WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.400 turn with me to Luke chapter 15, page 1048. As we continue to think together summer evenings about 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:18.300 some of the questions, some of the many questions that Jesus asked in His conversations and in His 00:00:18.300 --> 00:00:26.400 teaching, here we come to this chapter with a famous trilogy of lost and found stories. We're 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:34.280 just going to read the first, and we'll discover a searching question here in verse 4. 00:00:35.200 --> 00:00:42.299 Now, the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering round to hear Jesus, but the Pharisees 00:00:42.299 --> 00:00:49.840 and the teachers of the law muttered, this man welcomes sinners and eats with them. Then Jesus 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:55.439 told them this parable, suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. 00:00:56.239 --> 00:01:02.379 Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 00:01:02.899 --> 00:01:09.679 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends 00:01:09.679 --> 00:01:17.780 and neighbors together and says, Rejoice with me, I have found my lost sheep. I tell you that in the 00:01:17.780 --> 00:01:25.379 same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:32.480 righteous people who do not need to repent. So, I imagine we come to a lost and found story. 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:41.159 It's a question and a story that we can relate to. Something valuable goes missing. There is a search 00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:47.700 that brings with it difficulty and cost. And if there's a good happy ending, there's joy at the 00:01:47.700 --> 00:01:58.879 discovery. I once lost my sister-in-law's puppy when we were house-sitting. Here's a terrible story. 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:04.899 I hadn't realized, leaving the little puppy out in the garden, that the side gate was open. 00:02:05.759 --> 00:02:11.180 Five minutes later, going to call him back in, nowhere to be found. Well, panic was the immediate 00:02:11.180 --> 00:02:18.900 reaction, followed by a quick family prayer. And then a desperate search and rescue operation 00:02:18.900 --> 00:02:23.400 took place. I won't tell you where it was, so you don't know whose puppy it was. But anyway, 00:02:23.400 --> 00:02:28.760 after about five minutes, we found a found said dog, and there was much joy. I didn't put him on my 00:02:28.760 --> 00:02:36.740 shoulders, but I did carry him in my arms, lest I lose him again. We can probably resonate with 00:02:36.740 --> 00:02:43.159 stories like that. Jesus questioned, if you lost something valuable, wouldn't you search for it? 00:02:43.800 --> 00:02:49.379 Well, I'll say, of course we would. But of course, whenever we listen to a story of Jesus, 00:02:49.379 --> 00:02:55.799 it's more than just a normal story operating at the human level, can we relate to this story as it 00:02:55.799 --> 00:03:05.039 speaks to us about God, about His character, about His grace? To rephrase the question, if God lost 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:13.599 something valuable to Him, would He search for it? And again, the answer is yes. And how do we know that? 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:21.659 Because Jesus is God, and Jesus is on a mission to search and to find those who are lost. 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:26.639 So it's a question, it's a story that we can relate to, and I think it's a story as well that 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:35.060 resonates with hearts, and it always has done since the earliest times of the church. If you have a look 00:03:35.060 --> 00:03:44.620 at the art from the early centuries of the Good Shepherd story, you'll find, Jerem Barz in one of 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:50.259 his books makes this observation, that there's a difference between the kind of images that we have 00:03:50.259 --> 00:03:57.159 today of the Good Shepherd story, where it's always sunshine, and when there's always smiles, and 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:02.480 everything looks really clean and cuddly. If you were to look at the art of the early church, you would 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:11.439 see a shepherd who was dirty and weary and bloodied. And Jerem Barz says it's because the early church 00:04:11.439 --> 00:04:21.539 always saw the cross in the story. They understand that Jesus is the shepherd and that the final 00:04:21.539 --> 00:04:28.360 destination, the way for Him to rescue, will be through His own death so that lost sinners can be found. 