Most of you have heard this story
many times. If you haven't heard it preached,
I've at least read it many times, very familiar. But the gospel's
called gospel. It means good news. It's a savor
of life. And he that hath the Son hath
the life. If you love the Son, you'll never tire
of hearing that. This message is the voice of
God, the word of God is his voice and how he speaks to us. Hopefully
we'll hear it with more than just the head, with the heart.
Hopefully it will pass through these ears on down and touch
our hearts like the disciples on the road to Emmaus who said,
it's our hearts burning. And he was known of them. and
breaking bread. We just sang that. Did we sing
it from the heart? Break now, Lord, the bread of
life to me. Did we sing that from the heart?
If we did, I believe your heart would bless. And this is good news. We say
this all the time, but the gospel is only good news to sinners. And sinners will always be sinners. Though being conformed to Christ's
image, though there's a new creature in them, yet there's this old
man, this sinner. And there will always be sinners,
and they know it, and they feel it, and that's why the gospel
is good news. Every time. Sometimes they hear
it like they've never heard it before. You know, the first time you
heard the gospel, wasn't it the greatest thing you ever heard?
Huh? Wasn't he the greatest one? And sometimes, by His grace, if He eats with you, sucks with
you, breaks the bread unto you, it's the best news you ever heard.
Like you never heard it. I pray He'll do that. My pastor
preached over 30 messages on that one chapter. I'm glad I
listen to him a lot. He's still my pastor. and went
back and listened to him on this after I'd prepared my message.
And I'm glad I did. It blessed my heart. But he said
some things I would have left out. He started by saying this, and
it's like a broken record, but in order to understand God's
Word, you have to understand who's speaking, to whom He's
speaking, and what the subject is. Or you'll misapply it. You'll misunderstand it. Our
Lord here, look at verses 1 and 2. Then drew near unto him all
the publicans and sinners for to hear him. Publicans and sinners, that's
who he came for, didn't he? This man received a sinner. The
Pharisees, verse 2, the scribes, they were everywhere. They were
religious people, moral people, law-keeping people, they thought.
And they looked down their nose at these publicans and these
sinners, who were everyday, ordinary, common people, harlots. And these religious, moral, self-righteous
pharisees, they didn't have anything to do with them. Like the time
our Lord was in Simon's house, and he said, if he knew what
manner of woman that was, Even disciples one time came along,
and our Lord was talking to the woman at the well, been married
five times. A sinner, been married five times. And they thought,
don't you know who you're talking to? They'd forgotten where he
found them. This is for sinners. We say that
all the time, don't we? That's what this book says, from
start to finish. Now, if you're a sinner, that's
good news. That's good news. You know, my name's not in the
Bible. It's yours. How do you know it came for you? How do you know God loves you?
Your name's not there. You can't open the book of life. Like this little girl named Edith.
A little girl named Edith went home and said, my name's in the
Bible. And her mother said, honey, I
don't think so. Oh, yeah. He said, this man receiveth sinners
and eateth with them. Well, brethren, my name is in
this book and it's sinner. How about you? Pharisees said,
we may not sinners, but what's a sinner? Huh? How does the Bible describe a
sinner? Preacher, don't start on this again. Well, there's
the door. He didn't come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repent. And that ain't a one-time thing.
Repentance. It's a lifelong thing. And they
know it. And that's who he came for. Those
Pharisees said, we'd be not sinners, but I am. Scott Richardson used
to say, you can't claim the promise. You can't claim the promises
unless you fit the character described in the promise. This
man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." You know, that's
where you'll find the Lord Jesus Christ. You won't find Him in
the congregation of the so-called those who think they're righteous.
You won't find Him amongst the self-righteous. You'll find Him
among sinners. It shouldn't surprise us that the Lord ate and drank
with sinners. That's who He came for. And it
shouldn't surprise us if sinners look for Him. Those are the only
ones that need Him. And he spake this parable. Christ
spoke this parable unto them. These Pharisees murmured and
said, this man receiveth sinners. You know, they said so much in
derision of our Lord, didn't they, mocking Him, when actually
it glorified Him. So much they said. The wrath
of man shall praise Him. They said, this man receiveth
sinners. Isn't that wonderful? That's
His glory. That's a sinner's hope. They
said he saved others, himself he can't save. That's right.
Isn't that wonderful? In order to save us, he couldn't
save himself. Well, he's faked this parable
unto them. Now listen, and here's what men
do. They, unlearned and unstable,
rest the scriptures. You cannot take one part of them.
