In previous Parables, we see Jesus Express the father's
desire. That the loss be saved in Luke,
the 14th chapter and verses 15 through 20 for you.
Remember that Jesus gave the parable of the great supper and
in that Parable we find revealed their the father's desire.
That a man would enjoy the wonderful blessings that are
found in his kingdom. You remember that Jesus had just
finished a lesson on humility. And in the beginning of the book
of Luke, the fourth chapter and verse 15.
The Bible says and when one of them that sat at meat with him,
heard these things. He said unto him.
Blessed is he that eat bread in the kingdom of God?
And then in verse number 16 you remember these words that Jesus
said in response to those words, he said a certain man.
Man made a great supper and bade, many.
And the Bible says that that a servant was sent from the master
or the lord of the house, at the very time of that Feast to say
that all those that were bidden would come because all things
are now ready. You know, in Oriental custom, I
understand as we've talked about in time past but understanding
this when a great supper or a Feast would be and the
invitation would be extended from the master or the lord of
the house. I understand.
And I am told that this is exactly how it happened.
The invitations went out for prior to the time of the feast
and then just right at the time when all things were prepared
and all things were ready and it was now time to come a servant
would be sent out from the master of the house to go to The
people that had already been bidden to come to the supper and
so that was exactly what would happen.
And that's what Jesus said in that Parable.
He said a servant went out to bid them, or bring those in, or
to tell those that were already invited that all things are now
ready. You know.
Jesus said so sadly, that they begin.
As we know the story, they began to all make excuse They begin to
reject the invitation that was extended.
That was a wonderful invitation. They had other things in their
life that they found and deemed to be more important than coming
to the great supper. I want you to know something,
it's very important though and understanding that Parable that
Jesus gave so long ago, they had plenty of opportunity to
rearrange their schedules. If need be to put the great
feast. And the great supper of first
and foremost by way of importance in their life but
they did not realizing they had already been bidden.
Such a wonderful supper. The Bible says and Jesus
declares that they all begin to make excuse.
And the first one, says those words, he says, I've bought a
piece of ground and therefore, I must go and see it.
You see there was a possession in his life.
That was keeping him from the feast.
The second one said I have bought five, yoke of oxen.
There it is. He said, please have me excused.
He had a business transaction. That was more important.
Well, the third one said, well, I, I've got a wife and I can't
come. There's certainly nothing wrong
with having a wife, I have one myself.
The point being is this and that's the point that Jesus is
conveying. This was a man that had had a
social tie and I'm going to tell you something, whether it is a
business transaction, whether it is a personal possession or
whether it is a social tie or whether it is anything else, in
all the world that might stand in the way of accepting, the
great invitation to the great supper.
It would be wrong. We find though that there's a
Common Thread that sinner woven through these three excuse
makers. And that is simply, they felt
that other things were far more important, you know, very sadly.
As a result. The landowner in the parable
lost his chance to secure a part of Heaven.
In order to get a part of the earth, the businessman missed
the chance to get the world's greatest business partner on his
side in order to go see how his oxen were.
And the third one. Well, he got a wife, you see?
The Lord. Lets us know that often times,
we let trivial things, get, in the way we let trivial things
stand, in the way of service to the almighty God.
But you know what Jesus said, Jesus said that the Master of
the House said, as a result of those, that had rejected the
Masters invitation, he said you go out quickly into the streets
and into the lanes and bring in the poor.
And the maimed and the Halt and the blind.
You know what, I think of when I think of that, I think of the
society that we live in, it's a very, very competitive Society,
our children begin to compete in a ranking system in the schools.
If they play sports, everything is based upon competition.
And by the way, there's absolutely nothing wrong with
good wholesome. Competition it is good for us.
I'm not saying That what I am saying though, is from the time
that we are small children, we begin to compete and the strong
survives, the best, go to the top, the best in every category,
rise to the very top in every field.
But you know, what's very encouraging to me?
Jesus said all those that are poor, all those that are maimed,
all those that are halt, all those that are blind, the world
rejects them. And Jesus said, I want them.