00:04:28.360 --> 00:04:35.860 It resonated with people like John Newton. John Newton, the slave trader who became a Christian 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:42.660 pastor. You know his famous hymn, Amazing Grace. He never got over that sense that God's grace would 00:04:42.660 --> 00:04:49.960 come to a wretch like him. He used the image of lost but found within that first verse. Even the day 00:04:49.960 --> 00:04:56.240 before he died, he gave this testimony to a friend. Although my memory is fading, I remember two things. 00:04:56.240 --> 00:05:04.259 One, I am a great sinner. And two, Jesus is a great Savior, the Savior that sought him out. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:12.759 Well, we're going to this evening let this question search us today. So, as we think about the story, 00:05:12.840 --> 00:05:19.439 we'll also be thinking about what is God like? How does a person enter the kingdom of God? 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:25.779 How are we to relate to those who have turned from God and who are lost spiritually? 00:05:27.459 --> 00:05:33.759 Let's begin by thinking about the theme of this story. It's a simple story, but it's a powerful 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:39.519 story. Those two motifs are there. The object of great value which has been lost, the sheep, 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:45.420 and the search of great difficulty and cost that is undertaken. And then there is our question 00:05:45.420 --> 00:05:52.960 in verse 4. It's a rhetorical question. Of course, if a shepherd loses one of his sheep, 00:05:53.100 --> 00:06:00.720 he will go and search for it. It's part of his income, his livelihood. Each one is precious to him. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:06.180 Just to help us to visualize for a couple of minutes to recognize that the story of shepherding 00:06:06.180 --> 00:06:11.259 in Palestine, different from the story of shepherding in Scotland. In Scotland, you will find the vast 00:06:11.259 --> 00:06:18.500 majority of sheep are fenced in, so grazing is safe and they can be left and the shepherd doesn't need 00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:25.740 to tend them. But in Palestine, the sheep had to be kept in a walled sheep pen at night, and then the 00:06:25.740 --> 00:06:32.060 shepherd would come in the daytime, lead the sheep to where the pasture land was out in the open country, 00:06:32.399 --> 00:06:36.800 and would then lead them back at the end of the day to put them safely back in the pen. Well, 00:06:36.800 --> 00:06:43.740 obviously, on this day, as Jesus tells the story, a count is being made, and a discovery comes that one 00:06:43.740 --> 00:06:52.699 of the hundred has been lost. There is this moment of dilemma, what should the shepherd do? There's 99 00:06:52.699 --> 00:07:00.560 that are in the open country, so there's a level of risk involved. But he decides to go on 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:08.399 the search. As Jesus tells the story, he doesn't use many words, but we know that this must have been 00:07:08.399 --> 00:07:13.639 a long and hard search, because the sheep has obviously gone a long way. It's so tired, it can't 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:21.199 really walk, so he has to put it on his shoulders. Maybe some of us have got a farming background, 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:26.699 maybe many of us don't. For the people in Jesus' day, they were kind of farming people. They'd be 00:07:26.699 --> 00:07:33.360 fairly familiar with this kind of scene. As is often the case when Jesus tells his parables, 00:07:33.639 --> 00:07:38.740 there are many things that are ordinary, but it's the details that are surprising that we need to look 00:07:38.740 --> 00:07:48.339 out for. It's the exaggerated details that contain Jesus' point. The exaggeration, the surprising detail 00:07:48.339 --> 00:07:57.539 we find in verses 5 and 6, it's in the joy. When the shepherd finds the sheep, verse 5, he joyfully 00:07:57.539 --> 00:08:02.839 puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 00:08:02.959 --> 00:08:12.339 rejoice with me, I have lost. I have found my lost sheep. Now think about it in a day when to gather a 00:08:12.339 --> 00:08:19.060 a community together for rejoicing would have involved a feast. The value of the feast he's 00:08:19.060 --> 00:08:24.859 about to throw is no doubt greater than the value of the sheep that's been recovered. But such is his 00:08:24.859 --> 00:08:32.019 joy that he doesn't care. The whole village is invited to share, to enter into his good news. One sheep has 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:39.759 been lost and now it's found. He wants the whole town to celebrate. Another lost and found story, this 00:08:39.759 --> 