The Lost Sheep and the Loving Shepherd

Alright, well let's take our Bible. Let's turn to Luke chapter 15. We're gonna be in Luke chapter 15 A handful of verses there that we're gonna cover tonight verses One to seven and I did say this earlier tonight. We're gonna be back in our study in the parables of Jesus I did go back and look at some of my information.

We started this study last September So that's almost been a year on September the first we started studying What we call and see as the parables of Jesus, of course, we did take a break over the summer I thought it was really good for you to hear brother Keith as he taught through James and again, I said it earlier It was good for me to be with our teenagers But we started this series by examining What is commonly called the kingdom parables the kingdom parables?

That's one group one Classification of parables and they're found in Matthew 13 There's seven or eight parables and the reason I say seven or eight is because some people interpret verse 51 and 52 is a parable Some do not mess up for debate We had 10 or 11 messages there and it might do you some good to go study those and listen to those and get into some Of that material and those parables are very important because Jesus is teaching and he's illustrating things concerning the kingdom of God Now this is not the future kingdom This is all about the New Testament Church the New Testament Church age and the things in Matthew 13 they pertain to the The age of the church and the church was birthed at acts chapter 2 the day of Pentecost and of course We're in this church age So matter of fact some of the information that we covered there I will come back to and in some time on a Sunday morning or two matter of fact is I was praying about that one of The men came up to me and encouraged me to do that.

I felt like that was affirmation Then we studied what is commonly called the Christian living parables Those parables are found in certain chapters in Matthew and in Luke Whereas the kingdom parables are all grouped together the Christian parables can be somewhat scattered and we looked at seven messages From those parables and those parables are very important because Jesus is teaching and he is illustrating things about the true Christian life as opposed to the false now Those of you who were in those parables know that the false the false Christian life was represented by the religious leaders And we saw that those false Jewish relief religious leaders exemplify the faults And we saw that we as born-again people are truly saved And if you'll you'll remember you'll remember some of the titles we are truly saved to serve We're saved to shine a lot of the gospel in the world or save the love love people pray and be thankful All that was very relevant now tonight.

We're gonna study what is commonly called the salvation parables We will examine certain parables that Jesus taught which illustrate and explain many vital things concerning man's Salvation and although three of the most important salvation parables are found in Luke 15 There are others that are seen in Luke 13 Luke 18 Matthew 20 and Matthew 22, but tonight we're gonna start in Luke 15 here We find three very very well known parables the parable of the lost sheep It's the first one the parable of the lost coin.

It's rather short then the parable of the lost son You know this one the prodigal The parable of the prodigal and if you look at your Bible it probably sat has some type of the heading there and you can Note those and I would encourage you to read them throughout the next week or two We're gonna cover the first one tonight the next one next week and then the last one the next week Now there are many reasons why this chapter is extremely important I'm gonna point out two reasons and this will start us off What I what I call on a high point and these reasons came from other men From other men one of the Bible commentators that I do study.

He's really good at background His name is William Barclay He says that this chapter has been called and I'm quoting the gospel in the gospel Now Luke is a gospel right? It's the gospel account He says it is the gospel Luke 15 in the gospel now Hold on to that because I'm gonna come back to that and he goes on to say that chapter 15 contains a very Distilled essence of the good news.

He's right It is it is a distilled essence the very essence of the good news that Jesus came to tell And then the very famous JC Ryle many of you know who JC Ryle is He says there is probably no chapter of the Bible that has done greater good for the souls of men That's a powerful statement. And if these men are correct, and I I do not disagree with them I value their opinion otherwise I wouldn't use them then we must make sure that we see The gospel in the gospel I want us to see the gospel in this gospel and we must make sure that this chapter does us good Does us good by studying the parables and studying the parables? well Now before we get into the verses of the first parable seven verses We have to understand the background and the context of the teaching here We have Jesus teaching three parables right in a row and he's teaching them with certain people that were present and There were certain things that have been happening context Context always remember context context is keen because if you pull passages out of context Usually you're going to mess some things up and we need to see that these parables did not come out of nowhere These parables came out of conflict Conflict Jesus was in almost constant conflict with the Pharisees Sometimes it's listed as the Pharisees and the scribes the scribes and Pharisees Sometimes the Sadducees we can just call them the Jewish religious leadership and I will do that all throughout the message So if I'm mentioning the Jewish religious leadership, I'm talking about the Pharisees the scribes those who were in conflict with Jesus and Jesus taught these parables up against Up against the religious leaders who were highly offended that Jesus was associating with sinners Lost people and not just lost people.