He said, I want every one of them.
I want everyone to come into the feast, and the Bible says that
the servant said Master, we have done just as you have said, but
there's still room. He said you go outside the city.
Now, when you go into the hedges, you go into the
highwomen. ways you reach out and you get anyone that will
come And so the Bible says that the servant said it is done as
thou Hast commanded. Yes indeed, there's a ray of
Hope there for all of mankind and that is this that there's
always room for one more. You remember that?
Jesus also gave the parable of counting the cost.
You would remember that prior to the things that we're going to
talk about tonight. That he said that one that would
come to him is one that is likened unto a man that is going
to build a Our, how awful would it be for a man?
Jesus says in essence, to build a tower, and start building.
And by the way, this was those Vineyard owners that would build
the Tower in the middle of their Vineyard to have a tower that
they needed in that they might be able to look over their
landscape of their land, and make sure no one is going to
take that which is theirs or to destroy their property.
So these individuals that were there, that day, these Big shots
as it were in the religious World, they were listening to
Jesus. They were Jews and they
understood just exactly what he said and what he meant.
Because they knew about building Towers in the middle of
Vineyards. And the Bible says Jesus says to
them, that when these towers were being built, just suppose
someone began to build But never counted the cost.
And couldn't finish. Oh, he would say that people
would look to them. Like they were foolish, how sad
it is. They would say this man began to
build, but he was not able to finish very sadly tonight.
I hope we understand, we're not talking about towers and
buildings. Jesus is talking about those
that have not sat down and counted the cost and
contemplated completeness in their Christian Life, how sad it
is. Those That have come to the
great, supper have come in obedience to the gospel but have
turned their back on that which is right.
Well here we go. Now we as we look at the setting
of this Parable you remember that the publicans or the tax
collectors and the Sinners draw near to Jesus.
You know I can think of nothing better than the Sinners or the
picture of the Sinners Drawing Near to Jesus.
Do you remember when there was a woman and she was a Dinner,
maybe she was a prostitute but this was a great sinner in her
life when she was in the very presence of Jesus.
The Bible says that she washed his feet with her tears and
dried them with her hair. You see, when she was in the
very presence of the Lord, she recognized and realized she was
a sinner. She was overcome with that and
she was greatly appreciative of who Jesus was and the Bible says
that That she was greater than all of those Pharisees who
should have known better. They should have come with their
Alabaster boxes. They should have come and look
to Jesus as a visitor that day and should have washed his feet
and should have been what she was.
But the Bible says that she began to weep in his presence
even as he's she stood behind him.
And with those tears, she wiped this precious feet of Jesus.
And drive them with her tears. But you know, there were so many
people in that day and time they would look to Jesus and they
would discount Jesus and discredit Jesus because they
were Sinners that were drawn to him.
You remember, all of their religion, Elite the scribes and
the Pharisees, they would catch such words in their tongue,
simply being this. This man is not a godly, man.
This man is not a good man. Man is not a righteous man
because this man he eats with publicans and sinners.
Now we know what a Publican is. He was a tax collector.
He was an extortioner. This was a man that was a Jew
but he was an extortioner. Why?
Because he was contracted out by Rome who was the rule over them
and he they were The Hired Gun as it were to those that Rome to
take money or taxes from fellow. Citizens that were Jews.
But you know, they only contracted at the biggest the
highest bidder, those of Rome. They didn't care how much more
than an individual took and extortion, was the game and
these publicans are Tax Collectors took whatever they
wanted and they stuck that in their pocket.
You see? These were the ones that were
attracted to Jesus. The Sinners, the ones that the
world had cast aside, the ones that the world had Forsaken and
said they're no good. What about the Sinners?
What about the prostitutes? What about all of those that had
a horrible reputation? What about those harlots you?
Remember, when Jesus was giving the parable of the two sons?
You remember, when Jesus said those words that have man of a
Vineyard, a Vineyard owner, a husbandman, he has two sons, And
He commands, both of those Sons to go into the vineyard and
labor there. The first one says, I'm not
going, but then Jesus says he later repents.
