quick to start making jokes about sheep at this point,
10:54
to get people to laugh.
10:56
But then you realize,
10:57
that's me.
10:58
So maybe we shouldn't joke about that so much.
11:03
But yeah,
11:04
sheep are not intelligent.
11:07
They are prey animals.
11:09
They are defenseless.
11:10
They are dependent on the shepherd to lead them,
11:13
feed them,
11:14
protect them.
11:15
I don't know.
11:16
Most of you probably really haven't been around sheep,
11:18
but I have quite a bit with all my trips to Ireland and Scotland.
11:23
And like,
11:24
they don't camouflage well.
11:25
They don't hide well.
11:26
They are ridiculous.
11:28
I've had friends that own some,
11:31
you know,
11:31
flocks,
11:32
and I've gone out to help them find some ones that were just not in the main group.
11:37
And I found one of them like,
11:39
just on his back,
11:40
like a turtle.
11:41
I couldn't,
11:43
and just,
11:44
you know,
11:46
filthy.
11:47
Found another one with his head stuck through a fence and his horns were just not,
11:51
so you had to pull him and then twist him and then shove his head through.
11:55
Just,
11:55
just ridiculous animals.
11:57
But,
11:58
they are prey animals.
11:59
They don't hide well,
12:00
but they were still a good source of not just food,
12:03
but commerce,
12:04
trade,
12:05
financial gain for,
12:07
people who owned a good herd.
12:09
And shepherds,
12:10
so they didn't call this man a shepherd,
12:12
but it's implied.
12:14
So,
12:14
if he was hired by a master,
12:16
every sheep had to be accounted for.
12:17
And if he lost one,
12:18
it would come out of his pay,
12:20
more than likely.
12:22
But if it was his own sheep,
12:23
you might be thinking like,
12:25
you know,
12:25
how lazy and spoiled we are today.
12:27
You might just think,
12:29
I've got 99,
12:30
like,
12:31
who cares about the one?
12:33
Well,
12:33
if you think that way for too long,
12:35
you're not going to have a flock for too long,
12:36
because that happens.
12:37
All the time.
12:38
You're going to have a small flock
12:39
very,
12:40
very soon.
12:41
So,
12:42
you have to go after them,
12:44
because
12:44
you hold the attitude for too long,
12:47
they'll be killed,
12:48
they'll be eaten,
12:48
they'll freeze to death,
12:49
they'll starve,
12:50
on and on.
12:51
So,
12:52
he
12:53
leaves,
12:54
right?
12:54
He cares for that one lost sheep.
12:57
He leaves in 99,
12:58
in the open country,
13:00
and goes after the one that's lost.
13:01
And,
13:02
it's depicting kind of like a long and rigorous search over a wide area,
13:06
combing the surrounding fields and hillsides to find the lost sheep.
13:12
So,
13:12
that's this broad search,
13:15
kind of exhausting too.
13:17
So,
13:18
then,
13:18
you get to the parable of the woman who lost the coins.
13:23
And,
13:23
it's this idea of losing almost a 10 days wage for a laborer,
13:30
something that is,
13:32
might be referred to as her dowry coin,
13:35
something that she might take with her when she gets married,
13:37
into her new marriage.
13:40
And,
13:40
it's just very shameful and careless to lose them.
13:43
So,
13:44
the image here,
13:45
not of like a woman who's fixated about money,
13:47
it's just more of like,
13:48
this is something precious and important to her that she wishes to hold on to,
13:53
to take into,
13:54
possibly,
13:55
again,
13:55
sort of like a marriage setting.
13:58
And,
13:58
it would just be shameful to lose something like that.
14:02
And so,
14:03
the search isn't so much far and wide,
14:05
but as we,
14:06
as we read,
14:07
right,
14:08
she,
14:08
diligently,
14:11
looks for it.
14:13
And so,
14:14
her search is more thorough and diligent.