These were very very sinful lost people Very sinful and Jesus ate with these sinners Jesus went into their homes and he associated with them in private and in public He even loved them now. I want to show you something. This is where people can abuse what Jesus did Jesus did not cater to them nor did Jesus ever compromise his message He never did he never did cater to them in their sin and their sinfulness and he never did Compromise his message, but remember I said context Context is key Verses one and two if you have your copy Let's look at the verses and it will show us the context now the tax collectors and the sinners The tax collectors were some of the worst people they were extortionists These would have been Jews who worked for the Romans and they they extorted the people they took up taxes for the Romans But they extorted the people they took more than they should have they were hated Now the tax collectors and sinners that word sinners mean something.

I'm gonna get to it They were drawing near to him in the language. It means they were coming to him repeatedly. This wasn't a one-time thing in the Pharisees and the scribes Grumbled against him saying this man received sinners and he eats with him and remember He teaches the parables up against all of that and we're gonna get to the parables here in a minute Here in a minute now quickly. Let me show you how the Jewish religious leaders view these people again.

This is important Scholars tell us that these people were the non-jews and they labeled them sinners They also called them the people of the land Scholars tell us this the Pharisees and the other religious leaders called them sinners the people of the land and religiously and socially really in every way there was this Gigantic divide between the religious leaders and the people of the land in every way There was this great barrier between the religious leaders of the Jews and the sinners the people of the land and they live side by side The Pharisees were forbidden to go into the home of the center.

They were forbidden to do business with the center That would have been hard They were they wouldn't even have any contact with the people of the land the sinners who did not obey the law of the Old Testament But also all of the details of the law that were prescribed by the religious leadership What that means is this they wouldn't have contact with them because they wouldn't obey everything in Judaism And the religious leaders purposely and deliberately Avoided the people of the land in every every way and they live right next to each other and on top of that is the way the religious leaders believe God saw these people and The way they themselves saw these people they did not love them because they believed that God did not love them They did not look for them to come to God for salvation Because they did not believe that God even wanted to save them One scholar said and I'm quoting they the religious leaders look Sadistically forward not to the saving but to the destruction of the sinner.

Let that sink in They literally look forward to the destruction of these people They felt like God wanted to destroy them and they look right at them and they were happy that they thought God was going to destroy them And it was up against these attitudes of the religious leaders their treatment of these non-jews and how they believed God felt about the Non-jews that Jesus taught these parables Jesus taught these parables right up against an Incontradiction to how these religious leaders thought about and treated the non-jews Jesus was especially correcting how they thought God felt about these people.

Please get that he was addressing how They felt like God felt about these people and Jesus was drawing a line in the sand We know what that term means Jesus was contradicting the religious leaders to their face Jesus was purposely proving them wrong both the Jews and the non-jews who would have been there So this was a public confrontation So just make sure you understand this it is safe to say that everything Jesus teaches here in these parables was a contradiction to the Jewish religious leaders if Jesus taught that God loved the sinner and Desperately wanted them to come to salvation.

Well, the Jewish Leadership believed and lived the total opposite They lived the total opposite Now in the parable starts at verse 3 goes down to verse 7 I'm gonna make four observations and from these observations. We're gonna learn certain things about salvation We're gonna learn certain things about man's salvation and how God views these things. So I want us to read verses 3 to 7 but I'm gonna read verse 1 and 2 as well because again remember this is the context context is King and The parables come right up against all of that Jesus really was drawing a line in the sand now the tax collectors the sinners.