This is not three parables. This is one parable with three
parts. And our Lord spoke all three of these parables together
for this reason. Here's the subject that he's
dealing with. Somebody's lost and they must be found. And he
can't find himself. Somebody has to go get him. He's
preaching, he's teaching salvation for the lost. He's telling his
Pharisees. I came to save sinners. I came
for the lost. I have come to seek and to save
that which was lost. They're dead. I have come that
they might have life. They're unrighteous. I have come
to give them my righteousness. Salvation is of the Lord. That's
what he's preaching here. That's what he's teaching here.
In fact, the whole Bible teaches that. And he gives these three
parts of one parable. And they're the work of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Love of the Father. Drawing of
the Father, no man will come unless the Father draws him.
The redemption by the Son, the Son of God come to lay down His
life for His sheep, and the illumination, the regeneration, the enlightening,
the quickening power of the Spirit of God that this woman represents.
It's all here. But it's not in that order, is
it? Why? Well, our Lord got it right.
He got it right. Because you don't know anything
about the love of God until you see something of Christ
crucified and until the Spirit of God illuminates you. Then
you find out, God must have loved me. Isn't that? You can't start with God loves
you and Christ died for you and won't you accept Him and leave
out the Holy Spirit. Oh, no. No, no. What you start with is
a lost sheep, wandering, rebellious. Look at it. In verse 3, He spake
this parable and said, 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, until he
find it? It doesn't say he hopes he finds
it, does it? It doesn't say if that sheep will take the first
step. He's lost. Why has he lost? He wandered
off. And when he had found it, who
did to find it? Who did to save him? Who gets
the glory? Can I get excited about this?
This is my story. If you're a sheep, if you're
a sheep, you know that Christ came and found you.
You didn't find yourself. The sheep's not looking. The
coin's not looking. And when he had found it, what's
he doing? Now, little sheep, you've gone
the wrong way. Now, turn around. Now, you head
on back home now. Here, I found you down at the
wall. Oh, no. He lays it on his shoulders. I just sang and quoted that Isaiah
46 for you. When hoary heads... He said,
from the womb I have borne you, I have carried you. And until
you are hoary head, I will carry you all the days of your life. On His broad shoulders. But you
know what He had to go through to find this lost sheep? I preached the whole message
years ago, until he found it, on the condition that that sheep
got in, and the depths of its sin and depravity that that sheep
got in, that the shepherd had to come and find him, the depths
that he had to go to find this lost sheep. And what did it take
for Christ to find his people, to save his people? He had to
be crucified. He had to go to hell, the depths.
Oh, the depth of the love of God. Oh, the height. How far
it brings us up from how low we were. Oh, the length. His arms not short. We sing that
song all the time. When He reached way down for
me. How far down did He have to reach
for you? Well, Mary Magdalene will tell you, way down. The
thief on the cross would tell you, He got the bottom of the
barrel when He got me. In fact, all of God's people
say that. His arms are not short. And the height, the breadth,
oh, the wideness. Will He receive the chief of
sinners? Yes, He will. How many? All of them. He found it, you see? He lay
it on His shoulder. And He comes home. And there's
going to be a homecoming some day. You know that? Christ coming
for his sheep to take them back to that place he prepared for
them. He prepared. To receive them unto himself.
There's going to be a homecoming. What's it all about? What's his
homecoming all about? He says, Rejoice with me. He
says it to his friends. These are his friends. His neighbors. His close associates. Saying
unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which
was lost. They praise and honor and glorify
that great shepherd who went into wilderness to find this
lost sheep. He did it all. He gets all the
glories. Speaking to one of our ladies, and she was bemoaning her sinfulness,
and I know her. She's not that walking the streets,
hanging around the bar. But she still feels like the
chief of sinners. He said, no, she said, nobody
can be like me. He said, I'm the black sheep.
That's what she said. If I'm a sheep, I'm a black sheep.
