Luke 15:1-7
THEY HAVE NO INTEREST IN THE JOY OF GOD.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
You think your so wonderful that you don’t need to repent.
In order to better understand the placement of the Parable of the Prodigal Son {more accurately known as the Lost Son} in the order after the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin, we can’t move too fast through them because we want to get to the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which is a favorite of many believers, and which perfectly drives home the point of all three.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Luke 15:8-10
THE PHARISEES LOOKED DOWN ON SINNERS, WHILE JESUS LOOKED FOR THEM.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
We have a lovely progression of:
- Lost
- Sought
- Found
And the fourth and wonderful finale:
CELEBRATED
“If God didn’t intervene and just left every person to their own devices, nobody would be saved. The person who is dead to sin would never choose Christ. Only the grace of God can regenerate hearts and convert souls.” – Truth Matters(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Ephesians 2:1-9
Revelation 5:9-14(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
HOW CAN WE NOT REFLECT THE JOY OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER?
There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Oswald Chambers {1874-1917}: “We preach to men as if they were conscious they were dying
sinners. They are not; they are having a good time.”(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
SOLI DEO GLORIA…To the Glory of God Alone
Grace and mercy are available through Jesus Christ for all people.
- Para=alongside {from which we get parallel}
- Ballein=to throw {from which we get ball}
Luke 15:1-2
they are sinners because they don’t practice religion the ways others think they should.
Diagogguzon is an intensive form of the verb for constant, heavy, indignant complaining.
Charles Spurgeon once said: “If any man thinks ill of you, do not be angry with him; for you are worse than he thinks you to be.”
Exodus 16:2-3
Aldous Huxley, who was born in 1894: “There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of
improving, and that’s your own self.”
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
THE RECOVERY OF THE LOST BRINGS THE LORD JOY.
Luke 15:3-7
Romans 14:17
Romans 15:13
Psalm 51: 10-12
GOD HAS GREAT JOY IN THE RECOVERY OF LOST SINNERS.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heav’ns Sun!
Heart of my heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.
Matthew 25:22-23
You have but to trust him, and you have come to him; — to rely upon him, — to depend upon him, — to lean upon him, — to cast yourself upon him, to believe in Christ Jesus, who died, the Just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God; for, as soon as you do so, you are brought back to the great Father’s house. May the Divine Spirit bring you there now, for his love’s sake! Amen.”
JESUS INVITES ALL TO ACCEPT GOD’S GRACE, BUT WITH GRACE COMES DEMAND.
Luke 14:25-35
“Is this march to Jerusalem a parade? The crowds must think so; everyone loves a parade.” Fred Craddock, 1928-2015
LOVE FOR JESUS MUST TAKE PRECEDENCE OVER ALL OTHER LOVES.
Matthew 22, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”
“With man, it is impossible. But with God, call things are possible.”
Here’s how MacArthur captured it: “The first role of successful merchandising is to give consumers what they want. If they want bigger burgers, make their burgers bigger. Designer bottled water in six fruit flavors? Done. Minivans with ten cup-holders? Give ‘em 20. You’ve got to keep the customer satisfied. You’ve got to modify your product and your message to meet their needs if you want to build a market and get ahead of the competition. Today, this same consumer mindset has invaded Christianity. The church service is too long, you say. We’ll shorten it. One pastor guarantees his sermons will never last more than seven minutes. Too formal? Wear your sweat suit. Too boring. Wait till you her our band. If the message is too confrontational or too judgmental or too exclusive, scary, unbelievable, hard to understand or too much of anything else for your tastes, churches everywhere are eager to adjust the message to make you more comfortable…we’ll get rid of moral absolutes and accountability. Churches promise informal, relaxed, casual atmosphere. One church pushed themselves as a fun church. It’s Christianity for consumers. Christianity lite. Watering down. Misinterpretation of the Bible to make it more palatable and popular. It tastes great. It settles light. It panders to your feelings and scratches your itch.”
JESUS CHRIST IS THE SOVEREIGN OF THE UNIVERSE AND HE HAS A RIGHT TO BE ADORED AND WORSHIPED AND LOVED AND SERVED AND OBEYED.
There are two key words here:
- All that he has – the original Greek word is only used in the New Testament to denote earthly possessions. It’s all about the stuff we have, or more accurately, the stuff that has us.
- Renounce – I love how one translation captures this Greek word – to say adieu. To say goodbye by dismissing or departing. It can also mean to make a decisive break.
I love how MacArthur sums it up: “Lightness will never fill you up with the true saving gospel of Jesus Christ because it’s designed by people, not God. It’s hollow and worthless. In fact, it’s worse than worthless because people who hear the message of Christianity light think they’re hearing the gospel, think they’re being rescued from eternal judgment when, in fact, they’re being tragically misled.”
Philippians 3:12-16
SOLI DEO GLORIA…To the Glory of God Alone
“JESUS WEPT.”
Luke 14:12-14
Luke 14:15
Luke 14:16
Luke 14:16-23
BY THEIR OBSESSION WITH WORLDLY AFFAIRS, SOME WILL BE LOCKED OUT OF THE GREAT BANQUET.
Excuse #1: “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.”
Excuse #2: ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’
Excuse #3 is the lamest of all: ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’
Luke 14:21
Revelation 19:9
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
And so the parable ends with the harsh reality: “None of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.”
JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT HEAVEN.
Isaiah 25:6-9
Charles Spurgeon proclaimed: It is a glorious gospel – the feast is good. He is a glorious king – the Host is good. He is a blessed Savior – he is good. It is all good, and you shall be made good too, if your souls accept the invitation of the gospel which is given to you this day. “He that believeth… shall be saved: he that believeth not shall be damned.” “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” The Lord send his Spirit to make the call effectual, for his dear Son’s sake. Amen.
SOLI DEO GLORIA…To the Glory of God Alone
They were influential laymen and scholars who focused on personal piety, prayer, study, and synagogue worship, eventually forming the foundation for modern Rabbinic Judaism after the Temple’s destruction. – Summarized from GotQuestions?
Luke 14:1-11
“Then {Jesus} took him and healed him.”
Edema, or fluid retention, is the build-up of fluid in the body’s tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin that feels tight, the area feeling heavy, and joint stiffness.
JESUS CAME TO HEAL US FROM OUR UNQUENCHABLE SELFISH WANTS AND DESIRES.
Why do you think Paul says, in Galatians 5, that followers of Jesus Christ will exhibit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Because these things come out of a life filled with the presence of Jesus.
JESUS OFFERS RELEASE FROM THE DEADLY CRAVINGS THAT DESTROY LIFE.
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Jesus breaks the old, oppressive narrative to give us a new way of life.
SOLI DEO GLORIA…To the Glory of God Alone
Luke 13:31-35(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
“Go and tell that fox {Herod}.”
Jesus uses a figure of speech who’s meaning runs the gamut, including, but not limited to, weakling, usurper, insignificant person, weasel, upstart…and my favorite… jackass.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
“Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.” – Luke 13:31(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
1 Corinthians 9:24-27(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Philippians 2:12-13(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
SALVATION REQUIRES ACCEPTING GOD’S OFFER OF GRACE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST AND THEN REORIENTING YOUR LIFE ACCORDINGLY.
Philippians 4:13(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
GOD HAS COMPASSION FOR THOSE WHO DESERVE PUNISHMENT.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
“Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
John 14:1-6(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Arthur W. Pink: “Salvation is by grace, by grace alone. Nevertheless, divine grace is not exercised at the expense of holiness. It never compromises with sin. It is also true that salvation is a free gift, but an empty hand must receive it and not a hand which still tightly grasps the world. Something more than believing is necessary to salvation. A heart that is steeled in rebellion against God cannot savingly believe. It must first be broken. Only those who are spiritually blind would declare that Christ will save any who despise his authority and refuse his yoke. Those preachers who tell sinners that they may be saved without forsaking their idols, without repenting, without surrendering to the Lordship of Christ are as erroneous and dangerous as others who insist that salvation is by works and that heaven must be earned by our own efforts.”
Isaiah 35:10(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
RELIABILITY…GOD’S TRUSTWORTHINESS…AND GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
SOLI DEO GLORIA…
To the Glory of God Alone
Luke 13:10-17
Luke 2:10-11
Jeremiah 17:9
Romans 7:24-25
The woman with the disabling spirit represents how spiritually crippled we are by sin and death.
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
in light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
almighty, victorious, thy great name we praise.
To all life thou givest, to both great and small;
in all life thou livest, the true life of all;
we blossom and flourish as leaves on the tree,
and wither and perish but naught changeth thee.
Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,
thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;
all praise we would render, O help us to see
’tis only the splendor of light hideth thee.
THOSE BOUND BY SATAN BECOME BOUND FOR HEAVEN.
WE ARE SAVED, NOT BY WHAT WE HAVE DONE, BUT BY WHAT JESUS DID.
“Regeneration, however it is described, is a divine activity in us, in which we are not the actors but the recipients.” – Sinclair B. Ferguson
FREEDOM ISN’T ABOUT SOMETHING WE’VE DONE. FREEDOM IS ABOUT WHAT JESUS DID.
Jesus has the power to do what he wants to do, for whomever he chooses, whenever he chooses.
“As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.”
Charles Spurgeon: “DO NOT GO TO THE SYNAGOGUE OF LONG-FACED HYPOCRITES TO HEAR THE MINISTER WHO PREACHES WITH A NASAL TWANG, WITH MISERY IN HIS FACE, WHILST HE TELLS YOU THAT GOD HAS GOODWILL TOWARDS MEN. I KNOW YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HE SAYS, FOR HE DOES NOT PREACH WITH JOY IN HIS COUNTENANCE, HE IS TELLING GOOD NEWS WITH A GRUNT, AND YOU ARE NOT LIKELY TO RECEIVE IT. BUT GO STRAIGHT WAY TO THE PLAIN WHERE BETHLEHEM SHEPHERDS SAT BY NIGHT, AND WHEN YOU HEAR THE ANGELS SINGING OUT THE GOSPEL, BY THE GRACE OF GOD UPON YOU, YOU CANNOT HELP BELIEVING THAT THEY MANIFESTLY FEEL THE PRECIOUSNESS OF TELLING.”
And together, the beloved of God said, “AMEN.”
NOW IS THE TIME TO REPENT
WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU WHEN DISASTER STRIKES?
“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Romans 3:11-12
WE ARE ALL SINNERS, DESERVING OF PUNISHMENT.
Matthew 1:18-25
“He will save his people from their sins.”
REPENT OR PERISH.
Either way, celebrate the One who saves you from sin.
“It is only because He has mercy, not willing that we should perish but that we should come to repentance.”
God has been merciful to you and given you an opportunity to repent.
2 Peter 3:9
Charles Spurgeon: “MAY GOD GIVE YOU PEACE WITH YOURSELVES; MAY HE GIVE YOU GOOD WILL TOWARDS ALL YOUR FRIENDS, YOUR ENEMIES, AND YOUR NEIGHBORS; AND MAY HE GIVE YOU GRACE TO GIVE GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST.”
“GET READY…STAY READY.”
“Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem.”(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
Are you doing what God has called you to do? Are you believing what God has called you to believe? Are you ready to meet Jesus?
Luke 12:49-53(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
“I’ve realized Christianity is more plausible than I thought…the undeniable thing is that there’s this extraordinary historical figure who did something extraordinary.”
WE ARE ON THE EDGE OF TIME.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!”
JESUS’ INTENSE FOCUS THAT OCCUPIES HIM TO ACCOMPLISH THE URGENT TASK SET BEFORE HIM.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Will you be ready to meet Jesus?
Embrace love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
THERE WAS NEVER A TIME IN HIS LIFE, IN HIS CONSCIOUS LIFE, WHEN JESUS WASN’T AWARE OF WHERE HE WAS GOING.(MULTILINE REVEAL TINY)
Charles Spurgeon: “Come and welcome, come and welcome, sinner, come! Come as you are, sinful as you are, hardened as you are, careless as you think you are, and having no good thing whatsoever, come to your God in Christ! O may you come to him who gave his Son to bleed in your stead, and casting yourself on what Christ has done, may you resolve, ‘If I perish, I will trust in him; if I be cast away, I will rely on him.’ You shall not perish, but for you there shall be the feast of all good things…The Lord bless you very richly, for his name’s sake. Amen.”
Luke 12:22-31(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
Jesus didn’t spend time and eat with sinners because He wanted to appear tolerant and affirming. He spent time with them to show them He is God, and how to live differently. The Gospel isn’t about tolerance. The gospel is about transformation.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD…THE JOY OF SALVATION…AND THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
Colossians 3:1-4(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
GOD TAKES CARE OF THOSE WHO BELONG TO HIM.
Luke 12:32-34(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
WORRY IS A FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND DIVINE PLEASURE.
eudokeo. Eu=good. Dokeo=to think(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
Job 5:7-8
Philippians 4:11-13(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
If your heart is focused on the Kingdom of God and the joy of salvation and the Gospel of Christ, then your life will be soil upon which worry can find no purchase.
“Faith sees the abundance as surplus to be shared, because God can be trusted to provide enough for next year, as well.” Richard H. Lowery(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
John Piper: “Occasionally, weep deeply over the life that you hoped would be. Grieve the losses. Feel the pain. Then wash your face, trust God, and embrace the life that he’s given you.”
“Please pray that I will finish triumphantly so that my wife and children see the triumph in my faith.”(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
2 Corinthians 2:14-16
“LET GRATITUDE BE AWAKENED; LET HUMILITY BE DEEPENED; LET LOVE BE QUICKENED.”(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)
And together, the thankful people of Covenant Church said, “AMEN.”(MULTILINE REVEAL SMALL)