00:08:51.460 time from closer memory. My friend will remain nameless. It lost his office keys some time ago and hunted 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:59.419 high and low. Couldn't find the keys anywhere. Came round for dinner. We heard the story and he left. We 00:08:59.419 --> 00:09:09.240 prayed. Two minutes later, the bell went. Joyful discovery. The keys that were nowhere to be found, all of a 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:14.639 sudden we're found. And here's the thing. So it's wonderful to share in the joy of that kind of story, 00:09:14.720 --> 00:09:20.960 to remember that prayer works. But here's the thing. There was joy, but as far as I know, there was no 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:28.899 celebration party. There was no festival. There was no feasting for friends and neighbors, even though 00:09:28.899 --> 00:09:37.700 these valuable keys had been discovered. Jesus is telling us that this shepherd has a remarkable 00:09:37.700 --> 00:09:49.180 capacity for joy. His joy runs deep. He has a personal joy that he wants all around to share in. 00:09:50.120 --> 00:09:57.220 As C.S. Lewis said, sharing is that thing that completes our joy. You find something that you 00:09:57.220 --> 00:10:03.660 want to celebrate, a nice meal, a good movie. There's that sense of completion when you pass that 00:10:03.659 --> 00:10:10.339 recommendation on, and a friend enjoys it too. So there is a surprise in the depth of the joy of the 00:10:10.339 --> 00:10:16.779 shepherd. But as Jesus tells the story, the surprises are not done yet because he goes on to explain 00:10:16.779 --> 00:10:28.299 his story. In the same way, there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents. 00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:33.959 This isn't just a story about a happy shepherd. This is a story about the heart of God, 00:10:34.379 --> 00:10:39.279 about his saving grace, about the mission of God, about the joy of God in salvation. 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:47.620 And so as Jesus paints this simple word picture, he is highlighting vital truths for us. 00:10:48.839 --> 00:10:51.819 That the shepherd in the story, he values the lost sheep. 00:10:51.820 --> 00:11:00.379 But our God in heaven places more value on sinners who have wandered from him. 00:11:01.400 --> 00:11:10.340 This shepherd goes on a difficult journey to seek out lost sheep. The gospel tells us that God in Christ 00:11:10.340 --> 00:11:18.340 Jesus pursues people out of love going all the way to the cross that the lost might be found. 00:11:18.340 --> 00:11:27.580 The shepherd, he shares his joy with a village. The God in heaven shares his greater joy 00:11:27.580 --> 00:11:35.420 with the hosts of heaven, whenever a lost sinner repents and is found. There's wonderful themes in 00:11:35.420 --> 00:11:40.620 this story. We're going to come back to them. But what we need to do as well is to move from thinking 00:11:40.620 --> 00:11:47.920 about our theme to thinking about how our theme is then applied to the audience of Jesus' day, 00:11:47.919 --> 00:11:56.219 or rather the audiences. Because Luke highlights for us that there is a mixed group who is listening 00:11:56.219 --> 00:12:01.379 to Jesus, and each one needs to hear the truth of his teaching, but they need to hear it in a 00:12:01.379 --> 00:12:09.399 particular way. So let's move on from the theme to think about the audience together. But before we do 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:14.699 that, a quote I came across from a Michael Horton book called Putting Amazing Back Into Grace, 00:12:14.700 --> 00:12:25.060 a very good little book, he says in that book, grace is the gospel. The extent to which we are unclear about 00:12:25.060 --> 00:12:33.500 who does what in salvation is the degree to which we will obscure or make unclear the gospel. 00:12:34.300 --> 00:12:42.060 At a time when moralism, self-righteousness, and self-help dominate in much of evangelical preaching 00:12:42.059 --> 00:12:47.759 and publishing, we desperately need a return to this message of grace. Okay, so that's Michael 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:54.379 Horton's commentary. I guess that was on late 20th century, maybe early 21st century. American church, 00:12:54.699 --> 00:12:58.500 probably Western Christianity in general, but he could have been describing the first century of 00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:07.979 Jesus' day as well. The dominant religious teachers were the Pharisees, and their system of religion 00:13:07.980 --> 00:13:15.139 religion was one of moralism and self-righteousness and self-help. And so as Jesus tells the story, 00:13:15.180 --> 00:13:19.879 he's telling it in that context, and so he wants the audience to hear a different message, 