I said, sister, we're all black sheep. Like the Shulamite maiden,
she said, I'm black. With Cumberland. How can you
be both? Well, you know, through his Cumberland. Rejoice with me, heaven rejoices,
unto Him that loved us and washed us and found us. Unto Him be honor and glory and
strength and power and glory and blessing. Unto Him, unto
Him, unto Him, unto Him. We sing hymns, don't we, all
about Him. Not us. Him. And likewise, verse 7, he said,
there's joy in heaven over one sinner that repented. Among the
angels, he said later on. Now, the angels, you know the
angels marvel when they see the rebellion of man. Now, you reckon they saw their fellow angels
rebel against God, got swift justice. Put them in chains. No mercy. Zero. For how many? Reserved in darkness. Chains. Forever. Awaiting to be destroyed. And they saw that. And then they
see this man and this woman in the same rebellion. The same
thing that Lucifer did. I will, for he will. And what
about that? That's all over the world. And
the angel saw that. You know they marvel. that God
didn't right then and there send that man and that woman where
those angels were. But He didn't. Why? Because of God's mercy. They'd never known that side
of God before. Mercy. If they'd asked Him, what
is this? You're sparing that man and woman. You didn't spare the angels that
kept not their first to stay. Why are you sparing that sinner?
Because I'm merciful. The Lord God merciful. I will
be merciful to whom I will be merciful, and it's great mercy
that is merciful to any." Broken record, isn't it? You need mercy. When was these 9am now? He just
said, just persons which need no repentance. Now, is there
anybody that doesn't need repentance? No. But there are many that don't
think they do. He spoke that parable of the
Pharisee and the Publican to them that thought they were righteous. Now what does that tell you about
the percentage of true people to follow? One in a million. How do you know? They were lost. And he found
them. And they know who did the sinking. They know who did the saving.
And we've looked at sheep. Sheep aren't a clean animal. They're a dirty animal. They
have to be washed. They have to be dipped. Sheep
dipped. Or they'll be infested with every
kind They're filthy. And they're not obedient by nature.
Oh, no. They're prone to wander. Do you
love that song? Is that one of your favorite
hymns? Prone to wander, Lord, I think you must be a sheep.
That's what he came for. And he left the ninety and nine
to go after... He said, I ain't come to call
the righteous. but sinners to repent. He goes
where they are. He found them everywhere. He
finds them where they are. He puts them in a place where
he finds them. Where is that? Look at the next
story. What woman, having ten pieces
of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a candle and sweep
the house? Oh, this lost sheep's in the
house. This lost coin's in the house.
And she seeks diligently till she finds it. And when she hath
found it, she lit a candle and she found it. And she called
her friends and neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for
I have found the peace which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto
you, Joy, there is joy in the presence of angels, of the angels
of God, over one sinner that repenteth. For it is the goodness
of God that leads him to repentance. God sends His Holy Spirit through
the illuminating power of the Word of God, the Gospel of God,
which is the light of the knowledge. It's not just preaching the Word,
it's preaching Christ. He is the Word. The light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the person of Christ,
in the face of Christ. You see, it began with the shepherd
going after the lost sheep, didn't it? Well, the Holy Spirit of
God takes that message and illuminates your dark heart. Gives you life. That coin is dead. The coin is
lying in the dust. The coin's not looking for the
woman. The woman's looking for the coin, diligently. Will she
find it? She did. Our Lord said of Yeshiva,
all that thou hast given me, none is lost. You know, this one piece of silver
is really not worth much. If you read the margin, it goes
down to a Roman penny. You know, we're not worth much.
You're not worth finding, not worth saving. Oh, well, what's
one penny? What's one sinner? What's one
lost sheep? Nothing in itself, but if they're
his, he's not going to lose one. You see, his glory's at stake.
His power is at stake. That's what's wrong with this
message today, the love of God. What good is the love of God
if He loses one that He loves? Would you save those you love
if you could? Would you? Oh, I don't want to
violate His free will. My son's crossing the street.
My little child is crossing the street. Here comes a car. I don't
want to violate His free will. He's got to learn. No! That's ignorance. What kind of
father is that, Nicky? We've got a father and none of
them are going to perish. Why? Them? No. Him. He's the one that comes. Christ
is the one that came to find us. The Spirit of God is the
one that God sent to preach the gospel to His people. And He
said, My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow
me. I'm going to find them." And he finds them through the
preaching of the gospel. That's how you know them. Like I said,
they're found in the house. Maybe a play on words, but it's
true. You know where you'll find them? They were once lost, now
found. You know where you'll find them?
In Christ. You'll find them where the gospel
is. You'll find them in the house of God, with the people of God.
You'll find them in the fold, like sheep are. That's where
they want to be. That's how you know defeat. I
don't want to run off again. I don't want to run off again. Nothing but trouble out there. I thought I was lost forever.
