Amazing grace. Luke 15. Do you remember when the Lord
said to His disciples, with desire have I desired to eat this Passover
with you before I suffer? Do you remember that? He was
saying, I've been looking forward to this, been greatly desiring.
Well, Luke 15. I knew it was coming up. And
with desire. Have I desired to look at this
with you? This is my story. This is your story. This is your
story. If you've been saved by that
amazing grace, this is your story. The Lord, in verses 1 and 2,
drew near unto Him all the public and the sinners to hear Him.
The Pharisees were murmuring. great crowds, or at least people
came to see and hear him for various reasons, then and now. They come for different reasons.
He was famous. He was a celebrity, so to speak.
They wanted to hear him, wanted to see him, wanted to see some
miracles. Some wanted to get something out of him, food, all
of that. Same today. The sense that all
the publicans and senators came to hear him, all of them Well,
all in that area at that time. But you know, we keep saying
this, and it's true, that this gospel is only for sinners. Salvation
is for sinners. God's going to save every sinner. I mean every sinner that knows
his sinner. He's going to hear the gospel. The old publicans
and sinners. Well, who were they? Who were
these publicans and sinners? Harlots? Thieves? Jailbirds? Down and out? No good? Everybody
looked down on them? He'll never amount to nothing?
No, he won't. The Lord said, I have not come
to call the righteous, but sinners to repent them. And the Pharisees,
they didn't come to hear Him. They didn't need Him. They didn't
need what he had to say. They didn't need his salvation.
They didn't need his righteousness. They didn't need his sanctification.
They didn't need his redemption. They fixed themselves up real
good. They quit all this, quit all that, and, you know, they've
got a nice little morality going on, and they're religious, and
now fixed up and going to heaven. No. No, they're lost and don't
know it. And they murmured. They murmured.
And they said in derision of Him, which is really His glory,
they said in derision of Him, this man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them. Aren't you glad? You know it's
the only ones He will eat with? This man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them. You know, you can't find your
name in the Bible. Spurgeon used to say, I'm glad
my name's not in there. Charles Spurgeon. He said, I
know it's got to be talking about somebody else. There's another
Charles. There's plenty of people with
your name all over the world. But now if your name's Sinner,
it's in there. This man receiveth sinners, and
he is with them. Well, he spoke this parable to
them. Who? The Republicans, the sinners,
the Pharisees, they heard it too. And it's really a three-part
parable. It's three parables in one. And what this is, is the work
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in saving sinners. It begins with the shepherd,
Christ, and it goes on to the woman that illuminates, the candle.
That's the Holy Spirit. And then it ends with the Heavenly
Father. Because these three are one in salvation. They work together
in salvation, saving of every sinner. You've got to put all
these parables together. It takes the work of all the
Trinity, saving sinners. And the thing about every saved one in here is they were
lost and found. The sheep was lost and found.
The coin was lost and found. The son was lost and found. Have
you ever been lost? What's lost mean? I'll tell you
exactly what it means in the dictionary. Lost means lost. I'll tell you what dead means
in the scripture. Dead. It says that's exactly what it
means. No man has ever been lost. His
wife says he has. He's not lost. And, you know,
you keep looking, you keep looking, and you'll find you'll happen
along the right road, you'll get there. Okay. You weren't
lost. See, ladies? Lost means you will not find,
you cannot find, you don't even know the direction to look. Lost means unless somebody comes
to find you, you're going to die. That's lost. I told you about Brother Walter
Groover. When he first went to Mexico, he liked to hunt, and
he went out deer hunting. And those of you who have been
down there, it's flat. It's flat. And if you're standing
on the ground, you have no mountains, no nothing for a reference point.
Zero. You better know where you are.
And the man told him, don't go out by yourself. Well, you know
what? And that's me. All we like sheep
in Australia. Well, he went out in the heat
of that Mexican sun, and he got lost. He didn't have anywhere
to look, nothing but a headache of plants, nothing but plants.
No tree to climb up, no nothing. He lay down on the ground. He
was out of water, and he would have died. He'll tell you this
story. The men came looking for him. The men in the Pueblo, they found
him. That's lost. That's lost. Bartered used to say, I'm not
trying to get people saved, I'm trying to get them lost. The first thing the Lord does
to someone is makes them see they're lost. Verse 3, speak
this parable unto them, saying, What 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? This
is the first thing our Lord does, is to us, is shows us we're lost. First step in salvation is to
show us you're lost. Ain't nothing you can do about
it. You're dead. until he find it. We brought
a whole message on that. How bad loss can somebody get
until the Lord finds it? Oh, the depths of depravity that
a sheep can get into, that a son can get into, deep, until he
find it. How lost, how bad, how deep can
a sinner fall into a pit? How deep? Deep. The depths of
depravity. Some in this room. Aren't you glad his arm's not
too short? We sing that song. I love to
sing that song. John and I sing that song. He
reached down for me. How far down did he have to reach
for us, John? The bottom of the barrel. His arm is not short. He's able
to save to the uttermost. He's the only one that can, and
He does until He finds it. There's no doubt now He's going
to find it. If it's His sheep, until He finds it. Who found
who? The shepherd found the sheep.
And He left the 90 and 9. He left the Father's throne.
Would Christ come all the way down to this earth? leave the
angels and the Father and everybody in glory to come down and save
the likes of me? He sure did. That's why he did
it. That's why he did it. David, you remember David the
bear and the lion? Both of them took one little
lamb. Well, what's one little lamb? They didn't have it. We've
got plenty of those. See, David's power. His honor
as a shepherd is at stake. And our Lord said to the Father,
all which thou hast given me, I have lost nothing. I have kept
them all. You gave them to me, and I'll
not lose one of them. Yeah, but you don't need that
one. No, I don't. But he's mine. And I go after
him. Aren't you glad the Lord is our
shepherd? Until he finds it. And when he finds it, what does
he do? He lays it on his shoulder, rejoicing. When the Lord saves His people,
they rejoice. But you know what? He rejoices.
He rejoices. Who for the joy set before Him
endured the cross, despised the shame. It gave Him great joy
to come down here and save His own. Great joy. Wouldn't it,
you? Your lost child. Wouldn't it
give you great joy if they were lost and you found them? Hey! I'm here! Oh, thank you, you came for me. Yes,
I'm happy as you are. In every one of these stories,
it talks about rejoicing. Lost, found. Dead, alive. And
there's a rejoicing, a celebration in heaven over one sinner. Now, we know as we've been known,
I don't know what they're aware of. I really don't. But if they're
aware of it, let's say me, don't leave him. He's not worth it.
Look at him. He's not worth it. Look, there's
a better example. No, the Lord said, I'm going
after that one. Whew, man, what mercy. Yeah, boy. And when he comes, he puts it
on his shoulders. I despise that old wall hanging that says the
footprints in the sand, you know. He talks about, you know, only
two sets of footprints and then one. And they said, why did you
leave me? I didn't leave you. You walked
so far and then I picked you up. Isaiah 46 says He's carried us
from the womb. While we were yet sinners. While
we were yet sinners. This Father, we're going to see,
I hope we get to it. The Father saw Him while He was
afar off. He's watching Him. But long before
the Son saw the Father. And while we were yet sinners,
He's carried us. And He never puts us down one
time. We're on His shoulders. And He takes us all the way to
glory. Why? To the praise of the glory of
His grace. He said, I'll carry you to your
hoary head. Aren't you glad? Don't put me
down, Lord, for one minute. Rejoice with me. He says in verse
6, you come home and rejoice with me. I have found my sheep. Not goat. He wasn't looking for
a goat. He was looking for a sheep. I have found my sheep, which
was lost. Praise the shepherd. That's the
work of Christ. Now, here's the Holy Spirit.
Now, what woman, verse 8, having ten pieces of silver, if she
lose one piece, does not light a candle and sweep the house?
and seek diligently until she find it. Now, don't think of
silver here as being something valuable. If you look at the
margin, it says a penny. A penny. You know, very soon,
they're probably going to do away with pennies. You know that? Because they're so worthless. If you lost a penny, tell me,
if you lost a penny, would you go, oh no, I've lost a penny. Would you go after it? No, she
wouldn't. I've got one million more just
like it. Well, see, it's a pretty worthless little business. But
now, she said, I'm going after it. I'm going to find that lost
coin. You and I, by nature, are not
worth anything. We're not worth anything. Worth
less. You know that? No matter what
our mamas say, there's a zillion others just like us, just like
worms, all of us worms. We're nothing special. But now if Jesus Christ, if God
chose you and gave you to Jesus Christ and he laid down his life
for you and shed his precious blood, that great price he paid
on Calvary's tree for you, you know what you are. to His glory, to His honor, to
His power. Not in yourself, but to Him. You don't feel like you're worth
anything, but to Him. He set His love on you. He loves
you. It's not you, it's Him. And He's
not going to lose you. He's not going to do it. You're
going to get lost, but He's going to find you. And it says, this
woman lit a candle and swept the house. Well, that's the Holy
Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. Candle is a church. And the preaching of the gospel,
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Christ, and sweeps the house. Sweep over my soul, sweet Spirit
of God. Sweep over my soul. That's what
we've seen. Until she finds it. The gospel is going to find every
person that God chose and gave to Christ. They're going to hear
that gospel. They're going to hear Christ's voice. And they're
going to see. They're going to be enlightened.
That coin was in darkness. It's going to be enlightened.
Dead coin it. Made alive. And it says, she
called her friends to neighbor. Rejoice with me. I have found
the peace which I had lost. And likewise, I say unto you,
there's joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner
that repented. Too often, and I'm guilty of
this, we hurry through these first two to get to the prodigal
son. But brothers and sisters, the work of God, well, the work
of Christ, oh my, the shepherd, all that he endured, 33 years
seeking and saving Islam. 33 years. And the Holy Spirit,
we grieve Him, we quench Him. He saves us though. We don't give the Holy Spirit
enough glory. We don't talk enough about Him. He saves us too. Thank God for
His Holy Spirit. I wish my dad was here to preach
this. A certain man had two sons. The younger, does that sound
familiar? Jacob have I done. Esau have
I had. Elder shall serve the younger.
The younger of them said to his father, verse 12, Father, give
me the portion of goods that follows to me. And he divided
his living. Give me! Give me, give me, give
me. Isn't that us? When we were kids? Isn't that all mankind to God? Give me, give me, give me. Thank God He doesn't give us
what we deserve. The wages of sin is dead. The
gift of God is eternal life. But that's all mankind needs
God for. Give me, give me, give me. So he did. This rich, this father
was rich. He had many servants, hired servants.
He had everything to give. And he did. He just freely gave.
And God's tender mercies are over all his works. You know,
mankind, if he works hard enough and goes after it, he'll pretty
much get what he wants. Give your life to whatever it
is. Give your life to a career and you'll get it. You'll get
all the getting you can get. And what do you got? Nothing. But the Lord freely gives. What
does He require of us? What does He require? Thanks. Let's start with that. Fear. Thanks. Surrender unto
God His due. Thank you. Thank you. No. Gimme, gimme. I'm out of here.
I'm out of here. And not many days. Now look at
the language. The key words here, not many
days after the son, younger son, gathered all together and took
his journey. Took his journey. We all go on
a journey, don't we? We all, oh, here's where I'm
headed. Here's where I'm going. Here's
a way that seems right. Oh my, if God doesn't stop our
wild career. Young people, where are you headed?
What journey were you after? It says he went into a far country. That is, he got just as far away
from his father as he could get. And doesn't Ephesians say, you
that were afar off. And there he wasted his substance,
his body, his mind, his living with riotous Far off, now here
he is, gimme, gimme, gimme, I'm out of here. And he went as far
as he could get, as far as he could get away from the Father,
wasted and rioting. Now why would anyone save such
a one as that? Because he's God. Right. Verse 14, he spent all,
spent, spent himself. And there arose a mighty famine
in the land. He began to be in want. Listen
to this picture. Give me, give me, give me. So
he just run, run in the wrong way just as fast. I saw a bumper
sticker that said the guy thought it was cute. He said, I'd say,
he said, He said, I'm lost, but I'm making record time. Meaning,
I don't know where I'm going, but I'm getting there as fast
as I can. That's my idea. I don't know
what I'm doing, but I'm going, it's just rip roaring, snorting
the wrong way. He's proud of that. So he's gone. Far country. Wasted. Riotous. Spent. And he began
a famine in the land. And he began to want. Now he's
in want. He didn't know what he wants.
He began to be in want. Dad used to call this grace before
grace. Where the Lord begins to work
on a product or a lost sinner and to make them wants what they
don't know what they want. You've heard my father-in-law's
story. Mindy, you and I might not be here if it wasn't for
that, right? We're sons of Eddie, daughter,
sons of Jacob. Aren't you glad the Lord wrestled
with Jacob? That's why we're here. But her father you know,
was out in the world making a living and all that. And he lived for
making a living, making money and all that. And he did quite
well in all that. And he was a member of a first
Christian church. Anybody was there. And nothing
to it. It's just empty. It's a hog pen. It's husks. But all of a sudden, the Lord
made him discontent. Just all of a sudden. He thought,
I'm not happy here. And he went to the preacher,
didn't he, and he said, I don't know what I'm not hearing, but
he said, I'm not hearing something. That's his exact word. I don't know what I'm not hearing,
but I'm not hearing something. I need to hear something. And the preacher, being the hireling
that he was, he said this, well, I'll try to do better. If I ever
say that to you, leave, go somewhere, find somebody. It's not going
to change his message. Doesn't need to. Well, he continued
to make her dad discontent. And some fellow he was working
with said, you need to go hear Henry Mahan. You need to go hear
Henry Mahan first. And he did. And after a little while, here
at sitting under the gospel, he came back to see that and
he said, I see! I see! Like that coin, I see. He heard the shepherd's voice. And he's there to the day that.
He began to be in walks, grace before
grace. And he went and joined himself
to a citizen of that country. And he sent him into the fields
to feed swine. This is a picture of somebody
getting religion. That's what it is. Our Lord said, cast not
your pearls before swine. You know that story of the Lord
putting the devils in that herd of swine? And they all ran violently
down the hill and were drowned? Well, that's a Pentecostal meeting
is what that is. All those swines, like one big
Pentecostal meeting. That's exactly what it is. Religion
is husks. The external. Caught up with
this, the signs, the miracles, the wonders and all that. What's
the kernel? What's the seed? What's the corn? What's the lime?
Jesus Christ. And religion is just the external.
The less you have on the inside, the more you have to have on
the outside. So he joined religion. And he gave him something to
do. What? Feed the swine. That's how you keep church members.
You give them something to do. And he feigned, verse 16, would
have filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat.
He faked it. Feigned. Tried. He couldn't get
anything out of it. Like my father. Couldn't get
a thing out of it. And nobody gave to him. Nobody
could help him. Nobody. And look at this, here's salvation,
verse 17. When he came to himself, all of a sudden, he came to himself. What does that mean? He saw himself
for what he really was. He was down in the hog pen, eating
with the hogs. And he, look where I'm at. Look what I'm doing. In the pit,
look where I'm at. Look where I put myself. Came to himself. See himself
for what he was. Lost. Undone. No good. A rebellious son. Ungrateful. Unthankful. Unworthy. And he said, in verse
17, there's a hired servants of my father's half, and they
haven't bred enough to spare. And I perish with hunger. This
is what I'll do. Here's his resolve. Verse 18.
He said, I'll arise and go to my father. And I'll say unto
him, Father, I have sinned. He made up this little speech. Father, I have sinned against
heaven. Now you've got it right. Like David, against thee and
thee only. I have sinned against heaven
and before thee, against you, against heaven. I am unworthy
to be called thy son. Make me as one of the hired servants.
So he did. That's what he thought. I want
to go home. I'm going to go home. And who's doing this? God is. The Father. And all that the
Father giveth me will come to me. Come to Christ. He arose. He came to the Father. He came to the Father. Verse
20. And when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him. He saw him coming. Long before
the son saw the father, the father saw the son. And look at this. He had compassion. And he ran,
he ran, ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. Fell on his neck
and kissed him. Oh my, this sorry son. The father ran, the scripture
says he's a God ready to pardon. He's ready to pardon the spirit,
ready to forgive, merciful, gracious, compassionate, full of mercy,
plenteous in redemption, ready to pardon, waits to be gracious.
Fell on his neck, ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. Kissed
him like he'd never been gone. And the son said unto him, the
son was going to do his little rehearsed speech. He said, Father,
I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight no more worthy
to be called the son before I could get it all out. The father said,
Bring the best robe. He couldn't finish his prayer.
You know, Scripture says, God the Father will hear us before
they call. He said, I'll hear them. He's
the one that makes us call. And we have our little rehearsed
speeches. No, we're not heard for our much speaking or the
orthodoxy of it. We're heard for who we speak
through, the Lord Jesus Christ, and from the heart. That's a
brokenhearted sinner against God. against God. And the Father
said three things, bring the best robe, put it on him, put
a ring on his feet, on his hands, and shoes on his feet. Bring
the best, this is the gospel people, bring the robe, the ring,
and the shoes. Bring the robe, he's naked, he's
got rags on, take those rags off of him, put on Christ's righteousness,
he's naked, cover him. Put that ring on his finger.
He was alone out there. He thought, all forgotten, unloved,
nobody left. Put that ring on him to tell
him, you're mine. You're my bride. You left me, I'll never leave
you. I won't cast you out for any reason. And put those shoes
on his feet. The culmination of it all. Bring
hither the fatted calf. The father had killed, had fatted
a calf before the son ever even thought about coming home. The
father was fattening this calf. Who for? Somebody may have asked
him. Who's that calf for? Well, for my son. This one, no. One is gone. He's coming home. Christ is a lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. Who for? That sorry girl that
long before she ever gave him a thought. That's his daughter.
That's his daughter. And Christ was crucified for
her long before she knew. Bring that fatted cat. Kill it.
