Mansions he's grown to prepare. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life. Surely goodness and mercy Thank you. All right, go with me now to
the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, Luke 15. Someone once called
that goodness and mercy of the Lord And the Lord our shepherd,
goodness and mercy, his faithful watchdogs, says, goodness and
mercy shall follow me, nipping at my heels, putting me in line
all the days of my life, while the good shepherd is out in front
leading. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me. Luke chapter 15, this is a familiar But look, let's read verses one
and two. And then drew near unto him,
that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, all the publicans and sinners,
for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes
murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with Publicans and sinners, it says,
drew near unto him to hear him. These publicans and sinners,
as you know, were out and out lowlife people looked down upon
by good moral people such as those scribes and Pharisees. It says they came near. They
came close. They couldn't get near enough.
And they wanted to hear the Lord. They wanted to hear what he had
to say. Pharisees weren't interested. They weren't sinners. But these
publicans and sinners came near to hear the Lord. Another passage
says the common people. Every day working class, you
know. Average Joe. I didn't say that with him in
mind, but the common people heard him gladly, but that's what he
used to say. I'm just common Christ scripture
says came into this world to save him. And he said I have
not come to call the right. And come to call the righteous
sinners to repent. Now this is good news. When you first heard it when. When you first heard this gospel. You felt that you were the chief
of centers. And you felt unworthy. And you thought, how could this
be for me? But by his mercy and grace, you
laid hold on, you laid hold in the beginning, this confidence,
this faithful saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, even the chief, you laid hold of that. And I'm
here to tell you that in the end, You're still going to be
a sinner, and it's still going to be good news to you all the
days of your life, and you're going to want to hold on to this
all the day, steadfast unto the end. Ask David. You know, David
went through a pretty good time, and then he took an awful fall
when he was probably in his fifties. Ask him about this gospel. Ask Peter. As Peter after he'd
been with the Lord a while he took a terrible fall. So if you
are a sinner. Or if there's someone you know.
That's a sinner there's hope that's who the Lord Jesus Christ.
Came to say verse two says Pharisees murmured saying this man receive
it centers this man receive it center. In that one. over there and I say it says
this is the acceptable year of the Lord that the Lord came preaching
the acceptable year of the Lord meaning he's taking applications. For mercy he's accepting all
who come to God by him or mercy except every single person. He
received it every single center that comes under God by him. Acceptable you well and it says
he eats with. You eat it with them remember
all that he is public and nobody wanted anything to do with. Chapman said Lord had him up
three. On purpose. He was up a jury
or came to that particular tree and looked up and said that he
has come back they come and come back. And he came down, he said,
I must abide at thy house today. See, this is one of those sheep
that was not of the fold that people didn't think, but yet
he walked. And him, he also, he must bring,
he must bring. He said, I'm going to your house
today. And as they were leaving, the Pharisees and the publicans,
I mean, the Pharisees and the scribes, and they all said, why,
he's going to be the guest of the sinner. Well, I know one
fellow that was mighty glad. Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. Well, our Lord, upon hearing
these Pharisees and scribes murmur, He spoke this parable. That's
why He spoke this parable. Look at verse 3. It says, He
spake this parable unto them. Unto who? Well, scribes and Pharisees. But they didn't hear it. I'm
quite sure they didn't hear it. They didn't need it. It meant
nothing to them. But I've heard it. And it blessed
my soul. That's why I wanted to deal with
it tonight. Now look at this. Verse four. Here it is. He said,
The Lord Jesus Christ said, What man of you, having an 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 that was the line that caught
my attention. It was Mr. Spurgeon that preached
the message. It's the first you'll find in that book I just gave
you. Until he find it. That caught my eye and I went
over and read this. That is our text. Until he find
it. That is our title, Sam. Until he find it. And that is
our salvation. until he find us, that we will
not be saved until he find us. Now, this is the Lord's parable
of the lost sheep. The Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah-ra-ah. That name ring a bell? Psalm
23, the Lord our shepherd, Jehovah-ra-ah. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Lord our shepherd. He is the owner, the master,
and the Savior of the sheep. They are his sheep. He said,
what man of you having a hundred sheep? Well, our Lord has many
sheep. Many more than, much more than
a hundred. Look with me to, at John chapter 10. Another blessed
passage you know well. John chapter 10. They are his
sheep. You read with me over in Ezekiel
34. I kept emphasizing where the
Lord said, my sheep. Remember that? My sheep. Our
Lord, I believe, is quoting or speaking from that all through
John chapter 10. Over there in Ezekiel 34, I quote
to you again. He said, I will seek out my sheep
and will deliver them out of all places where they have been
scattered. My sheep. My sheep. Now look at John chapter ten
look at verse fourteen the Lord said this I am the good shepherd
and know my sheep and am known of my verse fifteen as the father
knoweth me even so know I the father and I lay down my life.