Oh, I want to be found in heaven. Likewise, there's joy. Now, the
father, verse 11. He said a certain man had two
sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give
me. Give me. Give me. And that's just like a child.
Unthankful, ungrateful. Huh? Thinking they ought it? Thinking they deserve it? Give
me. Not would you, not please, not I don't deserve it. He finds
out later he doesn't deserve it. But not until he gets it
hog pinned. You know these stories talk about
the shepherd losing the sheep and then the woman losing the
coin. You know that? That's by design because you know how God
is going to find you. He's going to get you lost. He'll
get you lost. You've got Rothbard. You hear
me quote him all the time because he's the man that opened the
eyes of so many in the beginning. And he used to say to these fellas,
I'm not trying to get people saved. I'm trying to get them
lost. And God sent him to all these
southern Baptist places, Methodist places, all these places where
the ninety and nine were. Looking for lost sheep. Like
my pastor said, I'm not looking for goats. I'm not looking for
church members. I'm looking for sheep. Lost sheep. I got a message for lost sheep.
And that's how he defines them. But the Lord first gets them
lost. He makes them know they're lost.
He makes them know they're blind, they're dead, they're dumb. They're
dumb, they're deaf. They're unworthy like His Son.
He makes them first know they're unworthy. He makes them see the
whole thing they've gotten themselves into. And they're unworthy, unworthy,
unworthy. Wandering sheep, black sheep,
worthless piece of silver. Worthless, ungrateful, rebellious
son. That's who God saved. And He gets them into that shape.
How? He doesn't make them sin. What
does he do? Leave them alone. You leave your children alone,
you know what they'll become? Devils. You know how you know it? They're
your son's daughter. Right? They're my son's daughter. I know it, just like that. And the great love was what he
loved. Well, this son took his journey into a far country. Took his journey into a far country,
verse 13, wasted his substance with riotous living. You know, you can waste your
substance and you can be far from God in a pew as well as
in the gutter. You can thank your Savior and
be sure for heaven as if you're already there and you're one
of the furthest from it. That's right. You can be out
in this world and be successful and be loved and be esteemed
highly by people and have all the finery and have all the knowledge.
in the world and have all the attainments and the best, the
finest that this world has to offer, and your substance is
wasted. Your mind, your heart, your soul,
you've given it all to something that's a waste. Vanity of vanity. It's not just in the gutter that
people get. It's in success. Prosperity. And when he had spit off, verse
14, he spit it off, a mighty famine arose in the land. He began to be in want. You know,
Amos 8, verse 11, I believe it is, says, in the last days there
will be a famine, but not of bread, of thirst, but not for
water. He said there will be a famine
of the hearing of the Word. of the world. A mighty famine
in the land. He spent all. He began to be
in want. In verse 15, he went and joined
himself to a citizen of that country. Now, this is a son of
the Father, but he's joined to a citizen of that country who
is going to do him no good. It's going to do him nothing
but evil. God's people cannot be joined. Christ can't be joined
with Baal. You know where you'll end up? Light can't have fellowship with
darkness. You know where you'll be? You'll be in darkness even
as others. You'll sleep as do others. But God in mercy brings
you out. And religion is a hog pen. The
swine here, this man, he joined himself like people join a church
and people say, I'm looking for a church. And you see it in the
newspaper, join the church of your choice. You want to be,
the Lord adds to the church daily, such as should be said. What
you want to be joined to is His church. Not the church of your
choice, but the church of His choice. His church. That's who
you want to be joined to. And He's the one that joins you.
You don't join Him. He joins you. He joins you to His people. But
this man, he joined himself to a citizen of that country, of
the world, and that man, what did he do? He sent him into His
field. to feed swine. Swine have always represented
the religious people of the world. He said, give not that which
is cast not your pearls before swine. Talked about the swine
went violently down the hill and went into the sea. And this happens all the time.
People get religion, you know, they get down and out, and they
get to be in want, they get to be in need. A man gets to be,
he's a drunk, or on drugs, or he's lived a bad life, or a young
lady, and they go through these things, and they begin to be
in want, and they go to some kind of religious service, and
they meet some people that seem to care for them, and they have
an altar call, and they go down front, and they get saved, so
to speak. You ask them later what happened. They have no clue.