14:17
She turns on a light to look,
14:18
or turns on a lamp,
14:19
excuse me.
14:20
You don't turn on a lamp,
14:21
do you?
14:21
You light a lamp.
14:22
But,
14:23
it's a diligent and thorough search.
14:26
And,
14:26
I know,
14:27
again,
14:27
this would be a point where you just make a lot of jokes about things you've lost,
14:30
but don't have time to do that.
14:32
But,
14:32
I've lost keys,
14:33
lost wallet,
14:34
kind of do it,
14:35
do it frequently.
14:36
Sometimes,
14:37
like,
14:37
I think my wallet just grows legs and walks away,
14:39
and I don't know where it is at all.
14:41
I have a map that says,
14:43
keys,
14:43
phone,
14:44
wallet,
14:45
right,
14:45
walking out of my door to help me remember.
14:48
So,
14:48
yeah,
14:48
we lose a lot of things,
14:50
but it can make you feel embarrassed,
14:53
shameful,
14:54
and even panic with fear a little bit,
14:57
if it's something very serious that you need.
15:00
So,
15:01
something is lost.
15:02
Secondly,
15:04
something is found.
15:05
So,
15:06
the man's searching paid off,
15:08
as we read,
15:09
and when he has found it,
15:11
he lays,
15:12
right,
15:12
the sheep on his shoulders,
15:14
in verse 5,
15:15
rejoicing.
15:16
A picture of a loving,
15:19
caring shepherd.
15:20
The sheep is too weak to return on its own,
15:23
so he throws it over his shoulders.
15:26
He's probably injured,
15:27
dehydrated,
15:28
scared,
15:28
and he takes it back to save pasture,
15:33
to be with the rest of the flock,
15:34
and he's rejoicing.
15:35
He isn't like,
15:36
you know,
15:37
cussing,
15:37
as he's like taking the sheep back,
15:39
but he's like happy that he found this lost sheep.
15:43
And so,
15:44
for the woman,
15:44
it's the same thing.
15:45
When she finds the coin,
15:47
she is very happy.
15:48
She is overflowing with joy.
15:51
Her money is intact,
15:52
and she's not going to be embarrassed,
15:54
or ashamed anymore.
15:56
And so,
15:57
that leads to the third point,
15:58
just the rejoicing that results.
16:02
When the man brings the sheep back,
16:05
he shares the joy with his friends and his neighbors.
16:09
And you see that in verse 6.
16:10
When he comes home,
16:12
he calls together his friends and his neighbors,
16:14
saying to them,
16:14
rejoice with me,
16:16
for I have found the sheep that was lost.
16:19
And so,
16:20
this is a picture of true joy.
16:23
Christ-centered joy is meant,
16:27
designed to spill over onto other people.
16:30
It's not meant to be hoarded.
16:33
I mean,
16:33
think about some of the most joyful things
16:35
that have happened in your life.
16:36
Most of you,
16:37
unless you're very odd,
16:39
like you like to let people know
16:41
about the joy that you are undergoing,
16:45
especially the ones that are closest to you.
16:47
So,
16:48
that joy shared is a way to fulfilling it,
16:52
right?
16:53
You have to.
16:55
And with the coins,
16:56
it says,
16:56
when she had found it,
16:58
she called together her friends,
16:59
her neighbors,
17:00
saying,
17:00
rejoice with me,
17:02
for I have found the coin that I had lost.
17:05
Her joy,
17:06
likewise,
17:07
has to be,
17:07
has to,
17:08
you know,
17:09
overflow to other people
17:10
to be made full.
17:12
Those are the closest to them.
17:14
So,
17:15
that's a simple outline.
17:16
Some of it was lost,
17:17
some of it was found.
17:18
And then there's rejoicing that takes place.
17:21
So,
17:22
the application of this,
17:24
here's a few things for us.
17:27
But one is,
17:27
Jesus is trying to get his audience to understand
17:30
that God cares for sinners,
17:35
unlike the religious leaders that were around him.