And then he goes the second one, though.
The second one from the very GetGo.
He accepts the idea and he says, I will do it, but he doesn't go.
And Jesus looked at all these religious, he'll eat all of the
lawyers, all of the Pharisees, all of the scribes.
And Jesus said in Matthew, chapter 21 and verse 31, whether
of them Twain did, the will of the father, they say unto him
the first and Jesus saith unto them verily.
I say unto you that the publicans and harlots go into
the kingdom of God before you, for John, came unto you in the
way of righteousness. And you believed him, not.
But the publicans and the harlots believed him and you see
when you had seen it repented, not afterward that, ye might
believe him as they followed, John the Baptist, those Sinners
of the day. So did they follow Jesus?
Because he had something that was better for them.
Well, there were those that would try to discredit him.
There were those that would begin to murmur and those that
would There were indeed those Pharisees and those stripes, but
then Jesus is going to give some instruction, he's going to
preach a sermon with reference to God's love for the Lost.
You think sometimes we might lose sight of that.
Oh, we believe in living a wholesome life, we believe in
doing that, which is right, let's not discredit that.
I'm not saying that at all. I'm not saying that folks that
are living in sin are to be accepted in their sinful State,
because God does not embrace them in their sinful State.
All that simply means is just like, Jesus had all of those
Sinners before him. What did he tell them?
He He told them to repent, he told them to go away and sin.
No more forgiveness was had when a person made the about-face in
their life and decided that they no longer are going to live as a
sinner. It was those people that were
forgiven, but let us never ever lose sight of this fact.
Regardless of what a person does in their life, don't
misunderstand me now. Regardless of what a person does
in their life. God may have poor and hate their
sin, but he loves their soul, he loves their soul, he will never
stop loving the sinner, God hates sin, but loves The Sinner.
And so here we have the parable of the lost sheep to illustrate
their own hypocrisy and inconsistency.
Jesus gave them a glimpse into the very heart of the almighty
God and his great love for Sinners.
I think it's important that we understand that this needs to be
our attitude toward Sinners as well.
Jesus begins with the words and you remember that every single
time Jesus preached a sermon or taught a lesson, he was far
greater than I am far greater than you are.
He didn't have to sit down and figure out what he might say.
Oh no, what Jesus did is Jesus. Got in that very situation that
very element. Something would come up and he
preached the perfect sermon and that's what he did here.
All of those Hypocrites that were there all of those in
consistencies of these men, he said, which one of you Puts it
on there. Would have a sheep.
Which one of you would have a sheep.
You have 100 of them. But one of them leaves, one of
them departs. He said which one of you and the
language there is telling us. He is basically saying in
essence. Every single one of you would do
this very thing that's what he meant when he said which one of
you. And so Jesus says they would do
that very thing. They would go out leaving the
ninety and nine and find that one lost sheep and notice notice
how precious and Priceless it would be to this Shepherd or the
Sheep owner, he would go go out and he would find that one sheep
that was lost away from the flock.
He would pick it up, he would hold it, he would drape it over
his shoulder and he would walk regardless of the amount of
distance or the amount of miles that it would take to go all the
way back to his place with a 99 were.
But you know what Jesus says, then he says not only are you
going to do that? But then you're going to start
rejoicing. You know what else you're going
to do? You're going to bring your
friends over, and they're going to Rejoice too.
He said this, you do it for a sheep.
But that is how God looks at the soul of Sinner.
That the soul of The Sinner that is lost.
His precious, in the eyes of God, and there's greater
rejoicing. When the one that comes into the
fold, that was lost. A lost sheep, is converted and
comes to the fold of the great Shepherd.
There's more rejoicing for that one than for the 99 who are
already just and righteous. Oh we don't want to
misunderstand this point though, we don't want to misunderstand
the point to say that those that are still living faithfully and
those that are Christians and obeyed the gospel prior to that
time are not precious in the eyes of God.
