WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.480 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama. 00:00:06.980 --> 00:00:09.540 Our passion is to experience and express grace. 00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:10.620 Join us. 00:00:12.700 --> 00:00:13.580 Thank you all. 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:17.500 Love that song, The Strong Love of God. 00:00:17.980 --> 00:00:24.240 It's a thing that we love, love, love to get to talk about here, to rejoice in for ourselves, 00:00:24.359 --> 00:00:25.400 to share with others. 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:30.640 Church, another person who's here with us this morning that has shared about that with 00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:34.000 this Huntsville community for several years is Reed Jones. 00:00:34.759 --> 00:00:39.339 Reed and his family, who was right there a second ago, I'm sure they were, I saw him 00:00:39.339 --> 00:00:45.820 there, have been here in Huntsville as he's been the campus minister for our denominations 00:00:45.820 --> 00:00:50.859 Campus Ministry, RUF, Reformed University Fellowship, here at UAH. 00:00:50.859 --> 00:00:58.619 Reed is leaving here in just a couple of weeks after they head to summer conference to take 00:00:58.619 --> 00:01:04.579 the same position at a very special university in South Carolina named Clemson. 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:11.379 So he's obviously thrilled about that, very honored to be a part of that distinguished community. 00:01:12.739 --> 00:01:17.920 And my only hope is this for y'all, we're going to miss the Joneses a lot here in Huntsville 00:01:17.920 --> 00:01:22.299 and this community will, if you haven't gotten to know them, they've been a huge blessing 00:01:22.299 --> 00:01:23.579 to Huntsville. 00:01:24.219 --> 00:01:30.340 My hope is that what's going to happen is Reed is going to become so close with Dabo and 00:01:30.340 --> 00:01:35.340 a part of the program there that when Dabo comes back to Alabama in a few years upon the 00:01:35.340 --> 00:01:41.240 retirement of Nick Saban, he will insist that Reed comes back with him to be the chaplain 00:01:41.240 --> 00:01:44.219 and to bring Christianity to the Alabama football team. 00:01:44.219 --> 00:01:47.640 So that's how I've got it figured out. 00:01:47.739 --> 00:01:49.659 Reed, we're bringing you back to Alabama. 00:01:51.179 --> 00:01:54.819 But for this morning, we're looking forward to hearing the Word of God from you. 00:01:54.900 --> 00:01:58.099 Thanks so much for your friendship to me and your love for our church. 00:01:58.640 --> 00:01:59.019 Thanks, man. 00:02:00.780 --> 00:02:04.719 That would be the most difficult undertaking I've ever been called to if that were the case. 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:04.799 Thanks. 00:02:07.060 --> 00:02:13.259 I love being with y'all and always appreciate the opportunity to preach here and to worship 00:02:13.259 --> 00:02:13.979 with you. 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:19.120 Let me just say before we get into the text that you've been a huge part of our lives 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:21.680 and our ministry for the last five years. 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:25.599 And more than that, for the last 10 years, RUF's ministry at UAH. 00:02:26.400 --> 00:02:31.139 That's an organization that you brought to town, Southwood Presbyterian Church, along with 00:02:31.139 --> 00:02:35.399 a couple other churches, brought RUF to UAH 10 years ago. 00:02:35.939 --> 00:02:38.759 And just last weekend, we got to celebrate with many of you. 00:02:38.839 --> 00:02:42.859 You joined us as we celebrated the 10th anniversary of RUF at UAH. 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:44.939 The Tuba Sings were back in town. 00:02:45.179 --> 00:02:47.779 They founded the ministry 10 years ago. 00:02:47.879 --> 00:02:52.819 And then we got to celebrate together the work God's been doing on that campus and through 00:02:52.819 --> 00:02:57.379 our ministry into this community, even into this church and so many others. 00:02:57.379 --> 00:02:58.960 And so thanks for being a part of that with us. 00:02:59.359 --> 00:03:01.960 You hosted part of that event last weekend, the Shrimp Boyle. 00:03:02.019 --> 00:03:04.859 Many of you volunteered and were part of that. 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:07.120 So I just want to say thanks. 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:10.579 You have loved us well and you've cared for our family well. 00:03:10.639 --> 00:03:11.639 You've supported our ministry. 00:03:11.780 --> 00:03:12.599 You've prayed for our ministry. 00:03:12.719 --> 00:03:17.620 You've welcomed our students into your congregation and our graduates into your group here. 00:03:17.780 --> 00:03:20.099 And we're grateful to be ministering with you. 00:03:20.139 --> 00:03:24.000 And I know you'll show the same love and welcome to the next family who's coming in. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:30.520 And Vinny and Molly Athie have been named and called here pending their final presbytery 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:32.219 work that Vinny will be doing this summer. 00:03:32.439 --> 00:03:36.500 But they'll be moving in this summer and be the third campus minister at UAH. 00:03:36.740 --> 00:03:37.819 And we're excited about that. 00:03:38.780 --> 00:03:41.939 All right, we're going to be looking at a text, Luke chapter 15 this morning. 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:46.539 Here we have two parables on lostness. 00:03:47.740 --> 00:03:48.639 Three actually. 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:51.400 The third one being the more famous of the three. 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:52.719 We're going to look at the first two. 00:03:52.719 --> 00:03:57.639 We're going to answer some very basic questions about lostness. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:03:58.699 What does it mean to be lost? 00:03:58.759 --> 00:03:59.460 What does it look like? 00:04:00.780 --> 00:04:03.860 How is something that is lost ultimately found? 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:06.319 And what happens when it's found? 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:11.360 You'll see my outline there, very simple, lost, found, rejoicing. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:13.460 So let's look at these two parables together. 00:04:13.620 --> 00:04:16.139 This is Luke chapter 15. 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:21.000 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 00:04:21.779 --> 00:04:26.159 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, this man receives sinners and eats 00:04:26.159 --> 00:04:26.519 with them. 00:04:27.019 --> 00:04:29.259 So he, this is Jesus, told them this parable. 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:34.240 What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the 00:04:34.240 --> 00:04:38.459 ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 00:04:38.459 --> 00:04:42.339 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 00:04:43.379 --> 00:04:46.959 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:49.639 rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. 