00:13:20.420 --> 00:13:27.399 a message about God's grace, which is good news for all people, to make absolutely clear that when it 00:13:27.399 --> 00:13:32.659 comes to salvation, it is God who takes the initiative, it is God who acts to save sinners, 00:13:32.659 --> 00:13:38.980 at the same time making clear that you do not and you cannot save yourself. A lost sheep without a 00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:47.120 shepherd will always be lost. And he also wants this to be the message that people believe and that they 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:54.839 pass on to the world. So we need to think about these three audiences. There are two that are stated, 00:13:54.980 --> 00:13:59.939 and there's one that's implied. And think about how do they hear this searching question, 00:13:59.940 --> 00:14:08.220 this story of the search. The first audience we meet in verse 1. Now the tax collectors and sinners 00:14:08.220 --> 00:14:15.180 were all gathering round to hear Jesus. This was a common label that was applied from the religious 00:14:15.180 --> 00:14:20.880 authorities, you are sinners. One of the really interesting things as you read the Gospels is how 00:14:20.880 --> 00:14:27.980 often these sinners, these religious social outcasts crowd around Jesus. If you've ever stopped to ask, 00:14:27.980 --> 00:14:36.100 why is that? It's certainly because he's a different kind of a preacher. The method of Jesus is entirely 00:14:36.100 --> 00:14:41.240 different. For a Pharisee, their whole system was based on separation, let me stay apart from you, 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:49.220 whereas Jesus welcomes in feasts. And his message was so different from theirs as well. He spoke of grace 00:14:49.220 --> 00:14:55.580 and mercy, announcing that he was a spiritual doctor who came for the spiritual sick to bring healing, 00:14:55.580 --> 00:15:01.400 whereas the Pharisees spoke a word of judgment and condemnation. 00:15:04.560 --> 00:15:09.280 But we can think about these tax collectors and sinners. They're like the black sheep of the family. 00:15:09.400 --> 00:15:14.400 You know that phrase? Well, the tax collectors and sinners, they are the equivalent of the black 00:15:14.400 --> 00:15:20.860 sheep within religious society. They just don't fit. They have wandered from God. They've wandered from 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:25.980 His word. They've wandered from worship. And so, they are despised and they are rejected. 00:15:27.720 --> 00:15:35.680 So again, why does Jesus feast with them? That's the accusation. It's the muttering of verse 2, 00:15:35.740 --> 00:15:42.720 isn't it? This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. And why does this Jesus tell the story of a 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:52.840 shepherd who is eager to seek and to find those who are lost? And again, it's because this is His mission. 00:15:53.680 --> 00:15:59.259 This is the love that He has. This is Jesus doing the work of God. 00:16:02.560 --> 00:16:11.540 We began with Isaiah chapter 25, verse 6. We had that wonderful promise of the Lord of grace throwing this 00:16:11.539 --> 00:16:19.000 great lavish feast. And that feast wasn't just for a restricted number and for a certain type of 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:29.259 people. It was a feast for all people. Grace runs wide. We're going to close singing a version of Psalm 23. 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:37.000 Psalm 23, the shepherd's psalm. How is God pictured in that psalm? He is a shepherd, but He's the King, 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:45.820 and He's the host of a great feast. This is Jesus. He's come to do God's work as the Son of God. 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:52.639 And so, what Jesus does in His ministry and in this story is He is inviting people into fellowship. And 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:58.720 to be invited into fellowship with Jesus is to be invited into fellowship with God. He says, 00:16:58.899 --> 00:17:03.120 come to the feast, not on the basis of your personal merit and performance, 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:09.960 but come on the basis of grace. That's why people crowded, because they were hearing God's message. 