Oh, yes. Indeed.
They are. And if you're a Christian
tonight and you are living your life Faithfully in accordance
with the word of God, then I'm going to tell you something
tonight, the Lord is proud of you, the Lord as needing you to
do his business and the lord loves you too.
But the reason that there's so much joy over a sinner that
repents is because of the other side of the coin, if he no
longer or doesn't repent Eternal Destiny in a devil's.
Hell, I think this tells you and I when we need to have a love
for the lost, the importance of preaching, to the lost, I
understand that we sometimes preach the gospel and we need
not to be weary in hearing the gospel.
If you've been a member of the law, As Church, it doesn't
matter, 50, 60 years. Don't ever get weary and hearing
The Greatest Story Ever Told. Do you still Marvel at the
things in, God's word, where God's plan was fulfilled in the
sending of his son? does it still not move you when
you think about Jesus, on that day, when those nails were
driven into his hands and into his feet, When Jesus lived, the
perfect, perfect life became the perfect sacrifice, and as Jesus
died on the cross, he said those words to his father, it is
finished. What is finished?
God's plan, doesn't it move you to think that?
God did that for you? And for me go never get tired of
hearing the simple gospel. It is the simple gospel that we
must preach to the lost for. We love them.
To remember that old song that we used.
Saying, I love to tell the story.
I love to tell the story for some have never heard the
message of Salvation from God's Own holy work.
I love to tell the story for those who know it.
Best seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the
rest and when it seems of Glory, we sing, the new song will be
the old old story. That I have loved so long, let
us never grow weary and hearing The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Well, let's look now at some lessons gleaned from this.
Parable, we find that there's a tremendous lesson of the love of
God in seeking those that are lost.
God's love is not a waiting. Love, God's love is a seeking
love. God is ever seeking those that
are lost. He is ever reaching out to Oh,
those that are lost. The question is not whether or
not God is reaching and seeking the lost.
The question is, how is he doing?
So? Well, certainly not
miraculously, certainly not directly from Heaven.
Is he going to move us and guide us and have us by the back of
the neck? Guiding us, as he would have us
to go. It goes all the way back as the
Bible says, in John 3:16 for God.
So loved the world that he gave his only begotten And son that
whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have
everlasting life. That's how it began it.
Began that God. So loved the world and that
works. So means in like manner, that
was the type of lovey head, is he sent his son?
All right. He continues to seek and save
the Lost. Through Christians preaching,
the word of God. He's depending on you and I, he
continues to reach out to them to seek and save them that are
lost, but he's counting on you and I and sometimes we let this
become the greatest or best kept secret in town.
But understand this where the Bible says in Matthew 28:19 and
20, this is what Jesus told them to do.
He said go ye therefore and teach All Nations.
Baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the son, and
of the Holy Ghost, but notice teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever. I have commanded you and lo.
I Am With, You Always even to the end of the world.
I want you to understand where the Bible Clearly states there
that not only it is the job of a disciple, a follower of Jesus, a
Christian to take the gospel to the lost and baptize them in the
name of the father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost.
But I want you to understand tonight.
We have a responsibility from that point forward, to give them
something that will sustain them in this life.
Like one man said, one time. Whatever a person is converted
with is what he'll need a steady diet of in order to keep him,
the person is moved with emotion and is converted with emotion.
He's going to need a whole lot of emotion in order to stay in
order to be faithful. But if a person is converted
with God's word, then all he needs is a whole lot more of
God's word. And if we will take that gospel
and take that word of God and instruct it to those and teach
them all things. Things they will remain
faithful. Until the end, you know, I think
it's important. Also that we understand that
That sheep, that was lost. Was lost until he got back with
the 99. The Sheep was not safe until he
got back with the 99. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight
the 99 is the Ark of Safety. The 99 is the Lord's Church.
There is no safe, place or Safe Haven outside of the church.
You know, I realized tonight there are many churches, there
are many religious affiliations in the world.
I know that I'm not concerned about any other affiliation in
all the world. All I'm concerned about tonight.