00:04:50.459 --> 00:04:54.180 Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:57.399 over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:04.139 Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and 00:05:04.139 --> 00:05:07.359 sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 00:05:08.500 --> 00:05:13.179 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, rejoice with 00:05:13.179 --> 00:05:15.539 me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:23.139 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:28.699 The grass withers and the flowers fade, but these are the words of our Lord and they will 00:05:28.699 --> 00:05:29.800 stand forever. 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:36.399 When I was ten years old, I accidentally ran away from home. 00:05:37.620 --> 00:05:41.479 I remember it as one of the funnest days of my childhood. 00:05:42.379 --> 00:05:45.399 My mom remembers it as one of the worst days of her life. 00:05:46.139 --> 00:05:48.759 It all started with a jump rope and a misunderstanding. 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:51.099 Here's how I remember the story. 00:05:51.860 --> 00:05:53.980 My mom and I were supposed to run some errands that day. 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:58.600 We were going to go to who knows where in little Brundage, Alabama. 00:05:59.300 --> 00:06:02.980 And she was on the phone with my friend Clint's mom before we were supposed to leave. 00:06:03.060 --> 00:06:07.020 And what I heard in the conversation, I heard her say, yeah, Reed and I are about to leave 00:06:07.020 --> 00:06:09.960 and I'll drop it off on the way before we blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:13.420 And that's all I needed to know because what I wanted to do was kind of get ahead of my mom 00:06:13.420 --> 00:06:13.820 in this. 00:06:14.280 --> 00:06:18.560 Clint, my friend Clint, lived about three quarters of a mile, maybe a mile down the street. 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:20.160 I used to walk to his house all the time. 00:06:20.780 --> 00:06:25.860 And so I asked my mom, I was like, I said, Ken, do you mind if I go ahead and go early 00:06:25.860 --> 00:06:29.139 to Clint's house and then you just pick me up when you drop the thing off? 00:06:29.160 --> 00:06:30.120 And she said, that's fine. 00:06:30.300 --> 00:06:31.639 So here's the other part of the story. 00:06:32.899 --> 00:06:33.800 I was 10. 00:06:33.899 --> 00:06:35.899 And when I was 10, I loved to jump rope. 00:06:36.439 --> 00:06:38.019 Do we still have jump rope for heart? 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:38.840 Is that still a thing? 00:06:39.079 --> 00:06:41.579 Okay, I was like the poster boy for jump rope for heart. 00:06:41.579 --> 00:06:45.659 I was jump roping my little 10-year-old self all over the place. 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:48.839 And so I wanted to jump rope my way down to Clint's house. 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:49.779 And so off I went. 00:06:51.060 --> 00:06:56.240 Well, some time passed, maybe a couple hours or so. 00:06:57.099 --> 00:07:01.819 And I didn't realize it, but, you know, I was lost and I didn't know it. 00:07:01.919 --> 00:07:02.919 And here's how I found out. 00:07:02.979 --> 00:07:07.079 I heard all the police cars going through our neighborhood, all four of them, 00:07:07.079 --> 00:07:12.479 all four police officers of Brundage, Alabama, were looking for little Reed Jones, 00:07:13.079 --> 00:07:15.019 last seen with a jump rope in his hand. 00:07:15.659 --> 00:07:18.319 Because what happened is my mom left right after I left. 00:07:18.379 --> 00:07:19.579 Here's the miscommunication. 00:07:19.719 --> 00:07:21.339 My mom wasn't on the phone with Clint's mom. 00:07:21.819 --> 00:07:23.860 She was on the phone with Ms. Shehane, who lived next door. 00:07:24.500 --> 00:07:27.659 So when she went to Ms. Shehane's house, you've put it together now, 00:07:27.860 --> 00:07:30.299 she went to Ms. Shehane's house and said, where's Reed? 00:07:30.339 --> 00:07:31.439 He said he was going to be over here. 00:07:31.439 --> 00:07:32.740 And she's like, I don't know. 00:07:32.799 --> 00:07:33.439 He's your son. 00:07:33.539 --> 00:07:34.379 You should probably know. 00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:36.680 And she called the cops and that was that. 00:07:37.079 --> 00:07:46.139 When we think of lostness typically, we think of someone who has kind of deliberately gone away. 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:47.579 They have lost their way. 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:49.279 They've made some terrible decisions. 00:07:49.500 --> 00:07:51.860 They've ran to the far corners of the earth. 00:07:51.919 --> 00:07:53.099 They're on the run. 00:07:54.439 --> 00:07:58.539 And we think that if they would just kind of get their act together, they would come home. 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:03.019 They would stop wandering if they would just get their bearings. 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:06.659 But lostness in the way that Jesus talks about it is more complicated than that. 00:08:06.660 --> 00:08:09.920 That is the story of the lost son, which comes next. 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:13.620 But in these two parables, lostness is something different. 00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:18.680 This kind of lostness is more of an ignorant lostness. 00:08:18.680 --> 00:08:24.760 It's more of a helpless, hopeless type lostness. 00:08:25.240 --> 00:08:25.720 Desperate. 00:08:26.700 --> 00:08:28.960 Not able to find its way home. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:32.019 That's the case for the sheep and the coin. 00:08:32.100 --> 00:08:35.039 Let me work through both of those scenarios. 00:08:35.279 --> 00:08:36.100 First, the sheep. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:38.939 The shepherd has a flock of 100. 00:08:39.120 --> 00:08:41.259 99 are safe and one is lost. 00:08:41.659 --> 00:08:43.220 He wandered from the fold. 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:43.799 He is missing. 00:08:44.199 --> 00:08:47.759 And we should note that sheep are notoriously dumb animals. 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:49.960 They aren't very smart. 00:08:50.059 --> 00:08:51.539 They don't think for themselves very well. 00:08:51.539 --> 00:09:00.199 They're most always in danger because of the potential attacks from a predator like a wolf or from their own dumb decisions. 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:02.860 Sheep will walk far too close to a cliff. 00:09:02.959 --> 00:09:04.219 They could easily fall off. 00:09:04.559 --> 00:09:06.219 They're not aware of that kind of danger. 00:09:06.679 --> 00:09:12.000 They will eat anything that's basically green, including poison, and they will hurt themselves. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:20.580 Because if sheep become lost, I've been told and I've read, then they will basically lie down. 00:09:21.159 --> 00:09:22.379 They just kind of give up. 00:09:22.539 --> 00:09:24.639 And they just lay there. 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:26.120 They're unlike dogs or cats. 00:09:26.179 --> 00:09:32.259 Like if a dog gets lost, it will wander around in concentric circles until it finds its way home in maybe a couple of weeks. 00:09:32.600 --> 00:09:34.700 Cats, you can't lose a cat. 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:35.980 I've tried. 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:41.620 You can drop a cat off in A-Rab and it will find its way home by 3 p.m. 00:09:41.659 --> 00:09:44.360 They have like a built-in GPS system or something. 00:09:44.680 --> 00:09:45.360 You can't lose them. 00:09:45.440 --> 00:09:46.320 But sheep are not like that. 00:09:46.420 --> 00:09:48.860 Sheep literally will just lie down when they're lost. 00:09:48.940 --> 00:09:53.879 So the point is if a sheep is lost, that sheep is helpless. 00:09:55.220 --> 00:09:56.580 It is absolutely helpless. 00:09:58.080 --> 00:09:59.100 Okay, what about a coin? 00:09:59.960 --> 00:10:02.200 We have a children's book that we use with our girls. 00:10:02.200 --> 00:10:06.520 It's from the same author who did the children's storybook Bible, Jesus' storybook Bible. 00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:09.640 And it's kind of a collection of poems or stories. 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:11.080 And there's one called Getting Found. 00:10:11.580 --> 00:10:12.720 And it's about these parables. 00:10:12.820 --> 00:10:14.480 And here's how Sally Lloyd-Jones puts it. 00:10:14.520 --> 00:10:20.220 She says, if you think a sheep is hopeless about finding its way home, what about a coin? 00:10:21.180 --> 00:10:23.280 Can a coin do something to be found? 00:10:24.100 --> 00:10:26.020 Can it get up and search for its owner? 00:10:26.160 --> 00:10:26.820 How silly. 00:10:27.480 --> 00:10:28.840 And our girls are like, how silly. 00:10:29.560 --> 00:10:30.420 Of course it can't. 00:10:30.419 --> 00:10:33.579 A coin that is lost is a hopeless coin. 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:34.939 I think you get the picture. 00:10:36.079 --> 00:10:43.559 Its only hope is if it has an owner who will search relentlessly until he or she finds it. 00:10:44.339 --> 00:10:47.819 The only hope for a lost sheep is a loving shepherd. 00:10:48.839 --> 00:10:52.799 The only hope for a lost coin is a relentless searcher. 00:10:52.879 --> 00:10:58.360 The only hope for a lost little Reed Jones is a mom who would stop at nothing until she found me. 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:01.919 This is true spiritually as well. 00:11:02.580 --> 00:11:05.980 To be lost is to be in a helpless condition. 00:11:06.560 --> 00:11:08.560 A place far from your intended home. 00:11:08.659 --> 00:11:12.519 This is how Scripture puts it all throughout from the New Testament to the Old. 00:11:12.600 --> 00:11:13.460 Starting in Genesis. 00:11:14.139 --> 00:11:18.500 Beginning of the fall when Adam and Eve fell for the lie of a better life that the evil one offered. 00:11:18.620 --> 00:11:19.940 They hid in their shame. 00:11:20.019 --> 00:11:22.680 Do you remember when God came to them in the garden? 00:11:22.679 --> 00:11:23.899 They were hiding behind the bushes. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:24.739 And what did he say? 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:26.979 He said, where are you? 00:11:28.359 --> 00:11:30.159 In other words, they weren't home. 00:11:31.199 --> 00:11:33.019 They weren't where they were supposed to be. 00:11:33.099 --> 00:11:33.859 They were lost. 00:11:35.239 --> 00:11:37.139 Hiding in their own sin and shame. 00:11:38.059 --> 00:11:39.799 The theme continues throughout the Old Testament. 00:11:39.899 --> 00:11:42.039 God's people, Israel, always losing their way. 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:44.919 Lost in the wilderness for 40 years. 00:11:45.419 --> 00:11:48.259 Lost in exile because of their own unfaithfulness. 00:11:48.980 --> 00:11:50.179 The prophets pick this up. 00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:54.960 Isaiah says in 53 that all we like sheep have gone astray. 00:11:55.100 --> 00:11:57.259 Each of us has turned to his own way. 00:11:57.340 --> 00:11:59.500 You come into the New Testament, the theme continues. 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:04.100 All throughout Jesus' teachings and Paul's writings and Peter's sermons. 00:12:04.980 --> 00:12:10.379 We are not just sometimes doing what we ought not to do and you need a slap on the wrist to kind of get your act together. 00:12:10.879 --> 00:12:11.980 No, we are lost. 00:12:11.980 --> 00:12:19.039 On our own, we are hopeless and helpless, wandering around, scooting way too close to the cliffs in danger. 00:12:19.399 --> 00:12:28.320 Not exactly sure of what predators are on the attack and poisoning ourselves to death, eating and consuming what's killing us from the inside out. 00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:29.659 And sometimes we don't even know it. 00:12:30.680 --> 00:12:32.000 It's what it is to be lost. 00:12:33.480 --> 00:12:35.300 And we're all lost in this way, right? 00:12:35.519 --> 00:12:36.659 In one way or the other. 00:12:36.659 --> 00:12:45.480 I was talking with a student just this week who's just going through a very difficult, very, very difficult season. 00:12:46.620 --> 00:12:51.740 From some of the decisions she's made herself, some from things that have been done to her. 00:12:52.439 --> 00:12:59.059 And as we sat and talked about what's going on as her life seems to be unraveling, she just said these words. 00:12:59.139 --> 00:13:00.319 And I wonder if you've ever said this. 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:03.740 She said, I just feel so lost. 00:13:03.740 --> 00:13:07.120 Have you ever been there? 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:12.080 Maybe you're there now, confused, conflicted. 00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:14.259 You don't know which way is up or down. 00:13:15.060 --> 00:13:15.879 So what do we do? 00:13:17.019 --> 00:13:18.320 What do we do if we're lost? 00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:19.139 What is our hope? 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:26.379 Our only hope is a shepherd who would come after us, an owner who will seek us out. 00:13:26.460 --> 00:13:27.360 We have to be found. 00:13:28.539 --> 00:13:31.779 This shepherd imagery is really an interesting choice for Jesus. 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:39.539 I learned this as I was studying this passage through commentaries that this shepherd imagery would divide the crowd more than it was divided already. 00:13:39.699 --> 00:13:44.139 If you notice at the beginning that Jesus is talking to really two different groups of people, right? 00:13:44.959 --> 00:13:45.639 This is the case. 00:13:45.699 --> 00:13:49.100 I know you guys are in Luke right now and Jesus is doing this a lot in Luke. 00:13:49.759 --> 00:13:51.899 On one side it's the tax collectors and sinners. 00:13:52.459 --> 00:13:55.000 In verse 1, who are said to be drawing near to Jesus. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:14:05.019 And then on the other side it's those who are the Pharisees and the scribes who are said in verse 2 to be grumbling about Jesus. 00:14:06.100 --> 00:14:13.399 So something about Jesus' message is very attractive to those sinners and it's very offensive to the Pharisees. 00:14:14.360 --> 00:14:18.460 Well, by Jesus employing the shepherd metaphor, He divides them even more. 00:14:18.460 --> 00:14:22.080 Because those two groups of people would have had a very different opinion about shepherds. 00:14:22.860 --> 00:14:27.460 It's interesting, the Pharisees used to would have thought very highly of shepherds. 00:14:27.940 --> 00:14:33.320 Back in the Old Testament setting, shepherds were thought to be kind of noble and highly esteemed. 00:14:33.400 --> 00:14:37.100 You have David who was a shepherd, Moses who was a shepherd. 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:42.200 There's a history of shepherds being great leaders and some becoming kings. 00:14:42.200 --> 00:14:52.259 But over the course of time, shepherds really were more subjected to kind of the outcasts, the dirty, mangy old men who went out there chasing after dirty, mangy animals. 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:56.200 And they were looked down upon by these Pharisees from their kind of high positions. 00:14:57.340 --> 00:15:01.920 But the tax collectors, they knew shepherds. 00:15:03.140 --> 00:15:04.020 They knew them. 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:05.560 They didn't look down on them. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:06.500 They were their friends. 00:15:06.500 --> 00:15:15.340 And so when Jesus simply brings up the shepherd who would leave 99 and go after the one, the Pharisees would say, who in the world? 00:15:15.419 --> 00:15:16.159 How dare him? 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:19.639 And the tax collectors and sinners would say, of course. 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:22.500 Of course he would go after the one. 00:15:23.580 --> 00:15:24.879 I know guys like that. 00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:26.519 How else would they be found? 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:33.320 There's an amazing passage, one of my favorites. 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:43.480 In Ezekiel chapter 34, where God is rebuking the shepherds of his people, these shepherds that he had kind of set up to lead his people. 00:15:44.180 --> 00:15:47.700 And he's rebuking them because they weren't taking care of his people. 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:51.760 They have not fed God's people well. 00:15:51.820 --> 00:15:52.820 They have only fed themselves. 00:15:53.020 --> 00:15:55.020 They have not bound up the wounds of God's people. 00:15:55.100 --> 00:15:56.760 They have only kind of taken care of themselves. 00:15:57.160 --> 00:15:58.820 They have not protected them from their enemies. 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:01.120 They have only protected themselves. 00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:05.779 And so God comes after these shepherds and he rebukes them in Ezekiel chapter 34. 00:16:05.899 --> 00:16:07.440 I want to read a part of that section. 00:16:07.820 --> 00:16:12.600 This is a little bit lengthy, but listen to the extent God says that he will provide for his sheep. 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:15.200 He says, starting in verse 11, 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:16.420 Thus says the Lord God, 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:19.860 Behold, I myself will search for my sheep. 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:21.920 I will seek them out. 00:16:22.560 --> 00:16:27.920 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among them that have been scattered, so too will I seek out my sheep. 00:16:28.020 --> 00:16:32.980 I will rescue them from all the places where they've been scattered. 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:34.840 I will feed them with good pasture. 00:16:35.640 --> 00:16:38.080 And on the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. 00:16:38.120 --> 00:16:39.140 In verse 15, he says, 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.160 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep. 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:44.799 I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God. 00:16:44.919 --> 00:16:46.679 I will seek the lost. 00:16:47.719 --> 00:16:49.779 I will bring back the strayed. 00:16:50.459 --> 00:16:52.100 I will bind up the injured. 00:16:52.719 --> 00:16:55.100 And I will strengthen the weak. 00:16:57.899 --> 00:17:03.339 Listen, it was God's intention from the very beginning, from the first sin of Adam, 00:17:03.779 --> 00:17:08.240 all the way up until the last sin that you or I commit in our own lives. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:15.460 It was God's intention from the very beginning to seek out and to save his lost sheep. 00:17:17.160 --> 00:17:23.460 For Adam, for Abraham, for Moses, for all of Israel, for those in Isaiah's day or Ezekiel's day, 00:17:24.059 --> 00:17:26.279 Jesus had a plan. 00:17:28.539 --> 00:17:29.880 I will seek the lost. 00:17:30.559 --> 00:17:31.980 I will bring back the strayed. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.120 I will bind up the injured and I will strengthen the weak. 00:17:34.180 --> 00:17:37.319 So the question for us then is how does he do it? 00:17:38.240 --> 00:17:39.339 How does God do this? 00:17:39.379 --> 00:17:40.740 How does he come after his sheep? 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:43.559 Will they find their way home? 00:17:45.159 --> 00:17:47.319 Will the sheep stand up and start searching? 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:50.079 Will the coin find its way back into the hand? 00:17:50.139 --> 00:17:51.899 That's not the picture this parable gives. 00:17:52.500 --> 00:17:54.279 It won't be based on their own effort. 00:17:56.279 --> 00:17:58.899 So how does Jesus know so much about shepherds? 00:17:58.900 --> 00:18:03.720 How does he tell a story about a shepherd who will go after the one? 00:18:06.040 --> 00:18:07.300 Because he is a shepherd. 00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:13.140 It's worth noting that at a couple of different times in Jesus' ministry, 00:18:13.280 --> 00:18:15.500 he said, actually to a group of tax collectors, 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:15.920 he said, 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:19.660 the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. 00:18:20.340 --> 00:18:22.240 And then to a group of Pharisees, he says, 00:18:22.240 --> 00:18:30.539 Jesus is not just shepherd-like. 00:18:31.539 --> 00:18:32.940 He is the shepherd. 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:37.039 He is the good shepherd that God had promised to provide for his people, 00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:41.180 his people Israel, that he would come and give them rest. 00:18:42.220 --> 00:18:43.779 He would provide protection. 00:18:44.940 --> 00:18:46.440 He would give salvation. 