Those are the other people now They were drawing near to him repeatedly constantly to hear him He loved them didn't change his message and he didn't cater to him and the Pharisees describes a grumbled Saying this man received sinners. This would have been with great contempt and he eats with him So he told him this parable what man of you having a hundred sheep if he has lost one of them does not leave the 99 in the open country or open pasture and go after the one that is lost Until he finds it and when he has found it he lays it on his shoulders or across his shoulders Rejoice it and when he comes home He calls together his friends his neighbors saying to them rejoice with me for I have found my sheep that was lost And then here's the point.

Here's the climax of the teaching just so I tell you there will be more heaven more joy in heaven Over one sinner who repents and over the 99 righteous persons who need no repentance so first I Want us to look at? That's the title the lost sheep Notice number one the lost sheep here This setting would have been easily understood by all of those in the crowd This would have been a man or a shepherd He was caring for a hundred sheep to take sis and there was one that was lost it had wandered away from the flock This setting was hypothetical, but it would have been normal.

They would have understood every single thing he was telling them but in their day in their day the sheep had to be Guarded and they had to be cared for seven days a week even at night and in bad weather They had to be kept in shelters in every way. They had to be guarded. They had to be protected They had to be guided the shepherds had to guide them to food and then they had to guide them away from food Because they would just sit there and eat all the food.

They had to guide them the water all shelter and protection Everything had to come from the shepherd and if the sheep was lost or had wandered away from the flock It was a very dangerous almost always fatal to the sheep if it was not found She were defenseless against predators and they were totally incapable of caring for themselves One of the scholars said I was reading talked about the fact that if they literally laid down the rest They couldn't get themselves back up in most Circumstances, so it's not an exaggeration to say that the sheep was helpless out from under the care of the shepherd That's not an exaggeration So losing this sheet was a very serious situation The sheep was defenseless and unless it was found it would almost certainly be killed by a predator or it would just die Or it would die.

Well, what's the point? What's the point of this part of the parable? It's okay for us to study along and in your mind you're saying so what I like those so what questions So what does this mean? The Bible commentator Warren Wiersby says this sheet was lost because of foolishness because of foolishness He seems to have wandered off We know that she can and do wander off from the care of the shepherd and the protection of the herd or the flock Isaiah 53 6 and 1st Peter 2 25 tell us that lost men have foolishly wondered off in sin Lost men have foolishly wandered off in sin just like a sheep wanders off in sin So the point is this a sheep one out of a hundred this particular sheep wandered away from the flock or the herd Or the shepherd now a couple of probing questions was this sheep of value?

I? Mean would the shepherd just say well, you know one won't hurt me. I've got 99 Was this sheep of value in their day a sheep was of great value And we will see that the shepherd took great risks and make great efforts to recover the lost sheep because it was a value And then the second probing question Who does the sheep represent? Who does the sheep represent remember the context and the crowd the Pharisees and the other religious leaders?

Would not have had a problem with applying this to those lost centers Those other people But they would not have applied this to themselves In their eyes they were not sinners or lost sheep wandering from the flock or from the shepherd in their eyes They were God's people God's chosen people, but were they any different? They really weren't So who does this sheep represent?

Now before we move on we must see who the lost sheep represents Isaiah 53 sec Isaiah 53 6 says all we like sheep have grown astray We have turned everyone to his own way First Peter 225 says for you were straying like a sheep past tense But now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls So this lost sheep foolishly lost sheep it does represent all people But Jesus was specifically applying this part of the parable to the non-jews Remember the context they were mad that he was associating with those people So specifically it applies to the sinners those people those Gentiles the ones they didn't like Then notice number two I call this the loyal shepherd I'll call this the loyal shepherd here in this part of the story those listening would have understood these things as well again These were common things they could see these things every day But in the parable we see that the shepherd immediately leaves the 99 and he goes after that one He leaves the 99 the text says an open country that would have been safe pasture The good shepherd would not have left the sheep vulnerable, but he takes time He puts forth hard effort.