They can't tell you anything about Christ crucified. They
can't tell you anything about the truth. They have this emotional
experience and they get saved. And in order for the preacher,
the preacher who's a con artist, who's a crook, in order for him
to keep them, he gives them a job to do. He makes them busy. He
keeps them busy. He makes them feel special. Makes
them feel wanted. That the church can't be church
without you. And he gives them a job. He makes them an officer. He makes them a Sunday school
teacher. Right, John? Right there sits a man that'll
tell you. Right there sits a man that'll tell you. And he got
saved, so to speak, in free will, works, man-centered religion,
didn't know God. Won't you, John? He'll tell you.
And he wasn't saved, so to speak, for 30 days. They made him a
Sunday school teacher. That's how they keep them. That's wicked. and sent him into his fields
to feed swine. It wasn't the Lord's field where
sheep were, to feed swine. And he feigned, verse 16, would
have filled his belly with the husks. He attempted to fill his
belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and nobody could
give him any substance. Nobody could fill him up. He
was empty all the time. He kept coming to hear this message,
and he couldn't get anything out of it because there wasn't
anything to it. It's fast. The preacher told him how he'd
do this, he'd do that, and he looked inside and couldn't find
anything. Couldn't get any hope, any help,
any peace, any comfort, any strength, any truth. It's all nonsense,
all foolishness. That's religion today. And he
faintly tried to attempt it, to fill his belly with husk and
not meat. Husk and not corn. Is it any
wonder the Lord used corn? Except the corn, if we fall in
the ground and die, it'll matter for long. But if you die, if
you see Christ crucified, you'll be filled with all the fullness
of God. Am I? Were you there? The first thing the Lord does
to someone He's bringing to Himself, that God brings to Himself through
Christ, is to make them empty. to make them in want, make them
in need, that I'm not getting what I need. I'm not getting
what my soul requires in religion today, in the world today. Help me. And he came to himself. I love this. Are you with me? Somebody is. I love your smile. He came to himself. What do you
mean he came to himself? The Lord brought him to see himself.
He didn't just step in. Well, he heard the doctrine in
his head, and so he came to this conclusion. Well, you know, look,
I was this, and I was that, and now I'm in the... This would
just be the smart thing to do if I could... He saw himself for the first
time. He saw himself. He smelled himself. He's in the hog pen. He never
smelled himself before. Now he says, Oh, wretched man
that I am! Look at me! I've done this. This is nobody's fault but mine. Because I ran off. Oh, you reckon
there's any hope for me? You reckon the Father would receive
me? I'm an unworthy son, so He made
up this little speech. You know, the Scripture says,
before they call, I'll answer. You know why He's taking this?
You know why He's coming to Himself? Brethren, this is my story. You know why He came to Himself?
God brought Him to see Himself. Because God is bringing Him to
Himself. This is my story. He said, John,
I know it's yours. You told me it's yours. You were
in the hog pen feeding swine. But God, John, but God, John,
was great to that woman if He loved you. Unprofitable son.
Ungrateful son. Rebellious son. Prone to wander
sheep. God, in His mercy, came through
the preaching of the gospel, the Spirit of God, and said,
John, you're mine. I bought you with a price. Irene,
I went on with you. I grunted at times you. Where?
Who? Irene Davis. Who's that? Well,
she's from Grundy. Where's that? It's up in the
mountains of Virginia. Can't anything good come out
of there? No. But something good comes out
of it. For His glory went to the far end of the wilderness,
far off. And this is the, brethren, this
is the heart's plea and petition and confession of every son of
God. He says in verse 18, verse 17,
how many hired servants of my Father have bread and done? My
Father provides for everybody. He's provided for everybody.
He provided for me, and I didn't appreciate it. He did everything
for me, and I didn't appreciate it. Didn't give it a thought. Do you reckon he'd think on me?
He said, I'm perishing with hunger, and it's all my fault. I will arise. Why will you arise? Why will you arise when he quickens
you, my spirit? This is what I'm going to do.
I'm going to go to my father, and I'll say to him, Father, I've
sinned against heaven. He sins against God. David said
against me it would be only have I sinned and done this evil in
your sight, right in plain view, as if you didn't exist. And I'm
no more worthy to be called a son. I can't call myself a son, but
if you'd just make me a servant. Just give me a little place in
the barn. Dan, he made this little prayer
up. You ever rehearse your prayer?