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:18.720 Or think about Ezekiel 34 that we read, where God the Lord announces that He Himself would come 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:24.799 and be the shepherd. Later in that chapter, He says, I will send someone from the line of David to be 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:31.400 shepherd. This is Jesus. He is God's King. He is the Lord Himself. And He's come on this rescue 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:42.040 mission to seek out, to rescue the strays, to bring them home. He says it in as many words in John chapter 00:17:42.040 --> 00:17:53.560 10, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for His sheep. So, this story speaks of 00:17:53.559 --> 00:18:01.960 a search and rescue mission, which speaks to the mission of God. Jesus says, of course, a shepherd 00:18:01.960 --> 00:18:10.460 will seek out the lost. So, for sinners, as they hear this story, this question speaks hope. Jesus isn't 00:18:10.460 --> 00:18:17.819 like those false shepherds who will take advantage but ultimately betray. He is a shepherd who considered 00:18:17.819 --> 00:18:25.079 His sheep to be precious. And so, He brings a promise of salvation, a promise of fellowship with 00:18:25.079 --> 00:18:32.799 God to whoever would trust in Him, regardless of background. That's the first audience. The second 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:38.460 audience, we find in verse 2, we've already mentioned them, they're the Pharisees and the teachers of the 00:18:38.460 --> 00:18:43.500 law. Again, we read the Gospels. They're often crowding around as well, but for a very different 00:18:43.500 --> 00:18:50.099 reason, they want to criticize. They want to complain. Here, they want to mutter, this man 00:18:50.099 --> 00:18:58.519 welcomes sinners and eats with them. In Jesus' day, Pharisees, religious elite, who are the people in 00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:03.039 Jesus' day most devoted to God's service and laws? You ask any person on the street, they say the Pharisee. 00:19:04.119 --> 00:19:07.460 Who are the most honorable people in society? They'd say the Pharisee. 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:15.460 But they were self-righteous. They set themselves up as moral judges over others. They're the ones who 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:25.819 mark people out as black sheep so that they would be excluded, keeping distance to avoid being morally 00:19:25.819 --> 00:19:35.640 contaminated. Their message, you want to earn a place at our table? You need to be like us. You want to 00:19:35.640 --> 00:19:42.000 find salvation. You want God to be pleased with you. You must be sincere and good living and law-abiding 00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:52.640 and be just like us. It's a very different message, a message that divided, a message that condemned. 00:19:53.780 --> 00:20:00.100 And so, when Jesus tells the story and He asks the question, He's really challenging them and providing 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:12.419 a warning. Jesus is saying, don't you see? I am the good shepherd. This is my joy to seek and to save 00:20:12.419 --> 00:20:18.779 the lost. If God has joy in rescuing lost people, if you claim to be the people of God, you must share 00:20:18.779 --> 00:20:30.420 that. That must be your heart. As He tells the story, He's warning them. You don't share the joy of God the Father. 00:20:31.379 --> 00:20:34.779 You don't know His heart. You don't know His values. 00:20:37.379 --> 00:20:40.259 They're the false shepherds. They're the bad shepherds. 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:41.940 They're the false shepherds. It's spoken of. 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:44.619 They're the false shepherds. They're the false shepherds. They're the false shepherds. 00:20:44.619 --> 00:20:54.339 They think they don't need to repent. They think they don't need grace from God through faith in Jesus. 00:20:55.839 --> 00:20:59.799 And they need to hear that warning. So long as you stay in that condition, 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:07.500 there's no rejoicing in heaven over you. And you don't have the joy of heaven in your heart. 00:21:07.500 --> 00:21:16.380 You need to change. There needs to be humility. There's a third audience. This is the implied 00:21:16.380 --> 00:21:22.019 audience. This is the disciples. We can say the audience implied because the disciples were always 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:30.519 with Jesus. He called them to follow Him, to learn from Him, to watch His actions, to listen to His 00:21:30.519 --> 00:21:38.639 words, and they will be sent to represent Him. I think it's important for us to remember that the 00:21:38.639 --> 00:21:43.460 disciples, like everybody else, they grew up in a religious society, in a religious system that was 00:21:43.460 --> 00:21:49.980 dominated by the Pharisees and their teaching. So, they would have grown up surrounded by this idea 00:21:49.980 --> 00:21:57.460 that religion involves separation, that religion involves self-righteousness. And so, the disciples 00:21:57.460 --> 00:22:02.200 need to relearn and to unlearn as they've now been called as disciples of Jesus. 