He even takes great great risks To go after the lost sheep scholars say that he even put his own life at risk And in their day the shepherd was personally responsible For each of the sheep under his care if a sheep was lost he was responsible to find the sheep Many times the sheep were they were shepherded by those who would have been hired They were experts at tracking and finding the lost sheep in the deserts in the mountains and even in the wilderness and it was all a part of their job to put forth the effort all this effort and even take great risks to find the Sheep and if the sheep was dead they were even responsible to prove the death of the sheep by bringing back its Fleece to prove that it had died and maybe he even loved the sheep.

We're gonna get to that So we have what I call the loyal shepherd. He was loyal to his job. He was loyal to the sheep He was loyal enough to put great forth Put put put forth great effort to find the sheep. Maybe he even loved the sheep Wouldn't even think about that statement, but notice the rest of the story The loyal shepherd finds the lost sheep the text says he puts the sheep over his shoulder That would have been over his neck and and he brings them home Scholars tell us that a sheep in this condition would not have been able to make the journey back on their own feet They would have needed lots and lots of care.

So the shepherd would place this animal a large animal They could weigh up to a hundred pounds or even more He would have placed him the sheep over his neck and he would have tied his feet in front of him And he would have literally carried the sheep back But notice one more detail The loyal shepherd does not take the sheep to the open pasture back to the other sheep The text says the loyal shepherd brings the sheep to his friends and neighbors to his community now question What does the shepherd represent? Remember, it's okay for us to every nouns every now and then say so what so what does this mean? Who does the shepherd represent?

No doubt. Jesus was illustrating to the religious leaders and others context folks context No doubt. He was illustrating to the religious leaders and all listening that what he was doing by going to the sinners to those other people Just like the loyal shepherd went after the lost sheep. Jesus was loving and going after tax collectors harlots all those non-jews Those dots would have been easy to connect the teaching.

So those Jewish leaders and others Jesus was saying that he was like the loyal shepherd Jesus was really saying that he was like that loyal shepherd In John 10 Jesus says that he was and he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep two times He says he was the good shepherd in John 10 But Jesus was also saying that this is what God was like Jesus was also saying this is what God was like He was saying that God was like the loyal shepherd and that he went after Law sheep or sinners who would foolishly strayed away into sin And this shocked the Jewish leaders this infuriated the Jewish leaders Shepherds were the very lowest of low in Jewish society Socially, they were really just one notch above non-jews No Pharisee no Jewish leader would identify with or aim to be like a shepherd and that kind of a comparison was appalling But that shows their ignorance that shows the religious leadership They're ignorance of the Old Testament and their lack their total lack of understanding who God is that's important It shows us they did not even know who God is or was to them The Psalms repeatedly tell us that God is like a shepherd They should have known these things Psalm 80 verse 1 says that God is the shepherd of Israel.

I Jotted a few other verses down. We see the same thing in Psalm 23 2 to 3 Psalm 79 13 Psalm 97 verse 7 Psalm 100 verse 3 the Old Testament is full of Scripture that say God is like a shepherd So the loyal shepherd represents Jesus and God Because Jesus represents God the Father Now at this point in the parable on pause And notice what Jesus is giving us. I do this sometimes take a step back first he is Telling of the lost sheep. It was lost from foolishness Yes, all men all mankind have gone astray.

It's inclusive But specifically the sheep represented here are those sinners those non-jews The publicans the sinners the harlots the prostitutes the tax collectors who were far off from God And then second he is telling of the loyal shepherd that willingly went after those kind of lost sheep and the loyal Shepherd was seen in the life of Jesus and in his ministry and the loyal Shepherd ultimately and finally represented God And there are three big lessons that we need to learn here. There's a lot of application here So this is where we're gonna put the rubber to the road.

Okay first all sheep have gone astray all Not just the ones who wander off into the wilderness of sin even the sheep who stayed with the flock are sinful We're gonna deal with the one who goes away and one who stays home in the last parable Isaiah 53 6 all we like sheep have gone astray all Have turned everyone to his own way all means all In the New Testament in New Testament language.

