Participants:
Series Code: BOLS
Program Code: BOLS000138S
|
00:08 #S072 - Lost & Found (Part 1)
00:20 So do me a favor. 00:21 Stand to your feet as we go to the scriptures today. 00:26 I won't invite you to go with me to the Book of Saint Luke, 00:28 chapter 15. 00:32 Saint Luke, Chapter 15. 00:34 And we'll begin together at verse number one. 00:37 And then I will pick up our excuse this series 00:40 for the final few weeks after we get back from camp, 00:42 meeting Luke, chapter 15 and verse number one. 00:45 When you get there, let me hear you say Amen. 00:48 Luke Chapter 15 and verse one. 00:50 And we will be brief today for in fact, the sermon truly 00:54 is in our sacraments. 00:55 Luke 15 In verse one, you get there, say, Pastor, I'm there. 01:00 The Bible says, 01:02 when all the tax collectors 01:05 and the 01:06 sinners drew near to hear him 01:11 and the Pharisees and describes complaint, say, 01:15 this man receives sinners and eats with them. 01:20 Oh no, Jesus is my kind of guy. 01:22 I love me some Jesus, man. 01:25 I so so he spoke this parable to them 01:29 say what man of you having a hundred sheep, 01:33 if he loses one of them does not 01:35 leave the 99 in the wilderness and go after the one 01:41 which is lost until he what 01:45 the job catch that he keeps on looking 01:49 until he finds it. 01:52 Then the word says, and when he found it, 01:55 he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 01:58 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends 02:02 and neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, 02:05 for I have found my sheep, which was lost. 02:09 I say unto you likewise 02:11 that there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner. 02:16 Who what 02:17 then? 02:18 Over 99 just persons who need no repentance 02:24 for just a little while under God's help. 02:26 I want to talk to you under the subject loss 02:29 and found, lost and found. 02:32 Let's pray together, 02:34 Father, in this little home. 02:37 Would you say much? 02:39 Would you use the vehicle of human words to communicate 02:43 truths that are truly too big for us to grasp? 02:47 So, Lord, my prayer is that your spirit would sit 02:50 upon each word that is spoken, and Lord, 02:54 that you would guide it into the heart of those 02:56 that are hungry to hear your truth. 02:58 So, Lord, would you hide me in the shadows of the cross that 03:02 Jesus alone might be seen, that Christ alone would be heard? 03:07 And at the end of our time together, 03:08 let Jesus alone be praised. 03:11 Bless us. 03:12 To this end, we ask in the wonderful name of Jesus, 03:14 our Lord, let those who believe say together, amen and amen. 03:19 You may be seated in the House of the Lord 03:22 again, talking briefly under the subject, lost 03:25 and found, 03:28 you know, church adjacent to our church office. 03:33 We have a very active lost 03:36 and found center 03:41 in that closet are a number of umbrellas, 03:45 notebooks, Bibles, 03:48 airports and children's toys. 03:51 In fact, most things never go unclaimed 03:54 because many people 03:55 don't even realize they left these things behind. 04:00 But you can tell what people value by 04:03 what they return to claim, 04:06 so that when people leave cellular phones, iPads, car 04:11 keys, they wait in the office with a different energy. 04:17 They search the closet with a desperation. 04:21 They walk up and down the pews with meticulous detail. 04:26 And if they find the last thing, the level of their rejoicing 04:31 is going to always be commensurate with the price 04:34 that they paid for the lost object. 04:37 So if the lost item costs them nothing, 04:40 they won't look very long. 04:42 But if it costs them a whole lot, there is a great 04:46 deal of rejoicing when they actually find it. 04:50 And can I suggest that we see what Christ values 04:54 by what He claimed to came to Earth 04:56 to claim his sacrifice at the cross shows that he pay 05:01 top dollar 05:02 in order to procure our salvation, so that when 05:05 we are lost friends, heaven is not indifferent. 