Christ died for the sheep. What sheep? His sheep. Christ
Jesus came into the world to save his people. Call his name
Jesus he shall save his people. He calls them my sheep. They're
sheep and they're goats. And the Lord Jesus Christ came
to save every single one of his sheep. Verse 16. He said, Other
sheep I have which are not of this fold. Aren't you glad? And them also I must bring. I must bring. They shall hear
my voice. There shall be one fold and one
shepherd. I must bring them, he said. They're
mine, and I must bring them. I must go find them. They're
all lost. I must save them. I must redeem them. I must pay
for them. Now, where did he get these sheep? Look at verse 29. He said, My Father which gave
them me is greater than I. Did he not say over in John chapter
6, verse 37, all that the Father giveth me? Father gave Christ. Those sheep in a covenant. Before
the world began all that the father gave me he said they don't
make themselves. We don't make ourselves. They
don't come of their own free will. They're chosen. They're called. They're bought
with a price and therefore they're not their own from then on they're
brought by his power, and they are his sheep. Look at verse
26 there of John 10. He says to some,
ye believe not, because ye are not my sheep, as I said unto
you. That's plain, isn't it? All men,
all women, all people are not his sheep. But everyone given
to Christ by the Father, all whom Christ died for, shall be
found and shall come." See, Christ is called, now go back to the
text, He is the Savior of sinners. The Savior of, He's not the loser,
He's the Savior. He said, of all which the Father
has given me. In the end, after it's all over,
in that great prayer of our high priest, He said, all which thou
hast given me, I have lost nothing. He never has, and he never shall.
And that's our hope, because his glory, his power, his promises
are all at stake. Now, he said here in verse 4,
he said, What man of you, having an 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? If you own
something, if it is dear to you, And you're just a man. What man
among you, he said, would not leave everything and go and find
that. Tell me. And I ask you, have
you ever lost something that was dear to you? Sure you have. Everybody in here has lost something.
And you went out and searched for it till you found it. That's what it means to search.
That's what when the Lord says, seek, seek me. Seek diligently. He said, you'll find me when
you search for me with all your heart. Well, does our Lord do
any less? No, he searches till he finds
it. And you, if you lost something
that was dear unto you, you will not give up until you find it.
You won't be happy until you find it. You remember those coal
miners in Colorado? For the authorities and the man
owners and so forth those. People they were they gave up
and what about the family. I didn't want to give up. If
it was left up to them they'd still be looking. Well. That's when our Lord said what
if you being evil. And what about the Lord till
he finds it. Till he And that's the hope you
see people that election. Is not just a doctor. But this
is the glory of God. Got that God chose any center
is amazing but that he chose a number as a fantasy is his
glory and and it's our salvation. the fact that God chose us, and
he will not lose one of his sheep, but will go after that which
he has chosen, which is given to cry. He will go after it,
that which is lost, until he finds it. You see, that's the
hope for our children, our lost children. Isn't it? That's our hope. We
live, we have this hope. And it's all, it's all wrong
the way the world sees it. They say, well, if you believe
only the elect will be saved, then why this or why that? But
that's our comfort, you see. We believe that if our children
are one of God's elect, He's going to have them. Doesn't that
give you hope? If it's left up to you, you'll
despair, right? You've said, you've talked to
them, You've prayed for them, you've done all you can do. But
with man, it's impossible. With God, nothing's impossible.