We see the same thing in Romans 3 23 Paul says for all of sin and fall short of the glory that means all all But an application we must see this the all applies to all And this is where I want to get close to home moms and dads listen Listen close Faithfully teach your children that they have all gone astray Even when they live in your home, they are born dead in their sin They're not born little Christians. Do we teach them the Bible? Yes Do we teach them how they should live and act?

Yes But be careful not to teach them that they are sheep just because they live in your home that they are sheep Just because they come to church just because they know the Bible they should stay in our home They should come to church. We should teach them the Bible But my point is by nature They are sheep who have wandered off You don't have to teach them the lie. You don't have to teach them to be selfish as they grow up.

They will automatically sin It is because they are dead in their trespasses and sins I've seen more parents make the mistake of trying to create and raise little Christians And then they have this great conflict when they wander off They are dead in their trespasses and sins Now I've not been a perfect parent But I have constantly taught my children that I've always you might say what about their self-esteem?

Yeah, we build them up Yes, they are dead in their sin Even if they're the good church kid Well, what makes a difference is when they're converted to Christ They're made alive in Christ if that happens at the age of 8 or 18 or 38 and a lot of people they miss it here Even if the sheep stays home, he's still a sheep Okay, we're gonna talk about that a little later with the prodigal So we have to understand what a sheep really is Isaiah says we all like sheep have gone astray we all have Turned to our own way sin And then second the loyal loving heart of the shepherd God is the loyal loving shepherd Jesus exemplified the heart of God for the lost perfectly in his earthly ministry When Jesus went to the harlots when the publicans the tax collectors came to him and he received them God was doing that Didn't compromise the message didn't cater to them in their sin And when Jesus went after this sheep that foolishly wandered off in the wilderness of sin He was reflecting perfectly the very heart of God look at the heart of this parable is that God loves the sheep God loves them Jesus perfectly exemplified the heart of the father And we must see that in our own lives because we're gonna come across these people who were other people I don't care who you are.

We all have lists of they're like us and they are not We're like them and those over there are not we have those lists all cultures and all societies do I Remember when I went to India. It's a caste society a caste system very rigid you had high caste you had Middle you know middle on down then you had the very lowest of low they called the Dalits those people can't even have a birth certificate we did a lot of ministry with low caste people You couldn't tell the difference But as soon as you got around high caste you could tell the difference because of the way they acted And it was hard for them to break out of that caste system because they saw the other people And look if you got a list of other people God loves other people God loves them Just as much as he loves you third more specifically God is the loyal and Loving Shepherd who certainly loves those who have wandered off the other people the people of the land I've kind of gotten ahead of myself on my application So just remember that God loves us and God loves others if you ever get into the us and them You're gonna be just like those Pharisees now.

Let's move on to the other two observations that I want us to see number two notice the Rejoicing on earth the rejoicing on earth now. I want to go back and read the parable again This will be the last time we read it For the message so he told them this parable What man of you having a hundred sheep if he has lost one of them does not leave the 99 and go into the open?

Country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it And when he has found it he lays it on his shoulders Rejoicing and when he comes home he calls together his friends and his neighbors saying to them rejoice with me It's almost like he's saying rejoice with me rejoice with me for I found my sheep that was lost I have found my sheep that was lost Just so I tell you There will be more joy in heaven more joy in heaven.

That's beautiful over the one sinner who repents And over the 99 righteous persons who know need no repentance Now I've already hinted at this part of the parable and in the parable the loyal loving Shepherd Loyal loving Shepherd brings the sheep back not to the other sheep or the pasture He brings them this formerly lost sheep home to his friends his neighbors I say to his community and notice what he says rejoice with me For I found my sheep my sheep that was lost and this part of the parable seems to tell us that this Shepherd was not A hired hand he says my sheep this seems to indicate that this chef the sheep belong to him Now I want to see two reactions here The first reaction is obvious the shepherds friends and neighbors.