17:39
He says that God Almighty cares deeply about the lost sinners.
17:44
Jesus is telling,
17:46
you know,
17:47
about the attitude of our Heavenly Father
17:50
towards those who repent.
17:52
So,
17:53
as you're aware,
17:54
repent means to turn away from sin,
17:57
turn to God.
17:58
It means,
17:59
really,
17:59
a changing of one's mind
18:01
toward sin.
18:03
So,
18:04
not that just you hate doing something,
18:06
but now,
18:07
I mean,
18:07
excuse me,
18:07
like you don't hate just the consequences
18:09
of your actions,
18:11
but you hate what you do.
18:12
Like you hated the sin that you committed.
18:15
And,
18:15
that change of mind
18:17
leads to a change in action.
18:20
And so,
18:21
as we turn to God in faith,
18:23
to save us.
18:25
So,
18:25
these are images of God's joy
18:27
and the restoration of a sinner
18:28
through repentance.
18:31
And this is just very different in their mind,
18:32
like God does not act this way.
18:34
But,
18:35
Psalm 103,
18:36
as a father,
18:36
shows compassion,
18:38
compassion,
18:40
to his children.
18:41
So,
18:41
the Lord shows compassion
18:43
to those who fear him.
18:46
For he knows our frame.
18:47
He remembers that we are by dust.
18:51
He takes pity on us.
18:53
He knows that we are weak.
18:54
So,
18:55
he has compassion for us.
18:59
In Matthew 9,
19:01
very similar situation.
19:04
But,
19:05
Matthew 9,
19:05
verse 11,
19:07
the Pharisees saw what Jesus was doing.
19:09
And they say,
19:10
why does your teacher
19:11
eat with tax collectors
19:12
and sinners?
19:14
When he heard it,
19:15
he said,
19:15
those who are well
19:18
have no need
19:19
of a physician.
19:21
But those who are sick,
19:23
go and learn
19:24
what this means.
19:25
I desire mercy
19:27
and not sacrifice.
19:29
For I came not to call
19:30
righteous,
19:31
the righteous,
19:32
but sinners.
19:32
And so,
19:34
he quotes from
19:35
Hosea 6.
19:36
He's like,
19:37
yeah,
19:37
well,
19:37
go read your scripture,
19:39
basically.
19:39
Go read your Bible
19:40
and read this,
19:42
where God says,
19:43
I desire mercy
19:44
and not sacrifice.
19:48
That was the heart
19:49
of the gospel,
19:50
but that threatened
19:51
their way of thinking
19:52
and sacrifice,
19:54
kind of,
19:55
all the different things
19:56
that you do
19:56
to observe the law,
19:57
the religious law.
19:59
And God's steadfast love
20:01
is what God cares about.
20:04
He wants to show that
20:05
to sinners.
20:06
And he's saying
20:07
that, like,
20:07
your attitude
20:08
is different than God's.
20:09
God desires
20:11
and seeks sinners.
20:14
That kind of leads
20:15
to this other thing,
20:16
right?
20:17
If you notice
20:18
in the story,
20:19
what Jesus is trying
20:20
to tell them is
20:20
God is the one
20:21
who initiates.
20:22
He is the one
20:23
who seeks.
20:24
He is the one
20:25
who finds.
20:27
It's not,
20:28
it's not,
20:29
it's not that God
20:31
is just kind of
20:32
hanging out
20:32
and we have to work
20:33
our way toward Him
20:35
to reach a level
20:36
of favor with Him.
20:39
He actually comes out
20:40
and gets us.
20:41
That's awesome news.
20:44
God hunts us down.
20:46
And you won't find
20:47
anybody in the Bible
20:48
that was just kind of,
20:49
you know,
20:51
not found by God.
20:53
God found them.
20:54
And He pursued them.
20:58
It's not within
20:59
the nature of fallen man
21:01
to desire God.