00:18:46.440 --> 00:18:49.120 He's come to seek and to save that which was lost. 00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:53.120 And this is really good news for you and for me. 00:18:54.360 --> 00:18:58.740 Because that means Jesus has come to provide you rest. 00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:03.220 And Jesus has come to provide you protection. 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:04.860 He has come to feed you. 00:19:06.100 --> 00:19:07.519 He has come to give you comfort. 00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:13.680 This is the initiating love of God when he sees his children harassed and helpless, 00:19:13.680 --> 00:19:16.519 shepherdless sheep wandering around life, 00:19:16.740 --> 00:19:19.019 seeking out life apart from him 00:19:19.019 --> 00:19:23.340 and finding nothing but poison and empty happiness. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:25.600 And he comes to give life. 00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:27.940 And how does he do it? 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:30.980 How does God deliver on his promise? 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:35.860 We need to see what it costs Jesus to bring back his sheep. 00:19:36.900 --> 00:19:39.360 How does God seek the lost and bring back the strayed, 00:19:39.420 --> 00:19:40.920 bind up the injured and strengthen the weak? 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:43.100 Only through Jesus becoming lost. 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:45.580 So that we might be found. 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:49.279 Jesus leaving his home, leaving his place of comfort, 00:19:49.620 --> 00:19:53.440 coming into this existence, a place far from his intended home, 00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:55.680 in order to bring us home. 00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:01.700 Jesus becoming strayed into this existence, into this world, 00:20:02.160 --> 00:20:06.640 spit upon, persecuted, pushed around, 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:10.799 strayed so that we might be brought back. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:15.940 Jesus becoming bound up on the cross, injured in his hands and his feet, 00:20:16.740 --> 00:20:18.359 so that we might be healed. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:19.579 Jesus becoming weak. 00:20:20.759 --> 00:20:23.720 Weak to the point of death, so that we might be made strong. 00:20:23.779 --> 00:20:24.200 Do you hear it? 00:20:24.220 --> 00:20:26.839 There's a cost for this shepherd. 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:34.859 And even in the parables, you get the idea that the shepherd went to such an extent to find that sheep, right? 00:20:34.899 --> 00:20:36.159 He went and searched it out. 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:42.179 Sheep would have been something like maybe a picture of 70-pound dirty mangy sheep, 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:43.859 and the shepherd, what does he do in the parable? 00:20:43.959 --> 00:20:47.359 He leans down, he picks it up, he puts it on his shoulders, and he carries it home. 00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:51.419 The owner of the coin gets down in the dirt. 00:20:51.519 --> 00:20:53.659 This would have been a dirt home, and he gets down. 00:20:53.759 --> 00:20:56.719 She gets down on her knees, and she's scrubbing through the dirt, 00:20:56.839 --> 00:21:00.899 taking on the dirt on herself so that the coin might be found. 00:21:04.019 --> 00:21:06.519 So what is our hope of being found? 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:09.339 It is a shepherd who will seek us out. 00:21:09.339 --> 00:21:13.519 I imagine that you're in one of those four categories. 00:21:14.579 --> 00:21:19.439 And I think about you seniors who are finishing up this season of life. 00:21:19.859 --> 00:21:22.339 And in many ways, a lot of us are transitioning right now, right? 00:21:22.959 --> 00:21:26.799 And in transition, you really kind of start to think through, where am I? 00:21:27.599 --> 00:21:29.539 And I wonder if you'll find yourself in this list. 00:21:29.599 --> 00:21:31.939 And for the rest of us, are you lost? 00:21:33.059 --> 00:21:34.240 Are you strayed? 00:21:34.299 --> 00:21:35.079 Are you injured? 00:21:35.159 --> 00:21:36.039 Or are you weak? 00:21:36.039 --> 00:21:38.599 I bet you can find one of those today. 00:21:38.599 --> 00:21:43.519 If you're lost, perhaps you're hearing this, and you're thinking, 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:51.240 I am that sheep lying down, and I've never been found. 00:21:52.899 --> 00:21:54.839 I don't even know what it is to be home. 00:21:56.039 --> 00:21:57.500 There's a message for you here. 00:21:59.039 --> 00:22:01.779 Maybe for some of you, it's you're strayed. 00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:04.939 We experience this a lot in college ministry, right? 00:22:04.940 --> 00:22:12.080 We see the students who grew up in a setting like this and had a great experience in their 00:22:12.080 --> 00:22:16.100 high school youth ministry, and they go to college, and it's time to just kind of figure 00:22:16.100 --> 00:22:16.980 it out on my own. 00:22:17.620 --> 00:22:19.820 And there's a place for certainly working through our faith. 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:22.240 That's why RUF and so many other ministries exist. 00:22:22.340 --> 00:22:24.440 We want to come alongside students during that time. 00:22:24.440 --> 00:22:27.900 But for many, that's the time to get strayed. 00:22:29.120 --> 00:22:30.420 And it doesn't end well. 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:34.740 It doesn't...it never fills the way that we think it will. 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:36.039 But maybe some of you are strayed. 00:22:36.080 --> 00:22:37.259 Now you're running, you're hiding. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:40.000 No one knows it, but you're strayed in your own heart. 00:22:40.900 --> 00:22:42.380 You know the places that you're going, 00:22:43.380 --> 00:22:48.580 the things you keep finding yourself doing, and you're far from home. 00:22:48.579 --> 00:22:50.939 Or for others, you may be injured. 00:22:52.119 --> 00:22:54.699 You're just...you're beat down by the world around you. 00:22:55.779 --> 00:22:56.579 You're tired. 00:22:57.019 --> 00:22:57.819 You're broken. 00:22:58.179 --> 00:22:58.799 You're hurt. 00:23:00.639 --> 00:23:01.720 Or maybe you're weak. 00:23:04.159 --> 00:23:07.859 You're weak, and you've come to a place where you can admit that now. 00:23:08.299 --> 00:23:09.500 You don't have your act together. 00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:13.099 You don't know the answers. 00:23:13.939 --> 00:23:15.079 You don't know what to do. 00:23:15.079 --> 00:23:15.099 You don't know what to do. 00:23:15.099 --> 00:23:15.159 You don't know what to do. 00:23:19.759 --> 00:23:21.459 Who does the shepherd rescue? 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:24.539 Those who are lost. 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:28.119 Those who are strayed. 