05:10 But heaven grieves over the loss of even one sinner, 05:15 so that when the soul is straying from God, angels 05:19 go to work to minister on our behalf, 05:22 and the Holy Spirit steers us in the direction 05:25 of what is right. 05:26 And when at least one sinner repents. 05:30 I need you to know all of glory throws a party 05:35 because heaven rejoices whenever one that is 05:38 lost found their way in Jesus Christ. 05:42 And I need somebody to know today that you have value 05:45 number one because of the price that Jesus paid 05:49 for your redemption and because Jesus 05:52 is coming again to claim and receive you. 05:56 And I need somebody to know that you got value, 05:59 not because of how much you get paid. 06:02 You got value because of what was paid 06:05 in order to claim yourselves. 06:08 And can the church say man? 06:12 And so quickly, I want to go back to Luke 15 and verse one. 06:16 I want you to see this before I take my seat. 06:18 The Bible says, then all the tax collectors 06:21 and the sinners drew 06:25 near to him to hear him. 06:28 You see, friends, our text today 06:31 is completely swollen with the motifs of God's love. 06:35 But the first thing it teaches us 06:38 is that an authentic witness does not repel sinners 06:43 and authentic witness draws them. 06:45 Let me say it again that that an authentic witness 06:49 or a Christian does not repel sinners. 06:53 They actually drove them. 06:54 And the reason this is critical, 06:56 because at times we struggle to know 07:00 what it means to be peculiar and separate from the world, 07:03 while still 07:04 being relatable enough to reach and impact the world. 07:09 In fact, many of us have believed the idea 07:12 that it is actually righteousness or moral 07:16 uprightness that pushes people away from God. 07:20 We think righteousness actually pushes people away 07:22 from the witness of faith. 07:24 But in our text, friends, we see a different type 07:28 of spectacle beginning to emerge. 07:32 The Bible says that tax collectors and sinners, 07:36 the Bible says sinners drew near to Jesus and understand 07:41 friends that we are all sinners by nature and practice. 07:47 But this designation of sinners means that they were sinners 07:50 by profession, or that they were visibly notorious 07:55 for the sin practices that were visible. 07:58 So that you have the worst kind of sinners 08:01 getting close as they can to Jesus. 08:05 And I need somebody to take notice that sinners 08:08 were drawn to the sin less that 08:11 that sinners were drawn to the one who knew no same, 08:16 the one in whom there was no guile. 08:19 He didn't chase sinners away. 08:22 The sinless one welcomed them in. 08:24 You will not hear me today. 08:26 In other words, His Holiness does not offend sinners. 08:31 His righteousness does not intimidate sinners. 08:34 His purity does not condemn sinners. 08:37 In fact, true righteousness welcomes them and in fact, 08:40 worth friends. 08:41 If I'm reading the Bible correctly, the Bible says 08:44 that sinners drew near to Jesus. 08:48 And in other words, friends. 08:49 They didn't just hear the sermon and go home. 08:52 They spent volunteer time 08:56 in the presence of Jesus and see Beloved. 09:00 There is for some a disconnect of reality. 09:04 Because if sinners love Christ but sinners are afraid 09:08 of his people, 09:09 it means that we need more Christ in our witness. 09:14 You see, friends, 09:15 this is a very stunning chronicle 09:17 because they didn't just hear the sinners and repent, 09:21 but understand that they felt comfortable enough to eat 09:23 with Jesus and fellowship with Jesus 09:27 and spend leisure time in the presence of the Almighty. 09:31 Now, to be clear, Saints, I want you to know 09:32 that they found no endorsement of sin in Christ. 09:37 In other words, he did not participate 09:40 with them in sin he did not condone their sin. 09:43 He did not make excuses for it. 09:45 Because remember, Jesus told the woman 09:48 caught in adultery to go and sing no more. 09:52 He told the man healed at the pool of Bethesda 09:55 to stop sinning unless something worse happened to you. 09:59 In fact, 10:00 every demonic spirit quivered in the presence of the Savior. 