00:22:03.720 --> 00:22:09.579 They're saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone. They're saved by a grace which welcomes sinners, 00:22:09.720 --> 00:22:16.819 which welcomes rebels. That was hope for them, and that's hope for anybody. And so, as those who are 00:22:16.819 --> 00:22:23.740 called to follow Jesus and who will represent Jesus, they need to be clear on their messaging, 00:22:23.740 --> 00:22:36.220 that they speak of grace, that they speak of good news, and that their message should also shape 00:22:36.220 --> 00:22:45.980 their method, that they should speak of their Master and live like their Master. Just as Jesus, 00:22:46.380 --> 00:22:52.980 as the Son of God, could speak of God's love and show God's love, so disciples of Jesus 00:22:52.980 --> 00:23:01.759 are to point away from ourselves to God's love in Jesus. But we're also to love like Jesus. 00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:07.579 So, as they listen to this story, as they hear the question being asked, it becomes for them a call 00:23:07.579 --> 00:23:17.240 to mission and how they will do mission. Will they say no to the Pharisees' way of exclusion and barrier? 00:23:17.240 --> 00:23:26.799 Will they say yes to this model of sacrificial service? Will they point to and celebrate God's 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:29.480 grace as it's found in Jesus, the Shepherd King? 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:36.960 Well, having spoken about the theme and thought about the audience, it's important for us to circle 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:45.160 back and to think about the lessons that we can draw for ourselves. I think one of the challenges of 00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:50.940 public communication, at least a good number of us here are involved in teaching in different ways, 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:55.360 or preaching, or if you're involved in marketing, or any kind of environment where you're speaking to 00:23:55.360 --> 00:24:02.840 a mixed group, how well do we know them? Can I make my message connect with them? Can be really challenging. 00:24:04.580 --> 00:24:10.660 As we encounter Jesus in the Gospels, we encounter the greatest communicator the world will ever know. 00:24:10.660 --> 00:24:18.019 And he is able on this day to speak to a mixed crowd, a message they all need to hear in their 00:24:18.019 --> 00:24:24.500 own particular way. And he tells a story and asks a question that's actually big enough to ask a 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:31.240 question of everybody in the whole world. Today, in this small crowd, this gathering, there is a message 00:24:31.240 --> 00:24:42.099 of Jesus for each one of us, regardless of where we find ourselves. If we identify primarily as a sinner, 00:24:43.500 --> 00:24:50.980 if we think before God we are rebels, that we've wandered from Him, if we feel that we are spiritually 00:24:50.980 --> 00:24:59.039 lost and far from home, there is a message of hope and good news here. If we are identifying 00:24:59.039 --> 00:25:04.940 primarily as a religious person, perhaps very sincere and serious about trying to please God, 00:25:05.379 --> 00:25:09.299 performing our religious duties, but perhaps we've lost a sense of joy, 00:25:10.139 --> 00:25:14.619 and the Gospel of Grace has been somewhat obscured, there is a message here for us. 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:21.579 And if we identify with the disciples, if we know that we belong to Jesus, we've been called 00:25:21.579 --> 00:25:28.199 into the family of God and we've been sent out to represent Him in the world, there is a message 00:25:28.199 --> 00:25:38.960 for us too. Three lessons as we close. One lesson that God pursues sinners. Let's return to that truth. 00:25:39.059 --> 00:25:46.139 Why does Jesus tell this parable? Because He wants to tell us something about the work and the heart of God. 00:25:46.140 --> 00:25:55.400 When Jesus eats with sinners, He is doing what God is doing, welcoming people to life with Himself. 00:25:56.860 --> 00:26:02.980 And when in the end of His ministry, Jesus will go to the cross and die for sinners, He is completing 00:26:02.980 --> 00:26:12.040 that rescue mission of God. Dying so that we might live. Being punished so that we might be forgiven. 00:26:12.039 --> 00:26:18.319 Going under the curse of the law. And so that we don't need to live with the fear of being condemned 00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:26.599 by that law that we might know God's blessing, and all because of His grace. And Jesus would have us 00:26:26.599 --> 00:26:32.259 to know we must see God this way. And when we do see God this way, there's great encouragements for us. 00:26:32.259 --> 00:26:42.839 This story reminds us that nobody is beyond God's grace. Nobody here is beyond God's grace. 