00:23:28.379 --> 00:23:29.199 Those who are injured. 00:23:29.339 --> 00:23:30.219 And those who are weak. 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:32.519 And he comes after you. 00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:36.899 And really the invitation here, what do we do? 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:39.019 We lie down. 00:23:40.240 --> 00:23:41.659 And we say, I can't. 00:23:42.359 --> 00:23:43.819 And he rescues us. 00:23:44.219 --> 00:23:44.839 He comes. 00:23:44.839 --> 00:23:47.980 He has come into this world to rescue us. 00:23:48.699 --> 00:23:52.599 And when Jesus rescues, I don't know if you noticed, there's a party every time. 00:23:53.799 --> 00:23:56.559 Did you hear all the rejoicing in this passage, by the way? 00:23:56.899 --> 00:23:58.639 I counted five times. 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:04.779 Five times in these short ten verses that there's a party being thrown, or at least a reference to it. 00:24:05.339 --> 00:24:07.599 I want to connect why that's the case here. 00:24:08.339 --> 00:24:09.039 Five times. 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:11.899 The shepherd found the sheep, and he was rejoicing. 00:24:12.799 --> 00:24:16.339 He came home, and he called a party for his friends and neighbors, saying, rejoice with me. 00:24:16.399 --> 00:24:18.099 The lady found her coin, and she rejoiced. 00:24:18.379 --> 00:24:20.359 She called her friends and said, rejoice with me. 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:20.720 Why? 00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:22.180 Why all the rejoicing? 00:24:23.860 --> 00:24:29.180 Because the thing that was found was of tremendous value to the one who lost it. 00:24:29.180 --> 00:24:34.660 By the way, I should tell you how the story ends. 00:24:34.759 --> 00:24:37.980 I was eventually found by my mom. 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:41.480 We have been reunited since that day. 00:24:41.740 --> 00:24:43.460 I know you're a real cliffhanger. 00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:47.660 Here's how I was found. 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:50.460 My mom really had called all the police. 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:53.440 She called all of her friends, and they were all searching for me. 00:24:53.940 --> 00:24:55.099 And we were in the backyard. 00:24:55.319 --> 00:24:58.339 This was probably a couple hours that passed by, and we were still jump roping. 00:24:58.720 --> 00:25:01.680 And we were in the backyard, and my friend Clint had this fence. 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:04.460 It was kind of one of those fences that kind of starts about right here. 00:25:04.519 --> 00:25:06.579 So you see a little bit of what's underneath. 00:25:06.579 --> 00:25:11.819 And Miss Carol, who was my friend Jacob's mom, everybody know the players, there is a test. 00:25:13.159 --> 00:25:16.960 My friend Jacob's mom, Miss Carol, was riding by looking for me, 00:25:17.139 --> 00:25:20.039 and she saw our feet jump roping on the other side of the fence. 00:25:20.599 --> 00:25:23.679 And she stopped her car at the curb, and I remember this so well. 00:25:23.740 --> 00:25:25.480 She said, Reed, is that you? 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:27.319 And I said, yes, ma'am. 00:25:27.939 --> 00:25:31.119 She said, you should probably go home. 00:25:32.779 --> 00:25:35.559 And so she put me in her truck, and we went home. 00:25:36.579 --> 00:25:42.500 I tell you what, though, I don't think I've ever seen my mom cry like that before or since. 00:25:43.859 --> 00:25:44.220 Why? 00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:48.879 Because the thing that she lost was of tremendous value to her. 00:25:49.439 --> 00:25:50.579 Parents in the room get it. 00:25:51.199 --> 00:25:51.720 We know. 00:25:52.539 --> 00:25:53.919 I can't imagine that scenario. 00:25:54.019 --> 00:25:54.539 I really can. 00:25:54.599 --> 00:25:57.460 I feel kind of bad about it a little. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:25:59.720 It was a pretty fun day. 00:26:00.379 --> 00:26:01.899 I still feel a little bad about it. 00:26:01.900 --> 00:26:03.500 But why the tears? 00:26:03.620 --> 00:26:04.480 Why the rejoicing? 00:26:04.540 --> 00:26:06.860 Because the thing that was lost was of tremendous value. 00:26:08.420 --> 00:26:14.080 Just so I tell you, there's joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. 00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:15.540 Here's my question for you. 00:26:15.600 --> 00:26:16.340 Are you aware? 00:26:17.340 --> 00:26:20.380 Are you aware of the value that you hold in your Creator's eyes? 00:26:20.380 --> 00:26:25.400 Why the rejoicing? 00:26:27.880 --> 00:26:35.040 Because something that the owner loves has been hurt, has been lost, has been wandering. 00:26:38.600 --> 00:26:42.320 Someone the shepherd loves so deeply has been brought home. 00:26:42.380 --> 00:26:43.800 That's why all the rejoicing. 00:26:43.880 --> 00:26:48.020 Are you aware of the value that you have to our God? 00:26:48.660 --> 00:26:49.519 And I mean this. 00:26:49.579 --> 00:26:52.599 This is a huge theme of our ministry on the college campus. 00:26:53.579 --> 00:26:55.940 It's a huge theme of the ministry in this church. 00:26:56.940 --> 00:26:59.660 That we need to understand who we are to our God. 00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:05.700 Because we are in a world and we are in a context, and I will say Huntsville is very much this way. 00:27:05.900 --> 00:27:07.900 We live in a very competitive environment here. 00:27:08.339 --> 00:27:09.220 A lot of show. 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:11.779 A lot of look better than the next person. 00:27:11.779 --> 00:27:15.099 Have the bigger whatever, the best paycheck, or the best position. 00:27:15.639 --> 00:27:16.639 A lot of comparison. 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:23.020 And so we have bought into it, and students have bought into it, that my value is completely 00:27:23.020 --> 00:27:26.500 attached to me accomplishing X, Y, and Z. 00:27:26.580 --> 00:27:28.480 For our students, it's the internship. 00:27:28.680 --> 00:27:33.360 We have students who are crushed, absolutely crushed right now because they did not get the 00:27:33.360 --> 00:27:34.600 internship at NASA this summer. 00:27:35.320 --> 00:27:36.180 Feel like their life's over. 00:27:37.340 --> 00:27:40.620 Students who are crushed because they made only a 393 this semester. 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:42.360 Why? 00:27:42.359 --> 00:27:46.979 So much of our value is derived from our accomplishments. 00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:51.759 Our world tells us that you are just another engineer. 00:27:52.979 --> 00:27:54.559 You are just another nurse. 00:27:54.919 --> 00:27:56.079 You're just another physician. 00:27:56.639 --> 00:27:57.740 You're just another teacher. 00:27:58.379 --> 00:28:00.139 You're just another stay-at-home mom. 00:28:00.219 --> 00:28:01.619 You're just another kid in this school. 00:28:01.699 --> 00:28:02.639 You're just another graduate. 00:28:03.139 --> 00:28:04.099 You're just another freshman. 