10:05 But I love what Ellen White says in the book Desire of Angels. 10:09 She begins to describe the appeal that Jesus had 10:12 to the most hardened sinner. 10:13 She says the reason and that sinners drew near to 10:17 Christ is because in him they saw a way of escape. 10:23 In other words, when they saw Jesus, 10:26 they saw a more excellent way to live. 10:30 In other words, saints hear me on this. 10:32 The life of Jesus was a road map to their wholeness. 10:38 You see, friends, I need you to hear me. 10:40 Because Jesus approached people differently than we do. 10:45 In other words, Jesus did not go around condemning bad habits 10:50 because He knew that bad habits were already condemning them. 10:55 In other words, he didn't go around 10:56 beating up folk because of bad behavior. 11:00 Because bad behavior was already beating them up. 11:02 Y'all still missing it. 11:04 He didn't go around condemning errant practices because error 11:08 in practices were already destroying his people. 11:12 And see, the problem with us 11:13 is that we think that same practices make people happy 11:18 and we've got to beat up the practice 11:20 so they become unhappy with the sin. 11:24 But Jesus already knew that a life of sin takes away your joy. 11:28 It adds to your void. 11:30 It disrupts your contentment. 11:33 So he didn't have to preach righteousness. 11:36 He just showed them the way to righteousness. 11:38 He didn't have to preach godliness. 11:41 He just needed to model godliness. 11:44 And when they show a road map to deliverance, guess what? 11:48 They just jump in line with what Jesus said. 11:53 That's why Jesus says that if you want to see the Father, 11:56 you've got to go through me. 11:57 For I am the way, 12:01 the truth and the life. 12:03 And see, this is the problem. 12:05 Y'all won't get mad at me for a second. 12:07 You see, the issue is in Jesus. 12:10 They saw a way of escape. 12:11 But in us they see their own reflection. 12:17 In other words, the reason they loved him 12:22 was because they saw in his life a way out of what they're in. 12:26 But in some of us, 12:27 they simply see a reflection of where they already are. 12:31 And so 12:32 let me just say this, beloved, 12:33 because sometimes 12:34 in the contemporary church, they see a mirror 12:38 of their own falling. This and hypocrisy. 12:40 You see, I need somebody to know, number one, 12:43 that you will never be able to win the world 12:45 while you're reflecting the world. 12:50 Because see there, these are movements 12:52 of become temporary church 12:54 to try to make the church as secular as we can 12:57 in the name of being relevant to the unchurched. 13:01 But I need you to know 13:02 that the world will never be won by a veggie version of itself. 13:08 And let me just say, number two, 13:10 that if you are joyless as a believer, 13:15 you discredit the very claims and the power of the Gospel. 13:20 In other words, 13:21 if they ain't got no joy in the world 13:25 and you ain't got no joy in the church, 13:27 where y'all at today? 13:28 Why would I leave World Sorrows to be church? 13:31 Pitiful way all that today. 13:33 In other words, I need you to know 13:35 that there ought to be more joy in the church 13:39 than in any club, any casino, any strip joint. 13:44 There ought to be more rejoicing among God's people 13:48 than there are for the people of this world. 13:51 And see, 13:52 this is why you cannot just ascribe to the theory of Christ. 13:56 You've got to embrace 13:57 the reality of Christ, because it is not the theory 13:59 that makes the change. It's the reality. 14:03 Because I need 14:04 you to know that if the divorce rate in the church 14:08 is the same as it is in the world, 14:11 how are they going to see a more excellent way 14:14 if we die of the same cancers that they are? 14:17 You'll not hear me today. 14:19 How are they going to see a more excellent way 14:22 if they pick it up their kids from the same jail 14:25 we get our from. 14:27 How are they going to see a difference in the way 14:30 of the life of the believer? 14:31 You are hearing me today, saints. 