00:26:43.940 --> 00:26:51.079 The people on our hearts, the people that we think are so far away, maybe the people that we've been 00:26:51.079 --> 00:26:58.460 praying for for years, but there still seems to be resistance and hardness. Nobody is beyond God's grace. 00:26:58.460 --> 00:27:05.940 And so we are to keep on praying, and we are to keep on sharing our faith, understanding that as much as we 00:27:05.940 --> 00:27:14.539 care that people be found by God, God has a far bigger heart and a greater desire to bring salvation. 00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:22.640 We need to be encouraged by the fact that Jesus is this good shepherd. 00:27:22.640 --> 00:27:32.680 The one who seeks us out. The one who will carry us all the way home, and doing that with great joy. 00:27:33.740 --> 00:27:42.380 God pursues sinners. Another lesson which is linked to it is that God is glad to welcome sinners home. 00:27:43.759 --> 00:27:49.060 You know, when we lose something, maybe you've misplaced a passport or a set of keys or a wallet, 00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:58.960 the level of joy that we experience upon discovery is always connected to the value of the object. 00:28:00.019 --> 00:28:06.659 If I lose a pen, maybe we all lose pens, perhaps many of them, and we find the pen, 00:28:07.259 --> 00:28:11.940 our happiness is, you know, fairly small, because even if we can't find that pen, 00:28:12.240 --> 00:28:17.559 we maybe have dozens others around the house. But if we lose a puppy and find it, 00:28:17.559 --> 00:28:26.859 all of a sudden our joy is over the moon. Remember that Jesus paints a picture of extravagant joy. 00:28:28.099 --> 00:28:36.460 God does not save people grudgingly. He is delighted to extend grace. 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:45.559 In fact, the author of the Hebrews talks about the willingness of Jesus to face the shame, 00:28:45.559 --> 00:28:52.779 the scorn, the agony of the cross, and to do so with joy, for the joy set before him. Jesus had joy in 00:28:52.779 --> 00:28:57.359 being our Savior, knowing he was going to please his Father in heaven, knowing that he was going to 00:28:57.359 --> 00:29:08.279 complete the work of saving lost sinners, and joy as he anticipated the future day when he would be with 00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:16.960 his bride, the church forever. God is glad to welcome sinners home. Jesus has joy in saving people. 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:23.700 And so this story says to us, we need to watch out for that, we could call it a Pharisee spirit, 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:31.740 perhaps where we can be critical and judgmental. Perhaps we divide people in our minds, well, 00:29:31.740 --> 00:29:35.319 these are likely candidates. These are not really likely candidates for the kingdom. 00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:43.539 We need to be ready to celebrate God's grace whenever we see it. And to be people and to be 00:29:43.539 --> 00:29:52.279 a church that's eager to extend grace and to extend hospitality and to love and serve like our Savior. 00:29:52.279 --> 00:30:07.099 Savior. And we remember, too, the message of Jesus that the way home involves repentance. As one of the 00:30:07.099 --> 00:30:13.599 Puritans put it, the way into the kingdom is through the low door of humility. And we need to humble 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:20.839 ourselves to recognize our need of Jesus in order to come home. And the third lesson is simply to remind 00:30:20.839 --> 00:30:27.579 that God is the God who searches our hearts. Because this simple story is a God story, it's a story about 00:30:27.579 --> 00:30:36.159 our God. It searches us, it probes us. Helping us to ask, to reflect on questions like, have I received 00:30:36.159 --> 00:30:48.119 this grace from myself? Am I living in God's grace in the present? Will I trust, am I trusting the good 00:30:48.119 --> 00:30:59.079 shepherd to bring me home to God? Have I let God's grace affect and influence how I look at others? 00:31:00.759 --> 00:31:11.459 Is the heart of the good shepherd seen in my life, in my conduct? Have I let God's grace fill me with 00:31:11.460 --> 00:31:20.440 joy? Is that what fuels a life of love and service? That sense of God's amazing grace? 00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:29.819 That the mission of the good shepherd would be our constant hope and joy, even as we're involved in 00:31:29.819 --> 00:31:38.740 that mission ourselves. Well, let me pray as we reflect on that together. Father God, we thank you 00:31:38.740 --> 00:31:41.220 for this simple...