They rejoiced There was rejoicing among the shepherds and the friends and the neighbors in the community that the lost sheep was found The second reaction was the religious leaders now think with me here Although there was nothing recorded in their reaction. We can know their reaction they disdain shepherds they disdain sheep and They would have disdain Jesus teaching here if they could grasp it if they understood the implications of this parable And what Jesus was plainly saying they would have hated Jesus all the more and they did look folks every time Jesus did this The water just got hotter So this rejoicing on earth what does it represent I Don't believe it's a stretch to see this But those who know the shepherd Those who know the shepherd they understand wandering from the sheep From they understand wandering sheep and run wandering from the fold They rejoice when a sheep that is wandered away off into the wilderness of sin and and while living they rejoice when the sheep brought back And I believe that we can say that the ones who rejoice are the ones who were once lost sheep themselves And they have been brought back into the sheepfold of God as well, so they can identify They can identify and they do Now notice number four The rejoicing in heaven not going to read the passage again now at this point in the parable Jesus has the crowd right where he wants them.

He was a master storyteller folks He's brought the story to its ultimate climax its ultimate point. This is the point of the whole thing Verse seven. I guess I lied. I said we won't read it again Just so I tell you there will be more joy in heaven over the one sinner One sinner who repents and over the 99 persons who need no Repentance and notice if there was any misunderstanding as to the meaning of the different parts of the parable Jesus clears it all up right here Verse seven really tells us who the lost sheep represent and who the loyal loving shepherd Represents at the point and the point of the parable is clear.

Jesus says that there will be more joy in heaven rejoicing Celebration over one lost wandering sinner who repents than the 99 who do not need to repent But do the 99 need to repent? They do At this point not only is Jesus making it clear the point of the parable He's exposing the Pharisees and the Jewish religious leaders for their for the fact that they are spiritual frauds That's what they were they had no genuine interest in the lost They were even totally indifferent to the God who seeks the lost and finds the lost and the God who rejoices When the lost are found and the God who brings those lost sinners home They were totally indifferent to this God and they didn't want this God John MacArthur says and I'm quoting he says that those Who claim to officially represent God did not understand God's mission or share God's hope and joy at the recovery Of lost sinners and it reveals that their thinking was alien to God's They thought they were with God and they were totally off They were alienated from God in every way when actually they thought they represented God So this rejoicing in heaven, what does it represent?

Just what it says When one sinner repents and comes home God in heaven rejoices God in heaven rejoices Now at this point of the parable Notice what Jesus is giving step back First he's telling us that when a lost wandering foolish sheep is found by the Good Shepherd and they are returned to where they belong There is rejoicing and celebration among the other sheep Among the other sheep who understand and second he is telling us that when a lost wandering foolish Sheep is found by the Good Shepherd and they are returned to where they belong.

There is rejoicing their celebration in heaven God rejoices God celebrates and there are several lessons here that I want us to see There's a lot of application here first when lost wandering foolish sheep are saved by the Good Shepherd We should celebrate we should have joy. We should celebrate I know sometimes we're Baptist and we can be stiff There's nothing wrong with applause and in giving a loud hooray. Hallelujah. Praise God Some of you tried to say something We're gonna have a baptism service soon we had some come to faith in Christ this summer You heard George up here Sunday morning when we prayed for him.

I shared his testimony He came to faith in Christ. We should rejoice and celebrate We should rejoice and celebrate. I'm thankful that when God saved me He put me in a church that celebrated when lost sinners came to faith in Christ and it didn't matter if they were black It didn't matter if they were white It didn't matter if they were a shade in between it didn't matter if they were highbrow or lowbrow It didn't matter if they were rich or poor.

It didn't matter The church was for all kinds of sheep We should celebrate Second those who are like the religious leaders they are lost They are lost wandering sheep as well But they will not and they cannot genuinely rejoice and celebrate when other lost sheep are found I'm gonna tell you something folks it always happens As God starts working and God starts changing people and saving people there'll be some sour head over here There'll be somebody with a bad opinion over there They'll somebody be somebody that'll complain and all they're doing is revealing that they're just like those religious leaders They'll have something negative to say I Don't think we have any like that here, but I've seen it through the years and third There is a genuine and true celebration in heaven when one lost sinner comes home.

