Thank you for reading the Weekend Sermon. I am glad to be able to post the sermon this week, and I hope that everyone is having a good week.
I have been having a bad time with a lung infection. I am doing some better, but I still don't feel the best. Please continue to pray that I will feel better shortly. I've had to miss work a few days, and even though I have time off to cover it, the supervisor isn't real happy that I've been off. I'm not sure what is going to happen at work. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, I will be able to secure a job that will provide what I need and not make me nervous.
In prayer this week, please pray for those in California that have been affected by the bad weather. Also, please pray for those who are facing difficult times with their health. I know from having been in the doctor's office several times this last month that bad health can really get you down.
Please continue to pray for peace in this troubled world. Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan certainly need our prayers.
For our prayer focus countries this week let us pray for the nations of Qatar and Benin. Pray that many people will hear the message of Jesus in these nations.
There is something else that I would ask you to consider praying about. I am sure that all of us know someone who is not a follower of Jesus. Try to commit yourself this week to praying everyday that this person will come to have a relationship with Jesus and know the love that Jesus can bring.
For the past several weeks, we have been in a series of messages on the parables of Jesus. We've studied the meaning of several parables already, and we have many more parables left to study. Today, I want us to focus on a parable that is presented in Matthew 18 and Luke 15 but it is presented in a slightly different way in each context. However, the basic overall message of this parable is the same.
The parable of the lost sheep takes this basic form. A shepherd has 100 sheep. He discovers when the sheep are in the fold that 99 sheep are in the fold, but one of the sheep is lost and still out in the hills or valleys. The shepherd leaves the 99 sheep in the fold and he goes and searches diligently for the lost sheep until he finds it. When he finds the lost sheep, he brings the sheep back with great rejoicing for the sheep that was lost has been found.
In Matthew 18 10-14, the context of this parable is the fact that the Lord is not willing that any of the little ones should perish. There is some debate as to what this term "little ones" refers to. Some believe that they are children. In this context, Jesus would be saying that all children would be with Him for all eternity as that is His will.
In the church that I grew up in, and in many other churches, there is a belief in what is known as the age of accountability. According to this belief, those who are under the age where they can understand what salvation through Jesus means will be saved if they pass away before they reach the age of accountability.
Some believe that the little ones referred to in this passage are those who have the childlike faith required to become followers of Jesus. In other words, Jesus will seek out and bring to salvation all those who come to Him as little children.
One other interesting concept to touch on in the Matthew 18 passage is the reference to their angels looking upon the face of the Heavenly Father. Some take this as a reference to the fact that all children have a guardian angel that looks after their welfare. I am not really sure that this is what this verse is referring to. I believe that the Lord can send angels to watch over us, and they do whatever it is that the Lord asks of them, but I'm not sure that everyone has their own angel assigned to them.
In Luke 15, the parable of the lost sheep has a slightly different context. The Pharisees and the religious leaders were upset with Jesus because He was eating with sinners and inviting them to be His followers. In order to answer the objections of His critics, Jesus told three different parables in Luke 15 about things that were lost and then found. The first of these parables is about a shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep and goes after the sheep that was lost. Jesus said that there is more rejoicing in Heaven over one sinner who comes to repentance than over 99 righteous people who need no repentance.
What Jesus was saying to the Pharisees was that He was going to do what others were not willing to do. In a natural context, a shepherd would probably not leave 99 sheep unguarded to go look for one that is lost. However, Jesus came to seek and to save all that were lost. The Pharisees and the religious leaders excluded people that they felt were unworthy. Tax collectors, people who were sick and those in certain professions were viewed as unclean and under the judgment of God. When Jesus was on earth, these are the very people that He associated with. He went to their homes and shared with them His presence and His love. He wanted all people to know and understand how much God loved them and cared about them. Jesus showed all people the way to true life, forgiveness and eternal joy.
The parable of the lost sheep as recorded in both Matthew and Luke has one very important overall message. Jesus wants have a relationship with everyone. He is seeking out everyone and will never stop seeking.
There are many people that church people want to exclude from the love of Jesus. But Jesus is seeking them out because He loves everyone. Jesus said that whoever wants to come to Him, He will not cast them out.
Jesus said that He is the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by Jesus. This means that Jesus is the judge. He is the one who decides who will be allowed to come into His eternal kingdom. All judgment has been given unto Jesus by the Father. Whoever Jesus says is in is in.
This is one thing I believe. Jesus is not going to violate anyone's free will and force them to trust in Him, but Jesus is never going to give up seeking those who need Him. Jesus is always wanting to bring the lost sheep into the fold so that there can be great rejoicing in the courts of Heaven.
Sometimes even those who have known the Good and Great Shepherd Jesus go astray and get lost and mixed up. Jesus seeks these folks out too. He wants to bring everyone into the fold so that they can be safe with Him.
Maybe you are a lost sheep outside the fold of Jesus' love. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who wants to take you in His arms and bring you into the fold. Maybe you have strayed away from the Good Shepherd. He wants you to come to Him. He wants you to return to Him. Jesus will never give up on you. He loves you with an everlasting love. This is the most important spiritual truth that I ever learned in my life. Jesus loves me. He is not against me. It took a long time for me to really understand this.
When you truly understand the fact that Jesus loves you so much that He will leave the 99 in the fold and come looking for you, it will change your life. It will cause you to realize that the God of the universe is with you always and cares about you deeply. It will give you the strength to meet each situation you face each day.
Next week, we will continue with our parables of Jesus series. On Monday, I will post the verses. I will have a review on Wednesday. May God bless you all. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment