All right, let's take our Bibles
again. Turn with me to the book of Luke. Luke chapter 15. Luke
15. Here sets forth a parable. And
this is one parable. It has actually three parts. Parts, I guess you'd say, he's
talking about the recovery of lost sheep, lost coin, and then
a recovered son. But today I want us to consider
just the first one, first seven verses, which deals with the
lost sheep. Luke 15, verse one says, then
drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. Now, it was a group of people
made up of publicans, those that I found out could be Romans,
but many times Jewish also that had hired themselves out to the
Roman government to be tax collectors. And They were looked upon by
the general population as the most worthless and repulsive
of men. But also mixed in there was what
was called sinners. And it was people of just a notorious
reputation, just repulsive character. And it was these type that the
scripture said had come for to hear him. the best thing they
could have done, to hear the Lord. Faith cometh by hearing. I say this, I always relate concerning
myself, but I need Lord help me to remember the blessing of
hearing the Word of God, the refreshingness of hearing God's
Word. So they drew near unto him all
the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees
and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them. Now, in opposition to the publicans
and sinners, there were found the Pharisees. Look that word
up, the separatist. The separatist. Those who were
known for their exactness, let me say this, to
the points of the law, and prided themselves in their self-righteous
thoughts of having established acceptance. with God based upon
their good works. That's what Paul was talking
about when he said, before the law, I was blameless. Pharisee,
over in Luke 18, who prayed with himself, there was a Pharisee
and a publican. There was a Pharisee and a tax
collector that went into the temple. And it's what the Pharisees
said, God, I thank Thee that I'm not as other men are, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in
a week, give tithes of all that I possess, separatist. Don't come near me. I'm holy. Older than you, that was their
attitude. So there was the Pharisees and
the scribes who were actually professional writers or scholars
whose duty it was to interpret the law and apply it to every
aspect of life. So you've got these publicans
and sinners coming to hear the Lord, and then you've got these
Pharisees and scribes seeing them and seeing the Lord's acceptance
to have them come. And what they began to do is
when they saw these Pharisees, these publicans and sinners drawing
near to the Lord, they murmured, they started murmuring, indignantly
complaining, saying, this man receiveth sinners. and eats with them. They thought themselves to be
so pure. But what they were saying, even
though they were saying it in a despising way toward the Lord,
actually these were words of hope for all that are needy and
spiritually impotent before the Lord. This man, he was sinners. You know, when the Lord makes
man and woman see themselves for what they are, that's what
that publican said when he was in the temple. Lord, God be merciful
to me, a sinner. One that does nothing but sin. Paul said, I see in me that is
in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing. Bill is present with me, but
how to perform that which I would, I find not. This man, this man
does truly receive sinners and eat with them. For this was none
other than the God-man mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ, God in
human flesh who came into this world to save his people from
their sins. came to save sinners. This is him. This is him before
whom every knee is gonna bow. Every tongue is going to confess
that he's Lord. This man, yeah, that's right. This man. These publicans and
sinners, these were the type he came to save. The Lord said,
Matthew 9, 13, for I'm not come to call the righteous. sinners, sinners to repentance. So there's none so precious unto
the Lord as those given him by the Father. Those who fell in
Adam's transgression all but in time by the grace of God shall
be made to see themselves for what they are, sinners who need
him, the savior of sinners. Well, the Lord, knowing what
the Pharisees and the scribes thought, says in verse 3 and
4, He spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you? He's talking to them. Now, what
man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them? does not leave the 99 in the
wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it. Now here the Lord will proclaim
unto these that heard him, his work, work given him of the father
as the great shepherd of the sheep. He's gonna teach them
in this parable, the truth of his church being the remnant
according to election, that he is going to save from themselves,
save from their sins. His bride is set forth here,
and really in this parable, and I'm going to show you this, the
bride is here represented as one sheep and a hundred. The Lord has a sheep throughout
this world, and he's gonna save them. He's gonna get them. I know it said that there were
a hundred sheep that belonged to the shepherd, but there's
something declared in this parable concerning these 99 that we need
to understand who they were. In the parable, in the Lord's
parable, the shepherd did something. Which
one of you, here's what he said now, which man of you, having
a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety
and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until
he find it? Now, while he went after the
one, That word leave there, and here's where it's good to understand
exactly what he's saying. That word leave means to leave
behind, to depart from, or forsake. Now that's something that the
Lord said he would never do to his own. Hebrews 13, five, let
your conversation Be without covetousness. Let your walk,
that is your character, be free from the love of this world,
the cravings of this world. And be content with such things
as you have. Be satisfied with your present
circumstances. Four, he has said, I will never
leave thee. I will never desert, I'll never
slacken or be loose from, nor forsake thee. I will in no degree