14:33 In other words, if in the world they gossip outright 14:37 and you gossip using prayer request, see, 14:44 they reach a place where enough they don't see an escape route. 14:46 They see a mirror 14:49 and see. 14:50 This is what I need you to understand. 14:51 That brokenness identifies with brokenness, 14:55 but brokenness is always drawn to wholeness. 14:58 I need somebody to know that weakness 15:00 is going to always be drawn to strength. 15:03 That void or emptiness is going to always be drawn to fullness. 15:07 I need you to know 15:08 that bondage is going to always be drawn to freedom. 15:13 But the question is, are when they are around 15:15 us, are they drawn to something in us that's different 15:19 than what's in them? 15:22 And see, some of us have limited our witness 15:24 to things that can only be seen with the eyes. 15:28 But see, 15:29 people are not just studying what can be seen with the eyes, 15:32 so they notice that you don't work on the Sabbath. 15:36 But they also notice that on Monday morning 15:37 you come with the same bad 15:38 attitude that everybody else on the job has. 15:42 They notice that you don't wear ornamentation, 15:46 but they also notice that you are missing 15:47 the ornament of joy, humility and the Holy Ghost. 15:52 They notice what you don't put in your mouth, 15:55 but they also notice what comes spewing out of your mouth. 15:59 And I need you to know that sometimes we do ourselves 16:02 a disservice because all we have is the scripted witness. 16:08 We have the Theory of Christ, but we are not displaying 16:10 the experience of Jesus Christ. 16:14 You see, 16:15 I need you to understand, beloved, that people 16:16 will never be one to the truth. 16:17 My information 16:19 is not going to be one to the truth by an experience 16:23 that is so real and transformative 16:26 that they say, I need to get what is operating inside of you. 16:28 I hear here in the past of today church 16:31 this I remember probably about eight 16:32 or nine years ago we were looking for a car 16:34 at that particular time and we're looking for 16:35 an SUV of a particular sort. 16:37 And I remember we went to one particular car lot 16:40 and there was very a very, very astute salesman. 16:43 He knew all of the details and the facts about the car. 16:46 He was able to read almost from memory 16:49 all of the specs on the car 16:50 about its gas economy and about its fuel mileage 16:54 and the size of the tire and the size of the engine. 16:58 And guess what? 16:58 He gave me all the facts about the car 17:01 and a very scripted yet accurate way. 17:05 And so as I continued my search, I begin to meet another 17:08 salesman who began to canvas on the same type of car. 17:12 But he didn't just talk in a detailed way. 17:15 He began to talk in an experiential way. 17:18 He began to say, You can get three car seats 17:20 on the second row of that car. 17:21 He began to talk about exactly 17:23 how you open and close the moonroof. 17:25 He began to talk about 17:26 the different things and places you could go in the SUV. 17:30 And I began to ask, 17:31 How do you know that you can get three car seats in the car? 17:35 How do you know it can handle a certain type of terrain? 17:38 And he says, Listen, Mr. 17:39 Snell, I'm not just telling you us on the seat. 17:42 He pointed over to the side 17:44 and said, I drive one of these myself. 17:47 In other words, one 17:49 just had the script, the other had the experience. 17:54 And what I'm saying is that some only have the script of Jesus, 17:57 but do I have seven folk to have the experience of Jesus? 18:03 Where are you not just telling folk 18:05 what you heard somebody else say? 18:08 You're not just telling folk what you read in a book, 18:11 but your witness is a first hand account 18:15 of what 18:15 God has done and operated in your life. 18:19 Are you are hear me today, friends. 18:21 Second thing that this story teaches us, beloved, 18:24 is that a good shepherd always keeps 18:27 count. 18:30 The Good Shepherd notices what is happening with the sheep. 