21:03
We don't seek after God.
21:04
That's Romans 3,
21:06
right?
21:07
There are none righteous,
21:08
no, not one.
21:10
No one understands
21:11
and no one seeks
21:12
for God.
21:14
We all have turned aside
21:16
and together
21:17
have become worthless,
21:19
right?
21:20
And that idea
21:22
of Isaiah
21:23
connecting to
21:24
the sheep.
21:25
We all,
21:26
like sheep,
21:26
have gone astray,
21:27
each to
21:29
his own way.
21:31
So,
21:32
God is the one
21:33
who takes the initiative
21:34
and He pursues
21:35
the lost center.
21:38
He is viewed
21:39
in Scripture
21:39
as a shepherd,
21:42
right?
21:43
So,
21:44
Ezekiel 34,
21:45
verse 15,
21:46
this is God talking,
21:47
I myself
21:48
will be the shepherd
21:49
of my sheep
21:50
and I myself
21:52
will make them
21:52
lie down,
21:54
declares the Lord God.
21:56
I will seek
21:57
the lost
21:57
and I will bring
21:59
back the stray
22:00
and I will bind
22:02
up the injured
22:02
and I will strengthen
22:03
the weak.
22:05
That's God's
22:05
attitude
22:06
towards
22:07
lost
22:08
sinners.
22:10
And one of my
22:10
favorite passages
22:11
in the New Testament,
22:13
Romans 5,
22:14
is to explain
22:15
the gospel.
22:16
It said,
22:17
God,
22:18
while we were
22:18
still helpless,
22:20
while we were
22:21
weak,
22:24
nothing we could
22:24
do on our own.
22:25
It says,
22:26
God demonstrated
22:27
His great love
22:28
towards us
22:29
by sending
22:30
Christ.
22:32
So,
22:33
that's our condition,
22:34
but God
22:34
sought us
22:35
and so that's
22:36
the image of Him
22:37
in these parables.
22:38
But also,
22:39
the joy of heaven
22:40
is contrasted
22:42
with like the grumbling
22:42
of the Pharisees.
22:43
He's telling them
22:44
like there is
22:45
serious,
22:46
holy,
22:47
pure joy
22:47
that erupts
22:48
in heaven
22:49
when a sinner
22:49
comes to
22:51
saving faith.
22:53
And He says
22:54
that.
22:54
I'm telling you,
22:55
there will be
22:55
more joy in heaven
22:56
over one sinner
22:57
who repents
22:58
than other
23:00
99
23:00
righteous persons
23:02
who need
23:03
no repentance.
23:04
About that last part,
23:05
that doesn't mean
23:06
there actually are
23:07
people who don't
23:07
need to repent.
23:08
It just means
23:09
that they're not
23:10
aware of their
23:11
need to repent.
23:12
It doesn't mean
23:14
that they're sinless,
23:15
but rather,
23:16
they've wrongly
23:18
deceived themselves
23:19
into thinking
23:19
that they are
23:20
righteous,
23:21
thus not feeling
23:22
the need
23:23
for repentance.
23:25
While you're in Luke,
23:26
go to Luke 5
23:26
really quickly.
23:30
Let's rewind.
23:31
Luke 5,
23:31
verse 30.
23:33
So,
23:33
this isn't the first
23:34
time this has
23:34
kind of happened.
23:38
Luke 5,
23:39
verse 30.
23:39
It says,
23:41
the Pharisees
23:42
and their scribes
23:43
grumbled at
23:44
his disciples
23:44
saying,
23:45
why do you eat
23:46
and drink
23:47
with tax collectors
23:48
and sinners?
23:50
And Jesus
23:51
answered them,
23:52
those who are well
23:54
have no need
23:55
of a physician,
23:56
but those who are sick.
23:58
I have not come
23:59
to call the righteous,
24:00
but sinners
24:01
to repentance.
24:03
And so,
24:04
listen to this.