Let us eat and be merry. For this my son was dead and
is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to be merry. Happy. Who was happy? Father
was happy. Who was happy? The son was happy.
Who was happy? The servants were happy. Scripture
says there'll be joy in heaven over one sinner that repented.
And among all the sinners that he brought, they're happy. Because
they know this was their story. They had another son. And I'm preaching right now to
both counts. It's always so, in any crowd.
The Pharisees and the sinners. The sinners were hearing this,
like, this is great, everything you're saying is truth, it's
truth, it's true, that's me. I was a lost sheep, I was a lost
coin, I was a lost son, unworthy, that's so. I was in religion,
I was filling with husk, that's me, that's me, that's me, that's
this world, that's where I was. And you got Pharisees saying,
that ain't right, that ain't right, that ain't true. This son, the elder son, he's
out in the field. What's he doing? Work, work,
work, work, work, work, work, work. He's working, working,
working, working. Hey, Drew, now he heard music
and dancing. He called one of the servants,
what is this? And they said, your brother's
come, your father's, your brother's home! Your brother's home! He's come home! You're sorry
no good brother is gone. We thought he was dead. He's
not. He's alive. He was lost. He's
found. Your brother's home. What do
you think if this was a true brother? What would he say? Really? Bill, my brother Bill, he'd run
in there and grab me by the neck. Oh, brother Bill, we're so glad
you're home. Oh, we missed you. Oh, I thought
you were gone. Jealous. That's sorry, brother of mine.
You mean he's here? And dad has killed a fatty calf
for him? He ain't never killed a fatty
calf for me. He ain't never been a sinner,
then, have you? He never gave me the best robe. He never put
a ring on my thing. He was angry. Angry. He wouldn't go in. He wouldn't
go in to that celebration. You see what that's a picture
of? Pharisee. He said, all these years I served
you, I haven't transgressed one time. I haven't broken one of
your commandments. Not one. That's what he said.
And he never gave me a kid. I make merry with my friends. And as soon as this your son,
not my brother, but your son came, he devoured living with
harlots. You've killed for him the fat cat. He was angry. And here's what the father said
to him, and I closed. Son, thou art ever with me, and
all that I have is thine. You know, Pharisees have, they
read what we read. No. Jacob and Esau, they heard
the same thing. Cain and Abel, they heard the
same thing. Who made the difference? Where was the mercy of God? Jacob had it. Sovereign election
of God. And the son that he killed the
calf for, unworthy, unworthy, unworthy. He didn't, said, I'm
worthy of this, and you can give it to me. And he said, son, everything
you have is here, and you're with me, and you've never asked
for it. You've never asked for it. You've
never needed it. It's right here. Are you with
me? That's what he said. It was right
here all along. You never needed a cap. You never wanted to ring.
You never needed a robe. You just find the way you are.
And you're with me all the time, but he didn't come to save the righteous.
The well don't need a physician. That's what our Lord said. But
the sick. And it's great mercy. It's hard
to look at it this way, but it is. For God to bring somebody
as low as they can get. As low as they can get. Because
the hog pen can be a church pew, as well as a pit out in the world.
The hog pen is a church pew and a pit, same thing. Unless God
brings us to ourselves, we're not going to ask for mercy.
And he says, verse 32, it's fitting that we should make merry and
be glad. Your brother was dead. He's alive
again. He was lost and he's found. And isn't it fitting that we're
met here today? If you're that sheep, if you're
that coin, if you're that son, stand with me. If you're that
sheep, if you're that coin, if you're that lost son, and God
through the Gospel came and found you, and illuminated you, and
brought you to yourself, and see your need of the fatted calf,
and how you don't deserve a ring on your finger, and now you've
been shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and now
you're just unworthy to be here, but thankful that you are, and
you're one of us. This is for you. That's for you. All right, let's be dismissed
in prayer. Father in heaven, thank you,
thank you, thank you. Thank you again. God, have mercy on our souls. Us and our children, have mercy
upon us. We're all unworthy. The best
of us is altogether vanity. And we need mercy. We need grace. We need the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We need Thy Holy Spirit to lead
us and guide us and direct us and keep us and constrain us
and restrain. We need Thy love, O Father, to
keep us, to receive us, because we are prodigal. We play the
prodigal time and time again. We sin and we come back. And thou art so gracious and
so merciful and so blessed that you receive us time and time
again. Show us, Lord, what we really
are. Keep showing us, bringing us to ourselves. Show us what
we are and who you are and what you've done for us. For Christ's
sake. Amen. You're dismissed.