00:28:04.099 --> 00:28:07.000 And we begin to believe that. 00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:12.399 And all of a sudden, our value ebbs and flows with just how we're doing on a given day. 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:16.199 Let me illustrate it this way. 00:28:16.259 --> 00:28:19.859 There's a very moving scene at the end of the first Toy Story. 00:28:20.879 --> 00:28:23.599 You remember Toy Story and that scene where Woody is in jail? 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:25.740 Well, he's in a crate. 00:28:25.919 --> 00:28:26.659 He thinks it's jail. 00:28:27.079 --> 00:28:29.439 And he's talking to Buzz, who's on the other side of the crate. 00:28:29.539 --> 00:28:31.279 And it's just this very somber moment. 00:28:31.379 --> 00:28:32.639 It's a three or four-minute scene. 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:37.559 And Buzz is the one who's actually really down at this point because he just came to this realization 00:28:37.559 --> 00:28:40.759 that he's not really a space ranger after all. 00:28:41.459 --> 00:28:45.279 And he's talking to Woody on the other side, and Woody's trying to cheer Buzz up. 00:28:45.379 --> 00:28:46.819 And here's what Buzz says. 00:28:46.879 --> 00:28:47.279 He says, 00:28:47.279 --> 00:29:02.480 And do you remember what Woody says to him in response? 00:29:04.240 --> 00:29:05.759 He looks across the crate. 00:29:05.879 --> 00:29:08.359 He looks Buzz in his little toy eyes. 00:29:08.399 --> 00:29:09.160 And he says, 00:29:09.160 --> 00:29:14.880 There's a kid in that house over there who thinks you are the greatest. 00:29:16.900 --> 00:29:19.080 And it's not because you're a space ranger. 00:29:20.500 --> 00:29:21.980 It's because you're a toy. 00:29:23.400 --> 00:29:25.040 It's because you're his toy. 00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:29.940 Here's what I want to say to you. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:36.259 If you were a Christian, you need to know how loved you are. 00:29:39.160 --> 00:29:42.160 You were not just a stupid little insignificant anything. 00:29:43.600 --> 00:29:47.060 You were thought so highly of by the creator of this universe 00:29:47.060 --> 00:29:51.540 that he would send his only son into this world 00:29:51.540 --> 00:29:56.080 to become strayed, injured, and weak 00:29:56.080 --> 00:29:58.100 to the point of death 00:29:58.100 --> 00:30:01.279 so that you might be with him forever. 00:30:03.660 --> 00:30:05.720 That is how loved you are. 00:30:09.160 --> 00:30:12.100 That's why there's all the rejoicing in heaven. 00:30:13.460 --> 00:30:14.420 And so let me ask you, 00:30:14.500 --> 00:30:16.880 Jesus divides the crowd into two sections, 00:30:17.019 --> 00:30:20.160 and I would imagine that we're all in one of those two camps too. 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:25.100 The tax collectors and sinners heard this message, 00:30:25.140 --> 00:30:26.779 and it was very attractive to them. 00:30:27.800 --> 00:30:30.000 They wanted more of what Jesus had to offer. 00:30:30.840 --> 00:30:32.120 And then there was the other guys, 00:30:32.220 --> 00:30:33.380 the Pharisees and the scribes. 00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:35.800 Something about that message was very offensive to them, 00:30:35.799 --> 00:30:38.659 and they wanted nothing more to do with it. 00:30:40.539 --> 00:30:42.059 And so which camp are you in? 00:30:43.220 --> 00:30:45.119 Are you hearing Jesus' words and saying, 00:30:45.259 --> 00:30:46.819 I want to be found? 00:30:47.700 --> 00:30:49.039 I want to be brought home. 00:30:50.099 --> 00:30:53.019 Then lie down and let him rescue you. 00:30:54.039 --> 00:30:56.200 There's one more invitation that I want to end with. 00:30:57.159 --> 00:31:00.659 I heard an illustration that I want to use from, 00:31:00.879 --> 00:31:03.619 we had an RUF conference a couple of years ago, 00:31:03.619 --> 00:31:05.459 and Kevin Teasley was the guy speaking. 00:31:05.739 --> 00:31:07.959 And he gave us this idea, 00:31:08.199 --> 00:31:10.779 he talked about the little Bo Peep form of evangelism. 00:31:10.839 --> 00:31:11.939 Has anyone ever heard this before? 00:31:12.099 --> 00:31:12.959 I haven't heard it. 00:31:13.379 --> 00:31:15.399 He talked about the little Bo Peep form of evangelism. 00:31:15.519 --> 00:31:19.359 And what he talked about was that too many churches 00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:22.639 have resorted to, and ministries alike, 00:31:22.719 --> 00:31:25.819 have resorted to this idea of the little Bo Peep form of evangelism. 00:31:25.859 --> 00:31:27.819 And what that means, little Bo Peep lost her sheep, 00:31:28.579 --> 00:31:29.759 doesn't know where to find them, 00:31:29.839 --> 00:31:31.679 leave them alone, and they'll come home, 00:31:31.680 --> 00:31:33.560 wagging their tails behind them. 00:31:33.580 --> 00:31:35.120 And what he said is that many of us, 00:31:35.180 --> 00:31:37.380 in our evangelism and the local church, 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:40.960 what we do is we just put all of our money into our thing 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:42.920 and just say, leave them alone, 00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:44.660 and they will come home. 00:31:45.539 --> 00:31:48.320 And so we kind of put all of our money into the buildings 00:31:48.320 --> 00:31:49.900 or the programs or the budgets, 00:31:50.039 --> 00:31:52.160 and we have the nicest nursery 00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:54.200 or the best programs or whatever, 00:31:54.320 --> 00:31:55.360 and we think that's it. 00:31:55.360 --> 00:31:57.539 If we just have the best music, 00:31:57.820 --> 00:31:59.759 the best laser show, I don't know, 00:31:59.759 --> 00:32:01.500 then they will come. 00:32:03.460 --> 00:32:05.720 I think there's a better invitation in this passage 00:32:05.720 --> 00:32:07.980 for even us as a church, as a community, 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:10.940 into this place, into North Alabama and Huntsville, 00:32:11.220 --> 00:32:13.119 to understand that God has not called us 00:32:13.119 --> 00:32:14.960 to the little Bo Peep form of evangelism, 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:16.420 to leave them alone and they'll come home 00:32:16.420 --> 00:32:17.720 wagging their tails behind them, 00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:20.799 but he calls us into his work 00:32:20.799 --> 00:32:23.339 of going out and rescuing sheep. 00:32:23.339 --> 00:32:26.599 It's an amazing thing to realize 00:32:26.599 --> 00:32:28.859 that God has invited us to be a part 00:32:28.859 --> 00:32:32.000 of his rescue program in this place, 00:32:32.579 --> 00:32:35.500 in our schools, in our workplace, 00:32:35.740 --> 00:32:37.559 in our home, over on that campus, 00:32:38.220 --> 00:32:43.559 to join God in his work rescuing the sheep. 00:32:44.559 --> 00:32:46.619 By the way, our theology teaches us 00:32:46.619 --> 00:32:48.599 that there are plenty of sheep to be rescued, 00:32:48.599 --> 00:32:51.079 and we get to be a part of that. 00:32:52.299 --> 00:32:54.980 And I'm so grateful that God calls us 00:32:54.980 --> 00:32:56.699 to be a part of his rescue plan. 00:32:57.500 --> 00:32:58.740 I want to end with one more note 00:32:58.740 --> 00:33:00.179 about that scene from Toy Story. 