24:05
you cannot hear
24:07
Jesus
24:07
unless you know
24:10
that you need him.
24:12
If God is stirring
24:14
in your heart
24:14
and your soul
24:15
and making you aware
24:16
of your sin
24:18
and the weight of it
24:19
and the guilt of it,
24:20
and he is making you aware
24:23
that you are sick
24:24
and that you need him,
24:26
the great physician.
24:28
So,
24:30
if you're aware
24:30
you're sick,
24:31
aware of your sin,
24:32
you're aware
24:33
of your need
24:33
for deliverance,
24:35
right?
24:36
So,
24:36
he's saying
24:37
there is great joy
24:38
in heaven
24:39
that takes place.
24:40
Great celebration.
24:43
And so,
24:44
some closing thoughts
24:45
on this.
24:46
We all need
24:46
a very clear warning.
24:51
Beware of being
24:52
like the Pharisees
24:54
and the scribes
24:56
who do not rejoice
24:58
over finding
24:58
what is lost,
25:00
who consider themselves
25:01
holier,
25:03
better,
25:03
cleaner,
25:05
set apart,
25:06
and so that we are
25:08
quick to look upon others
25:09
and say,
25:09
not that guy,
25:11
not that girl.
25:14
And you can,
25:14
the attitude of like,
25:15
hey,
25:15
if you can clean up,
25:17
you can get yourself together,
25:18
you can come to our thing.
25:20
But,
25:21
you don't look like us,
25:22
so beat it.
25:24
And,
25:25
that is not the approach
25:26
that Jesus exercised.
25:29
And there are many
25:30
in the church
25:30
who are like that.
25:33
One of my mom's
25:34
best friends
25:35
was very much like that.
25:37
And a part of her testimony now
25:39
is she actually,
25:40
she shares,
25:41
like,
25:41
I was the older brother.
25:42
I was the one who thought
25:43
I was better
25:44
than everybody else.
25:45
And,
25:46
until God made me realize
25:48
that my righteousness
25:49
was filthy before him.
25:51
And so,
25:52
beware of thinking
25:53
in that way
25:54
and that people
25:56
are going to be excluded
25:57
from God's kingdom
25:58
just because they don't
25:59
act and look like you.
26:02
Here's one that is sad,
26:04
but you got to say it today.
26:07
Beware of wrongly
26:08
motivated evangelism.
26:10
Some of you are thinking like,
26:11
hmm,
26:12
tax collectors and sinners,
26:14
that's kind of the crowd
26:15
I like to hang out with.
26:16
So,
26:17
I'll just kind of covertly
26:18
go in under the name of
26:19
I'm going to like do ministry
26:21
in there.
26:21
But,
26:22
deep down,
26:23
you actually are
26:24
just worshiping the idols
26:25
of social acceptance,
26:27
of partying,
26:29
and you just want to blend in.
26:31
And,
26:32
it's really not about Jesus.
26:33
It's about you.
26:34
And,
26:34
it's about you
26:34
worshiping your idols.
26:37
So,
26:37
beware of like,
26:39
hiding under that guise.
26:40
Like,
26:41
yeah,
26:41
that's my crowd.
26:43
I'd rather spend time with anyway.
26:44
I'll just say
26:45
I'm just doing some evangelism
26:46
while I'm there.
26:47
But,
26:47
deep down,
26:47
I'm really just pursuing
26:49
sin.
26:51
So,
26:51
don't see that as an excuse
26:52
to go and be in those places
26:55
necessarily.
26:57
Beware of that.
26:58
Ask yourself,
26:59
why are you there?
27:01
To influence others for Christ
27:02
and to look like you're
27:03
doing something there
27:04
or just secretly
27:06
worshiping your idols?
27:09
Who is influencing who?
27:11
Why are you there?
27:13
And,
27:14
two more thoughts,
27:16
we're done.
27:16
God is seeking you.