leave you behind or helpless. Which one of you having a hundred
sheep, if one of them's lost? And then also in verse seven,
I will say this concerning these 99, because there's a lot of,
there was some, you know, that thought that these were, you
know, They're all the Lord's people, but now concerning these
wordings, these words that the Lord's using. Verse seven, say,
I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons
which need no repentance. Now, these ninety and nine which
need no repentance, hold your place and turn just a few pages
back, one page maybe, Luke 13. One and two. He's just, but I'm
gonna look at that word just, too, in just a second. Need no
repentance. The Lord said in Luke 13, one
to three, there were present at that season some that told
him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their
sacrifices, and Jesus answering and said to them, suppose ye
that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because
they suffered such things, I tell you nay, but except ye repent,
You shall in all likewise, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those 18 upon whom the tower
of Siloam fell and slew them, think ye that they were sinners
above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you nay, but except ye
repent, you shall all likewise perish. Now when you see the
Lord in this parable, he's given a parable, a hundred sheep, One
of them's lost. 99 just persons, just persons. Again, looking up that wording,
that word just, it means righteous, those who seem to themselves
to be righteous and prided themselves on their virtues and therefore
need no repentance. Our Lord has an elect people. And this one sheep, here they
were, these Pharisees. There was Republicans and sinners
there to hear the Lord. And these Pharisees and scribes
began to murmur, this man, this man receiveth sinners and eats
with them. And he said, I'm going to give
you a parable. And he knew what they thought of themselves. He
knew what they thought. Just. And in need of no repentance. Our Lord has an elect people.
And this sheep is representative of all his beloved sheep. They're
lost. And don't know they're lost. A sheep has no direction, I found
out about that. They're the dumbest one of the
dumbest, of all animals, in the fall, lost in Adam's transgression,
no ability, no desire to be reconciled to God, dead in trespasses and
sins, oblivious to their need of rescue. Whenever the Lord
was pleased to cross my path, your path, prior to that, Did
the thought ever cross your mind? I'm lost. I'm in rebellion against
God. Apart from the grace of God,
I have no hope. I have no peace. I have no comfort.
I have no acceptance. Did you ever think that? No,
you didn't. No, you didn't. You never thought that. It wasn't
until the Lord came and shined the light of the glory of God
in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. You didn't even know
you were lost. You didn't care you were lost. Here, the Lord's got this one
sheep, it's gotta be rescued. And the recovery of this one
sheep in the Lord's parable was the very heart and desire of
the shepherd. Which one of you, having a hundred
sheep, if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and
nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until
he find it? Here, the shepherd left. Again, looking at that wording,
knowing what that word means, he left them in the wilderness
and went after the one lost sheep. Find that one lost sheep. Do
you ever think the Lord ever doesn't know where his people
are? Whenever the Lord must go through
Samaria, he must go through Samaria. Why? There was a woman there
that he was going to meet at a well When he was going through
Jericho, do you think that he knew that there was gonna be
a man up a tree named Zacchaeus? He was gonna stop right under
that tree and look up and say, Zacchaeus, make haste, come down, for today
I must abide at thy house. Think when he was walking down
the road, he knew that there was a blind man that was gonna
be sitting there that was gonna hear that this is the Son of
David. And that that man named Barnabas
would cry out, say, Jesus, thou Son of David. He said that, Jesus,
you who are the Messiah, have mercy upon me. And I think about
that to that, when that man called out, scripture says, and the
Lord stood still. You mean to tell me that a cry
from one of his own, a cry that's been put in that heart right
there, the Spirit of God gives that man a new heart, takes away
that heart of flesh, new spirit, and gives a man, makes a man
willing in the day of God's power. You think whenever that man,
that woman calls unto the Lord, you think the Lord hears it. Do it still. He knows his sheep. He calls them by name. They hear
his voice and they follow him. And he said, I am not sent but
unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And those he seeks,
he finds. John chapter six, verse 39. Scripture, this, is the Father's
will which has sent me that of all which he hath given me, I
should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last
day. Back in our text, Luke 15, verse
five. And when he hath found it, he
layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Hold your place there and turn
to Ezekiel 34, Ezekiel 34. Ezekiel 34, verse 11 to 16. For thus saith the Lord God,
behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them
out. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,
so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all
places where they've been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from
the people. gather them from the countries, bring them to
their own land, feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the
rivers and all the inhabited places of the country. I will
feed them in a good pasture. And upon the high mountains of
Israel shall their foal be. And shall, no, there shall they
lie in good foal, in fat pasture. Shall they feed among the mountains
of Israel, I will feed my flock, I will cause them to lie down,
saith the Lord God, I will seek that which was lost, and bring
again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was
broken, and will strengthen that which was sick, but I will destroy
the fat and the strong. I'll feed them with judgment.