18:35 And it's funny because Jesus asked the question, Which of you 18:38 having nine 100 sheep, if you had one that was to 18:40 shrink, would leave the 99 behind 18:44 and go in search of the one until it was found. 18:48 But understand that Jesus uses that number 100 18:52 with a theological and economical intentionality. 18:56 Because essentially what the Bible is saying is that 18:58 if a shepherd had 100 sheep, 19:02 he was a person of some type of means. 19:07 In other words, if a shepherd that are poorer 19:10 or lower in shepherd would only have somewhere 19:12 between one and ten sheep, that maybe the average flock 19:17 would be somewhere between 20 and 25 sheep. 19:21 If you are doing pretty good, you would have around 50 sheep, 19:25 but if you had a hundred, you were in a completely 19:28 different tax bracket. 19:31 So that to lose one out of five, it was going to 19:34 hurt the shepherd, to lose one out of 20. 19:39 You are going to feel a financial pinch to lose 19:41 one out of 50. 19:43 It affected your bottom line. 19:45 But if you had a 100 seat to lose one, 19:48 it meant it was something you could survive. 19:52 So that the good shepherd that goes after the one loss 19:56 out of 100 is not functioning out of need. 20:00 He's functioning out of concern and love. 20:03 I didn't catch that today. 20:05 In other words, the good sheep, 20:06 the shepherd that represents Jesus didn't go after the loss 20:12 because it hurts his satirical, logical bank account. 20:16 He goes simply because he is in love 20:20 of even the one that is left behind. 20:23 You hear me today? 20:23 Church 20:25 But there is an even greater and powerful truth 20:26 that I'm going to push into your life for just a moment. 20:29 Because in order to know that you've lost one out of 100, 20:34 it means somewhere along the line 20:36 the shepherd has to be keeping count. 20:41 It means the good shepherd is not just eyeballing the flock. 20:45 It means that he is detailing the flock. 20:48 It means that he is noticing the flock. 20:51 It means that within the course of a given day, 20:55 as they march over and around mountains or through 20:58 desert terrain or even if they settle on a grassy table land, 21:03 it means that several times a day 21:06 the Good Shepherd is keeping count. 21:09 And that too, meaning everything that happens with the flock 21:14 so that the Good Shepherd is able to notice, 21:18 even if one of the sheep has sprained our broken alarm. 21:22 The Good Shepherd is able to notice 21:24 that even if one sheep is infected by a tick or flea, 21:28 the Good Shepherd notices when one is infested 21:32 and is dealing with some type of malady. Why? 21:36 Because the Good Shepherd pays attention to the details 21:38 of the flock and see friends. 21:42 This is a greater and more powerful truth 21:44 than we recognize. 21:46 Because if a good shepherd heard 21:52 is counting 21:53 what is going on with dumb sheep, 21:57 what do you think the Good Shepherd is doing 22:02 as it relates to keeping count 22:05 of every particular detail of your life? 22:08 You say friends of mine. 22:10 I need somebody to be aware that the same way and earthly 22:14 shepherd is documenting the affairs of the sheep. 22:18 I need you to know that your father in heaven 22:22 is keeping count 22:23 of every matter that touches your life. 22:29 In other words, I need to say to somebody today 22:33 he feels overwhelmed 22:36 and unattended to because you're encountering 22:40 circumstances that seem to suggest 22:44 that God has left you and that you are by yourself. 22:48 The promise of Hebrews 13 five is this that 22:51 he will never leave you nor forsake you. 22:57 And I want somebody to understand 22:58 this about the promise of God's presence. 23:00 How many of us know that the presence of God 23:02 is not a feeling? 23:04 It's a guarantee. 23:06 I need you to know that the Bible says 23:08 if I make my bed in hell, he's there. 23:11 If I climb the stairs of heaven, he is there. 23:14 That the eyes of the Lord. 23:15 Room two and four in the earth. 23:16 And I need you to know that God is keeping 23:19 count of every particular detail of your life. 23:22 You are here. Me today, saints. 