27:19
No matter where you are,
27:21
if you're aware of your sin,
27:23
aware of who you are,
27:25
and aware of what you deserve,
27:27
know that God stands ready
27:30
with open arms
27:31
to receive you.
27:33
Does that like,
27:33
do your heart good
27:35
to know that God is welcoming,
27:37
that His arms are open,
27:38
that He's not,
27:39
you know,
27:40
snarling down at you
27:41
and despising you?
27:42
But He is ready
27:44
to display His lavish love
27:46
upon repentant sinners.
27:49
1 Timothy 1,
27:51
verse 15,
27:52
Paul says this,
27:53
has a hope of enticing
27:55
or showing people
27:56
the great mercy of God.
27:59
He says,
27:59
this is a trustworthy saying,
28:01
deserving of full acceptance.
28:04
Christ Jesus came into the world
28:06
to save sinners,
28:08
of whom I am the foremost.
28:10
But I receive mercy
28:12
for this reason,
28:14
that in me,
28:14
as the foremost,
28:16
Jesus Christ might display
28:18
His perfect patience
28:21
as example to those
28:23
who are to believe in Him
28:24
for eternal life,
28:25
to the King of ages,
28:27
immortal,
28:28
invisible,
28:29
the only God,
28:30
the honor and glory
28:32
forever and ever.
28:34
So,
28:35
God is seeking you.
28:38
And for many of us,
28:40
we have been found.
28:41
We don't need to forget
28:42
where we were
28:43
before we were found.
28:45
And,
28:46
if you wish to partake
28:47
in the joy in heaven,
28:48
like what believer
28:49
doesn't want to do that?
28:50
Do you wish to partake
28:52
of the joy of heaven?
28:54
Then you must seek
28:56
lost sinners.
28:58
There's no other way around it.
29:00
This is a big deal
29:01
in heaven.
29:02
So,
29:03
if God has sought us,
29:04
we must be willing
29:06
and desirous to seek others
29:08
that are outside
29:09
the fold of God
29:10
and to bring them in.
29:13
And,
29:13
again,
29:14
they don't always look like us,
29:15
talk like us,
29:16
have their stuff together,
29:17
and that's all right.
29:19
One of the guys
29:20
in my earlier Christian life
29:23
that the Lord
29:25
humbly used me
29:28
and a couple others
29:29
to bring him to faith,
29:30
his name was Joe.
29:32
And Joe was like
29:33
a heavy metal dude.
29:34
He was like,
29:35
he had like long hair,
29:36
big stout guy,
29:37
and he played the drums
29:38
and where the hair,
29:39
you know,
29:40
going,
29:40
like that's,
29:41
that was him.
29:42
And he was like into,
29:43
you know,
29:43
Pearl Jam,
29:44
Smashing Pumpkins,
29:45
like those old
29:45
90s rock groups.
29:48
And he was
29:49
mind blown
29:51
that Christ
29:52
would care for him.
29:54
Mind blown.
29:56
And he was,
29:57
he looked very different,
30:00
obviously,
30:00
than a lot of people
30:00
that we were hanging out with
30:02
in that church setting.
30:03
But I just love
30:04
to see the old ladies
30:06
at our church
30:06
would just come up
30:07
and just give this guy a hug
30:08
and just say,
30:08
we love you.
30:09
We're glad
30:09
that you're here.
30:12
But Joe
30:12
cannot believe
30:14
that God cared for him.
30:15
It was just like,
30:16
he just kind of got stuck
30:16
on that one point.
30:17
God cares for me
30:19
and the Lord
30:21
saved him.
30:23
And so,
30:24
go and seek the lost.
30:25
It's the most
30:26
beautiful mysteries
30:27
of scripture
30:28
that a holy God
30:29
would have the desire
30:31
to draw near
30:32
to individuals
30:32
like you
30:33
and me
30:34
and to not
30:35
despise them.
30:37
So,
30:38
let's pray together.