We're gonna give them a parable. He said, it's what I'm gonna
do. It's what I'll do. Our last, next to last verse
for this morning, verse six, back in Luke 15. And when he
cometh home, he's put that found sheep on his shoulders, he says,
picks him up, and when he found it, lays it on his shoulders,
rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his
friends and neighbors, saying unto them, rejoice with me, for
I've found my sheep, which was lost. I want you to notice, He
brought that sheep home, that is, an inhabited house. You know what's significant about
that? He didn't bring him back to the wilderness, but rather
brought him back home. There's something just good about
just saying, I think I want to go home. I just want to go home,
you know? I miss home. home, where my heart
is. I'm gonna go home. And that lost
sheep had been found, restored, and now he's in constant fellowship
with the shepherd. And the shepherd, the scripture
says in his parable, calleth his friends and neighbors, saying
unto them, rejoice with me. I found my sheep, which was lost.
You know, Isn't there joy in the friends, the neighbors, friends
of the Lord's people? There's joy. Rejoice with me. Rejoice with me. Doesn't it just
rejoice your heart whenever God's pleased to call out one of His
own? What do you think? Lord, you know, Well, if you
save one of my family, if you save one of my neighbors, say,
Lord, call that your own and we rejoice together. The scripture says the amazing
thing about this rejoicing. Look at verse seven. He say,
I say unto you, likewise, joy shall be in heaven over one sinner
that repenteth. more than over 99 just persons
who need no repentance. There was joy in heaven. Speaking,
you know, not only do we consider when he said unto them in verse
six, when he said that shepherds are rejoiced with me, I found
my sheep which was lost. He said, now I'm telling you
this, likewise, there's joy in heaven There's joy in heaven
when the Lord recovers one of his own. Joy in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth. It's to think differently. Think
differently, number one, who God is. Now there's a revelation. Who's God? He's not that little
G God that I thought he was. He repents, he thinks differently
about himself. I thought I was all powerful,
free will. Thinks differently how God saves
a sinner. Saves them by grace, through faith. There's joy in
heaven. Joy in heaven over one sinner
that repented. Here, the Lord sets forth that
the joy that's found in heaven when God is pleased to seek out,
when it pleases him, seek out, search out, call to himself one
of his own. In closing, I want you to turn
to 1 Peter 1, 9 to 12. 1 Peter 1, 9 to 12. 1 Peter 1, verse 9 to 12. Receiving the end of your faith,
even the salvation of your souls. Salvation, the prophets have
inquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that
should come unto you." One of the writers said, these prophets
of old, they were moved upon by the Spirit of God and were
writing things that were amazingly wonderful. Salvation by grace,
salvation of the Gentiles. Receiving the end of your faith,
even the salvation of your souls, of which salvation the prophets
have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesy of the grace that
should come unto you, Searching what or what manner of time the
Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify when it testified
before him the sufferings of Christ, the glory that should
follow. They wrote of these things. They wrote of all these things.
God moved them and they wrote of it. And they inquired of it,
searched them diligently. These amazing things. unto whom
it was revealed that not unto themselves but unto us they should
minister the things which are now reported unto you by them
that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost
sent down from heaven, which things the angels desire to look
into." These angels, these created beings that ministering spirits, sent to
those who were heirs of salvation, the bidding of the Lord for them. There's so much that is not understood. Explain to me the triunity of
God. I've said that before. Explain
to me some of these marvelous things, these spiritual blessings
in heavenly places. Christ Jesus, these things that
we believe He said, these prophets, they penned them. That's what
the Spirit of God told them. And they inquired into them,
searched them out diligently. These things that even the angels
desire to look into. There's rejoicing though. They
look into these things and they see the marvelous grace of God.
They behold these things that are set forth. And by faith,
we believe. I think it was Brother Scott
that said, I'm not sent to explain them. I just proclaim them, just
proclaim these truths. Where it says, this shepherd
comes, he said, rejoice with me. I found my sheep, put it
on his shoulder, brought him home, brought him home. Likewise,
he said, I tell you, there's joy in heaven. There's joy in
heaven. And that's something you think about. God calling
out a sheep and heaven rejoices. These angels, you know, they
desire to look into it, but they rejoice. We rejoice that God
seeks and saves his people from their sins. I pray the Lord bless
this to our hearts again for Christ's sake. Amen.