With is this, the church that he built the one that he promised
that he would build in Matthew chapter 16 when he said I will
build my church and the Gates of Hell shall not Prevail against
it. Oh yes, indeed.
We want to be a part of that. We want to be in the Ark of
Safety. We want to be part of the body
of Christ. There is no salvation apart.
From the Lord's Church, part of the body of Christ is when we
are safe, In the Ark of Safety, a person is lost in the world
until they come to Jesus. You know, sometimes people think
that we can be saved in whatever condition we want to be in
whatever sinful condition, whatever choices we make.
Because Jesus died a long time ago, we can be saved in that
condition. And then over time, God works on
our heart and seeks to change us.
That's not what the Bible teaches.
The Bible teaches, we must change.
First, we must repent. First, we must make the
about-face in our life and make the determination that we are
going to change first. When the gospel is preached in,
all the accounts of New Testament, Biblical history, of
all of the conversions in the book of Acts.
We find that there was an alien ship.
Inner, that was living their life apart from, or away from
God, and then something came to them in their life was another
man, preaching the gospel to them that cause them to make a
change in their heart. It all begins in the heart and
I'm here to tell you tonight, if the heart's not right, there's
nothing right, if the heart is not changed, then a man cannot
change. Sometimes people change their
Direction by there. Actions.
But their heart is far from him. The Bible clearly states when a
person is going to be saved, it is by hearing and hearing by the
word of God, a person comes to hear the gospel when the word of
God, which has the power to save is preached.
It is that word and that power that is affected on the heart of
man. It is that that's going to cause
a man to make a decision. When he hears the word of God,
then he must believe. Eve or not belief.
In order to continue down the path of what a man must do in
order to be saved. Yes, he must believe in Jesus
Christ. He must believe that.
Jesus is who he says he is. That Jesus is the Christ, the
son of the Living. God then, the Bible says that a
person must repent. Now it's the change that we've
been talking about tonight. A person must make the
determination. I am going.
In this direction, I always have I've been going in this
direction but I no longer want to do so, I want to make a
change then a person stands and says those precious wonderful
words. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the son of God. You know, when a person does
that Romans chapter 10 tells us those things are unto or up to
Salvation. But you know something there's
only one way to get into the body of Jesus Christ that we've
talked about tonight. Galatians 3:27 says for as many
as you have been baptized into into Christ have put on Christ.
All of these steps are unto but baptism for the remission of a
man's sins is into Christ. There's no safety.
There's no salvation outside of the body.
Of Christ. Well as Jesus wrapped up these
thoughts. There's one thing that we must
understand from what we've learned.
What about when the Bible says that we are to be separate from
the sinful things that are in the world.
Remember last night we talked about that the righteous needs
not to even travel down the same path as the wicked.
We got to do something different.
How do we work? All that out with the yearning
love and the seeking love that God has and is expecting you and
I to go to the Lost, notice it is true that a Christian must be
separate from the world. Second Corinthians Six and
verses 14 through 18, it is in fact true that we must not be
unequally yoked together with unbelievers.
It is true that we must come out from among them and be separate
saith, the Lord. But this does not mean that we
isolate ourselves from the world for Paul recognized that we
could eat with those in the world.
First Corinthians 5 9 through 11, he instructed those at
Corinth to eat with those in the world.
First Corinthians 10. Seven and 29, Jesus, ate with
the Sinners, but not to partake of their sin or support them in
their sin. He did so in order that he might
redeem them. I'll tell you, if that's your
heart and your motive, there's nothing wrong with going and
seeing someone that is living a sinful life.
Remember what we talked about last night about the word of God
being the seed and Jesus discussed that in the parable of
the sower. And how it all boils down to,
and I said that tonight to the heart of a man.
Well, you know what? Sometimes, when a person hears,
the gospel, the first time their heart is not right yet.
But that doesn't mean that we quit, we have to continue
continue. Continue to teach them what's
found in God's word and prayerfully prayerfully.