00:33:01.419 --> 00:33:02.359 There was an interview, 00:33:02.679 --> 00:33:03.699 so last year, I think, 00:33:03.719 --> 00:33:04.459 or maybe the year before 00:33:04.459 --> 00:33:06.279 was the 20th anniversary of Toy Story. 00:33:06.559 --> 00:33:08.119 If you want to feel a little bit old, 00:33:09.099 --> 00:33:11.839 the 20th anniversary of the first Toy Story 00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:12.939 was like two years ago. 00:33:13.899 --> 00:33:15.599 There was a Time Magazine interview 00:33:15.599 --> 00:33:19.419 with the creator of Toy Story, Andrew Stanton, 00:33:20.279 --> 00:33:22.119 and he's become very famous since, 00:33:22.199 --> 00:33:23.519 but Toy Story was his first thing. 00:33:23.599 --> 00:33:24.839 He went on to do Wall E, 00:33:25.079 --> 00:33:27.179 and Finding Nemo, and Finding Dory, 00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:28.059 and The Monsters, Inc., 00:33:28.059 --> 00:33:29.659 and all these other movies. 00:33:30.579 --> 00:33:32.480 And the Time Magazine article asked him 00:33:32.480 --> 00:33:34.559 if there's anything that he would change 00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:35.740 about the original Toy Story. 00:33:36.179 --> 00:33:37.899 If he could go back and redo it right now, 00:33:37.919 --> 00:33:38.599 would he change anything? 00:33:39.740 --> 00:33:43.059 And he said that he's always had one scene in mind 00:33:43.059 --> 00:33:45.579 that he wished he could add two seconds to. 00:33:46.039 --> 00:33:47.000 You know which scene it was? 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:48.559 The one we just talked about. 00:33:49.219 --> 00:33:50.699 The one where Woody is in jail 00:33:50.699 --> 00:33:52.379 and Buzz is on the other side. 00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:54.740 Because here's the thing that happens 00:33:54.740 --> 00:33:55.619 in that scene, by the way. 00:33:55.639 --> 00:33:56.559 I didn't mention this earlier. 00:33:57.379 --> 00:34:00.339 After Woody looks at Buzz and says, 00:34:00.799 --> 00:34:01.939 there's a kid in that house over there 00:34:01.939 --> 00:34:02.740 who thinks you're the greatest, 00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:05.279 and it's not because you're a space ranger. 00:34:05.359 --> 00:34:06.079 It's because you're a toy. 00:34:06.199 --> 00:34:07.000 It's because you're his toy. 00:34:07.819 --> 00:34:08.659 Got that part memorized. 00:34:09.719 --> 00:34:11.159 Buzz looks down at his foot, 00:34:11.159 --> 00:34:15.599 and he sees Andy written on his foot. 00:34:17.039 --> 00:34:18.679 And that's the moment that he gets it. 00:34:19.379 --> 00:34:21.339 What Andrew says that he wished he could do 00:34:21.339 --> 00:34:23.239 is he would go back in and add two seconds. 00:34:24.399 --> 00:34:26.399 And as soon as Buzz looks down at his foot 00:34:26.399 --> 00:34:27.980 and sees Andy written on his foot, 00:34:28.039 --> 00:34:29.299 he would look across the crate, 00:34:30.619 --> 00:34:32.539 and Woody would do the same thing. 00:34:33.659 --> 00:34:34.859 And here's what Stanton said. 00:34:34.920 --> 00:34:35.159 He said, 00:34:35.159 --> 00:34:36.639 I would have him look over 00:34:36.639 --> 00:34:38.940 and see Andy also written on Woody's foot 00:34:38.940 --> 00:34:41.359 just to make the extra bit of connection 00:34:41.359 --> 00:34:42.899 about how they're brothers 00:34:42.899 --> 00:34:45.219 and that they both have value. 00:34:48.059 --> 00:34:50.059 There's not a better definition 00:34:50.059 --> 00:34:52.319 of evangelism than that. 00:34:53.619 --> 00:34:55.500 To look across this community, 00:34:56.339 --> 00:34:58.039 to look across this congregation, 00:34:58.799 --> 00:35:01.960 to look across the cubicle in the classroom, 00:35:01.960 --> 00:35:05.559 and to know that they have value. 00:35:08.260 --> 00:35:09.440 You have value. 00:35:12.220 --> 00:35:14.099 God's name is written on your life. 00:35:14.740 --> 00:35:16.539 It's what we believe with baptism. 00:35:18.340 --> 00:35:20.440 God's name is written across your life. 00:35:21.280 --> 00:35:22.920 But to look out in our community 00:35:22.920 --> 00:35:25.559 and to share that value 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:27.380 with the world around us. 00:35:27.740 --> 00:35:29.159 That's the invitation today. 00:35:29.960 --> 00:35:30.519 And Jesus said, 00:35:30.519 --> 00:35:31.280 just so I tell you, 00:35:31.340 --> 00:35:32.019 there is joy 00:35:32.019 --> 00:35:33.900 before the angels of God 00:35:33.900 --> 00:35:34.759 over one sinner 00:35:34.759 --> 00:35:36.019 who repents. 00:35:36.759 --> 00:35:37.480 Would you pray with me? 00:35:42.780 --> 00:35:43.679 Jesus, thank you 00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:44.820 that you give us a parable 00:35:44.820 --> 00:35:46.800 to remind us of our place 00:35:46.800 --> 00:35:48.400 and our hope. 00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:52.059 The reality is that all of us 00:35:52.059 --> 00:35:52.820 are wandering 00:35:52.820 --> 00:35:54.460 too many times 00:35:54.460 --> 00:35:56.780 far from the fold of God, 00:35:57.000 --> 00:35:58.400 but you've rescued us 00:35:58.400 --> 00:35:59.019 from danger, 00:35:59.019 --> 00:36:00.579 interpose your precious blood. 00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:01.579 Jesus, you have come. 00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:02.360 You have come 00:36:02.360 --> 00:36:03.360 to rescue your sheep. 00:36:04.780 --> 00:36:06.679 I pray that we would respond 00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:09.239 and be overwhelmed 00:36:09.239 --> 00:36:11.139 with the great love 00:36:11.139 --> 00:36:11.800 that you have 00:36:11.800 --> 00:36:13.000 for us, 00:36:13.179 --> 00:36:13.599 your children. 00:36:14.079 --> 00:36:14.900 For any in here 00:36:14.900 --> 00:36:15.960 who are not yet 00:36:15.960 --> 00:36:17.539 home, 00:36:18.219 --> 00:36:19.780 not yet found, 00:36:19.860 --> 00:36:21.099 I pray that you would find them 00:36:21.099 --> 00:36:21.659 even today. 00:36:23.440 --> 00:36:24.759 That they would respond 00:36:24.759 --> 00:36:26.019 to your loving invitation 00:36:26.019 --> 00:36:26.940 to lie down 00:36:26.940 --> 00:36:27.699 and be rescued. 00:36:29.259 --> 00:36:29.820 And God, 00:36:29.900 --> 00:36:30.759 call us to go, 00:36:31.400 --> 00:36:31.880 to go, 00:36:32.179 --> 00:36:33.619 to go out with you, 00:36:33.759 --> 00:36:34.880 to be a part of your mission 00:36:34.880 --> 00:36:36.239 into this community. 00:36:37.119 --> 00:36:38.420 For your glory alone, 00:36:38.500 --> 00:36:39.619 we ask in Jesus' name. 00:36:39.840 --> 00:36:40.039 Amen. 00:36:40.039 --> 00:36:45.659 For more information, 00:36:46.039 --> 00:36:46.960 visit us online 00:36:46.960 --> 00:36:48.259 at southwood.org. 00:36:48.260 --> 00:36:49.560 in respect Instagram. 00:37:00.620 --> 00:37:01.200 you 00:37:01.200 --> 00:37:01.660 In Japan, 00:37:01.660 --> 00:37:07.060 to be orn't 00:37:10.680 --> 00:37:14.240 in the kiss of the 00:37:14.420 --> 00:37:15.000 moon.