23:23 I need you to know 23:25 that your life is so attended to that Matthew Chapter 23:30 six says that your father knows what things you have need of. 23:36 Before you even ask, 23:38 I need you to know that you're so important 23:40 that Matthew ten, verse 26 says 23:43 that the hairs on your head 23:47 have been counted. 23:49 You are so special to God that Psalm 56 23:53 and verse eight says that he numbers your wandering. 23:56 He keeps your tears in a bottle. 23:58 And guess what? 24:00 You are so special to God that he says he records 24:04 every tier that falls from your eye 24:07 in his belt. 24:10 Are you hearing this in a church? 24:12 I need somebody to understand that God says that even when one 24:18 sparrow falls to the ground, your heavenly Father takes note. 24:22 And that's why the old him, right. 24:23 Was able to declare that if his eye is on the sparrow, 24:29 you can know that his eyes are upon you. 24:32 And I just need somebody to know that feels like 24:35 you're overwhelmed by circumstance and debt 24:38 and problems and enemies. 24:39 And you feel like you're all by yourself. 24:42 I need you to know that beyond the curtain of what 24:44 your eyes are able to see is an invisible savior 24:49 who is so invested in your life that he gave his own. 24:52 And He is aware of every detail 24:56 that presses upon your life. 24:59 So he's keeping count of how much you owe your creditors. 25:02 He's keeping count of how many enemies you have. 25:05 He's keeping count of how many surgeries you've had. 25:07 He's keeping count of every particular thing 25:09 that brings his back six vexation into your soul. 25:12 And so I need you to know 25:14 the only reason you've made it as far as you've made it 25:17 is because somebody was keeping count. 25:20 Okay, can I. 25:21 Can I pull the church for a minute? 25:24 Anybody ever been so broke? 25:25 You can pay attention. 25:28 And somehow a check came in the mail. 25:32 Somehow somebody's cash strapped right in time. 25:36 And the reason that came when it did was 25:39 because somebody was keeping count. 25:41 Oh, all locked in. Brand new. 25:42 Anybody ever been at the end of one job or contract? 25:47 And when you got down to the last week, guess what? 25:49 Another job or a contract showed up. 25:52 And the reason that happened 25:54 was because somebody was keeping count. 25:57 Thank you for joining us for The Breath of Life 25:59 Television Ministries broadcast with Pastor Debleaire Snell. 26:03 We hope and pray 26:05 that you have been blessed 26:06 by this fifth message in the sermon series. 26:09 Excusless. 26:10 Join us next week for part two of the message “Lost and Found”. 26:17 You don't want to miss. 26:19 Hello, I'm Pastor 26:21 Snell, speaker director for The Breath of Life 26:24 Television Ministry. 26:25 This ministry was established to take the gospel of Jesus 26:29 Christ throughout North America and across the globe. 26:33 My goal is to make Jesus Christ 26:36 known through the preaching of the word. 26:40 I need you to know that we need your financial partnership 26:43 in order to make sure that the Gospel can go into every hill, 26:48 into every rural county, and into every inner city. 26:52 And we can only take the gospel as far as the gifts 26:55 that you lend to us. 26:57 We thank you for your financial partnership in the past, 27:01 and I'm asking that you continue to be a financial partner 27:05 with this ministry going forward. 27:07 Here are some ways you can give. 27:09 You can give online at our website at WW Breath Life 27:14 Dot TV. 27:15 You can send your gift by mail to Breath of Life. 27:18 P.O. Box 5960. 27:20 Huntsville, Alabama 35814. 27:23 You can call the office at 256-929-6460. 27:29 Or you can text the phrase “GIVE2BOLTV 27:31 ”to 188-364-GIVE 27:36 or the easiest thing is through CashApp at $Breathoflife.tv 27:42 I want you to know 27:43 that every dime that you give goes 27:46 right back into the ministry so that we can enlarge our reach 27:52 and make sure that the entire world knows that 27:55 Jesus saves and that Jesus Christ is coming again. 27:59 God bless you, and we thank you for your generosity to |
Revised 2024-09-17