I have to believe That when our some of our teenagers when some came to faith in Christ God Celebrated and I have to believe that because the text says it Now at this point I want to give us the title of the message I kind of gave it to you earlier because I got messed up on my slides So kind of anticlimactic in that right? I want to give you the title of the message and then I want to make some Concluding comments here. Okay, and I want to give us a few reasons why this parable is important So this is what I'm calling the lost sheep and the loving shepherd Did you notice I started calling him loyal and then I moved the loyal and loving?

Because Jesus is loyal to the perfect will of God and he's loving Now before I close though I want to give us a few reasons why this parable and the others that are coming next all of these are tied together Alright, and they let me give you these reasons This is some stuff that I picked up from some scholars this week Bible commentators some of my own I like to give credit where credit is due again.

I mentioned what William Barclay says He says that three these three parables are the gospel inside the gospel the gospel of Luke We need to see that you know what it means when something is distilled It is boiled down and right here He's right the very distilled essence of the gospel the essence of the gospel is found in these verses Study these verses folks study these parables And if that is the case and it is Here we see that at the very center of the gospel at the center of the gospel is God And it is a God who is full of joy when one wondering sheep is saved at the center of salvation Is a joy filled God God? celebrates There's always somebody that says I just don't know about that It's a little irreverent And get this Joy is one of now listen what's called a communicable attribute of God We're gonna study the attributes of God joy is one of his attributes There are some that are what is called communicable That means that joy is an attitude of God a characteristic of God and we can have the same thing Also, obviously to a lesser degree So when we are joy filled and we celebrate when someone comes to faith in Christ, we're being like God God's loving when we're loving we're being like God you see and Some of you needed to hear that because some of you have not really known that God has joy He celebrates when somebody comes to faith in Christ Let me move on to something that Warren Wiersby says and this is a little repetitive, but it all comes together Wiersby says there is this fourfold joy expressed when a lost sinner comes to faith in Christ First the joy of the one that's being found We haven't talked about that one All through the New Testament we sinners who rejoice We see where sinners rejoice when they're safe from their sin and their lostness.

So the lost sheep rejoices George was up here. We prayed for George cancer treatment. I shared his testimony. He rejoiced. Did you notice he was beaming? He's cornered some of you and told how he's come to faith in Christ Second the joy of the one doing the finding those people who influence the Sinner to come to Christ they witnessed they love they prayed they're joyful when their loved one of their friend comes to faith in Christ in that right and Then third the joy in the celebration of others when the lost sinner is found others other lost sheep They rejoice because they know what it's like to be found and then forth the joy in heaven We've covered that but think about it.

God the Father is joyful Christ Jesus the Son who died in the place of the sinner. He's Rejoicing and joyful God the Holy Spirit who we don't see we know he always points to Jesus the Holy Spirit who burst the sinner Into the kingdom of God. He's joyful all of heaven rejoices and celebrates and some of you need to see this There are two more reasons why this parable and the ones coming are so very important.

This is getting close to closing First it reminds us of the value of the lost sinner We always have to be reminded of how valuable that lost sinner is even if they're our obnoxious neighbor Even if there's someone in our family who who has all kinds of problems The value of the lost sinner is put before us lost wandering foolish sheep are of great value to God Oh lost Wondering Foolish sheep are of great value to God and if they are of great value to God They should be of great value to us Second this parable and the other three parables give us the balance between God's sovereign work and salvation and the responsibility Of man and salvation.

Oh, we're gonna get to that some of you need to see this it gives us this beautiful balance between what God does And what man does what man is responsible for and what God can only do now note in the parable what we have here Who did the searching? God The sheeps wandered off helpless Can't come back There was no hope with the sheep It was the loving heavenly father who sent his son and the son came and exemplified the heart of the father By by going to all these lost sinners. It's God who goes after the sheep So we see the sovereign work of God in this parable And as we go through I'm going to show you the responsibility of man, too.

It's this beautiful balance So what have we seen the lost sheep? The loving but I call him the loyal shepherd and we know who that is