They will accept it with a good and honest heart because God is
awaiting. The time that he can give the
increase, you know after all how can we be the salt of the earth
that Jesus spoke about and Matthew 5, if we don't mingle
with the meat, how can we be the light of the world as Jesus said
to be in Matthew 5 on the great Sermon on the Mount?
If we don't shine as lights in darkness, he wants the lost to
be saved, so very badly. Yes, he does.
He wants the lost to turn from the wicked of their ways.
Listen, if God didn't love the Lost, Why would he put into
motion a scheme of redemption of all those years from the time
that Adam and Eve fell in the garden and put a plan together?
That lasted that long that had to bring man gradually back to
God. How would it be that God sent
his only son to die on calvary's cross that he loved with all of
his heart? If he didn't love the center,
well one more thing I'd like to say tonight.
You know, I think it's important that we understand that God also
loves those that are Christians, but they fall away.
But I think it's also important that we look to God's word and
look to another Parable. That Jesus said so long ago, we
don't have time to go into it. I'll not talk long about it.
But in the parable of the prodigal, that was the third and
final Parable that Jesus gave concerning God's yearning and
seeking love for the lost. That's a different story though.
This is a fella. This is a young man that
departs. I think it's important that we
also understand the father never went after the Sun and supported
him in that lifestyle, you know, I think tonight that sometimes
we lose sight of that and we support our loved ones who have
made a horrible decision to go back into the world and do
things. We know are wrong.
And we support them in that and we're going to love them right
on back. You want to love them.
What did the father do? He stayed at home.
And every day, I would imagine. He looked for that boy to
return. Finally, that boy realized that
there was a Detachment between his father and himself.
If a man won't feel that, why would he come back?
the Bible says this young man, finally, one day came to
himself, And when he did notice what he did, he purposed in his
heart first, he said, I'm going to go back, I'm going to go back
to my father. I'm going to say, I have sinned
against heaven. And I've sinned against thee.
I'm no more worthy to be called thy son.
You make me one of your hired servants and that'll be enough.
We know the story. When the young man began to when
he left home, he left looking like the son of the father.
When he came back, he didn't even remotely resemble.
The father son, I'm going to tell you that, no one would have
recognized him that day, not his brother, not the servants, not a
neighbor, he didn't even resemble the one that had left.
But there was one that did know. There was one that did recognize
and that was the father way out in the distance.
You know, why the father saw him in a long distance away he saw
him because he was looking for it.
He's always perfect. He always stands for that, which
is right, but he never stops loving his children when they
fall away. The Bible says, this young man
comes to his father. He can't even get all the words
out before. His father fell on his neck and
kissed him and said, put on the best room.
Put a ring on his hand. Kill the fatted calf.
We're going to eat drink and be merry for my son.
That was lost is now found. Yes, indeed, God loves those
that are lost, one more thing before I step down tonight.
Sometimes we forget, when we tell that story, that there's
another son, He's a prodigal to you ever.
Think of that. Prodigal means, wasteful.
We think the one was a prodigal because he left.
He was a prodigal that left. But there was another son that
was a prodigal that stayed. You know what the problem was
with the second. The problem with the first is
his heart wet first, then he went his, when your heart goes
your life and your body and your actions and your decisions are
soon to follow usually. but this other fella, the older son, his
heart was gone but he remained that tells me something.
That tells me sometimes we can think that we are in good
standing with our God because we come and Assemble.
But we must examine the heart. And if our heart is gone the
Father the same father that's longing for the one that has
departed to come back. Is longing for you to change
your heart. Wouldn't it be sad like Jesus
said about building those Towers to get to the end and realize
there are changes? We should have made But we did.
It'll be too late. What about those awful words
that sometimes we sing almost persuaded.
Almost, but lost. If you're not a Christian
tonight, those are the steps that make you in Christ and wash
your sins away. Hearing the word of God,
believing in Jesus repenting of your past.
Life confess him for, who he is as the Son of God and be
baptized in water tonight. All things are ready.
You can do that and have your sins washed away.
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