You know you're going to pray at the table, Did you ever rehearse
it? Sure you did. You don't want
to sound like an idiot. Well, he rehearsed this little
prayer. And he arose and came to the Father, verse 20. When he was a great way off,
his father saw him. Isn't that Romans 5, why we were
yet sinners? Long before he saw the Father,
the Father saw him. Long before he knew Christ, he
needed Christ, Christ was a lamb slain, died for him. The Holy
Spirit. You know why he's coming? The
Holy Spirit's illuminating his mind. The Holy Spirit is lightening
him, bringing him to God. No man cometh unto the Father,
Christ said, but by me. See, Christ is first in the Spirit
of God. And then we learn that it was
the Father's love that drew us. It was the Father that sent the
Son to die. It was the Father that sent the Holy Spirit to
illuminate us. It's the Father that draws us.
No man can come except the Father which has sent Christ to draw
him. And He'll raise him up. Because He's a Son. And He's a far off. And the Father
saw Him and had compassion. Oh, our God is full of compassion. And He ran. The father ran. Did you see the
son? He's not going. He's afraid. The fear of the Lord to begin
with. He's afraid. He doesn't know
if the father's going to receive. He doesn't. And his head's hanging.
His head's hanging. And his feet are shuffling. He's
just hoping. Hoping in mercy. And that's the
way it is with every one of God's people. And he's hoping in mercy. And lo and behold, somebody grabs
him around the neck. His head's hanging down. He can't
see. He's crying. You know he's crying. And somebody comes and embraces
him, throws his arms around him, around his neck, and kisses him
on the neck, on the face. Son! Is this not the best story you've
ever heard in your life? Our God is ready to pardon. I
didn't know it. I had no idea. I know now. I
find it out all the time. This is my experience. Then I
still ponder and wonder and I run off, but you know what I find?
The gospel comes to me and throws his arms around me again and
again and I think, why? And here's what I'm saying now.
The son, he tried to get his little speech out, didn't he?
Father, I've sinned against heaven in thy sight. And no more worthy
to be called thy son. And before he could get the rest
of it out, the father said to his servant, bring the best robe. He's in rags, he said. That's what religion is, rag.
Self-righteous rag. All our righteousness is filthy
rag. Isaiah 64. Bring the best robe. What's that?
That's Christ's righteousness. Put it on him. Don't offer it
to him. Bonnie, he said, put it on him. Wrap him around that. Do you
reckon he was glad to get that? He'd been cold and shivering
and afraid for days, but now he's wrapped in that robe his
father put on him, which is Christ in Him crucified. Put a ring
on his hand. Put this on his hand forever.
You wear rings. You're married to someone. Because
you're married to Him. You want people to see that you're
married to Him. It's a token of your love for them and their
love for you. That you're one. And He gives Him this token of
His love. You're my Son. You've always
been my Son. And you always will be my Son
no matter what. That's what the Bible said. Ain't
that something? And the Son is standing there.
Receiving all this. He's just receiving all this.
Not accepting it. Receiving it. Put it on his finger.
Put those shoes on his feet. That's shot with the gospel of
peace. You've got to walk all the days of your life in the
light of this gospel. And killed a fatted calf. Father
had a calf ready and preparing. Fattening that calf up. And they
would all come by and say, who's that calf for? My son. No, not for him. For my
lost son. Well, he's gone. He's coming
back. Christ was the Lamb slain for
all his lost sons. They're coming. Yeah, they are.
They're coming. Where they come? To him. And he said, bring the fatted
calf and kill it and let's eat and be merry. This my son was
dead and alive again. He was lost and he's found. And
they began to be merry. And they danced. And not his brother. They piped. Nothing happy and joyful about
this at all. He resented it. I said, well, he's a sinner.
I've never been a sinner. That's what the brother said.
Didn't he? I've never transgressed. You
never killed a camp for me. That describes, like the 99,
so many people that don't have need of repentance, that have
no need of Christ crucified. Like the Jews, what advantage
have the Jews? My father said, everything I
have is yours. Much every way, but he's not
a Jew, which is what I would like. And our Lord said of the
Jews, He said, you don't dance, you don't mourn, you don't go
in, and you don't want men to go in. You don't rejoice when
a sinner is saved. You get resentful. You think
you're something. And he said, the publicans and
the lawyers are going in for you. And if you don't rejoice
over this message, you must not be a sinner. Buddy, but sinners. Lost sheep, dead coins, worthless
coins, and prone to wander sons. Buddy, this is the greatest news
they've ever heard. And all the glory goes to their
God. Amen. Alright, let's all stand and
turn to number 236. 236. Amazing Grace, how sweet the
sound that saved a wretch like me.