There's nobody too far. There's nobody too low. That's the prodigal. There's nobody too sinful. And
if they're one of his elect, he's going to have them. Isn't
that good news? So what we pray is Lord oh I
hope they're one of your elect because if they are they're coming. Like me. Like you right. Oh my don't you love that old.
Home is not that I did choose the Lord that could not be for
if I had not chosen me I would never chosen. Left up to our
own so-called free will we would not come. But he goes and he
finds them. That's our hope. Hope for our
children, hope for our lost parents, hope for our lost spouses, hope
for our lost neighbors and friends and so forth, that they are one
of his elect. And they'll hear his voice. And
that's this gospel. That's what we believe. We're
not hard-shelled. We're not hyper-Calvinist. We're not primitive Baptists
in that sense. We believe the Lord as chosen
or uses the means of preaching the gospel. They must hear the
gospel. And they will. They will. He said, My sheep
will hear my voice. Verse four, he says, Now, what
man of you having a hundred sheep if he lose one of them? Now,
this sheep, these sheep, as we said, were the Lord's from the
beginning. They were given to Christ in
that covenant before the world began. He said, this is the foundation
of God, stand assured, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them
that are his. How does he know them? He chose
them. He wrote their names in the Lamb's
Book of Life and sealed it. He chose them, predestinated
them under the adoption of children, predestinated them to be conformed
to the image of Christ. and then sent Christ in time
to redeem them and the Holy Spirit in time to preach the gospel
to them and draw them and so on and so forth and give them
life and give them faith and repentance and bring them to
Christ and so on. But they were his from the beginning,
but they got lost. Now how did the shepherd lose
them? Well, it wasn't through negligence.
It wasn't through negligence, but Providence. Purpose is what
it was. The sheep wandered off. Sheep
are to blame. They wandered off, you see. Don't
blame the shepherd for them being lost. They wandered off. That's
the nature of sheep. That's what sheep are prone to
do. Is that one of your favorite lines? Is your favorite hymn
prone to wander? Lord, I feel it. Well, that's
what sheep are prone to do, and they'll do it all the days of
their life. Scripture says in Isaiah 53, all we like sheep
have strayed, have gone astray, lost. Old David over there, was
it Psalm 119, the very last verse? I want to quote it right. The
very last verse of Psalm 119, David says this. He said, I have
gone astray like a lost sheep. You mean still, David? Still?
Yeah, still. Seek thy servants. Seek me, or
I won't be found. So they're all, they're prone
to wander. That's the nature of sheep. And
they become lost. You see, all his sheep are lost
when he finds them. May I say this? All his sheep
are black sheep until he washes them white as snow. All his sons,
He said all of God's people were sons. They always have been sons. Yeah? Predestinated. Christ is
the firstborn among many brethren. And all his sheep start out as
prodigals. All of them start out as prodigals. And bless the Lord, he finds
them all, and every one of them come home to stay, like old Nesmus. Every one of them brought home
to stay. But notice it says, notice these
words. Brother Spurgeon, I'm going to
quote him in a minute on this. It says that last line in our
title, until he find it. That sheep is lost and he goes
after that which is lost until he find it. Go back there to Ezekiel 34 that
we read. Ezekiel 34, quickly. Until he
find it. While these sheep are lost, it's
not a good time. It's bad. Things look real bad. for the sheep. And you say, you know, we preach
the gospel, we don't tell people when we when we first preach
the gospel, we don't tell everybody God loves you. We don't tell
everybody you're the children of God. We don't tell everybody
God loves you and Jesus died. No, no, no, no. As far as we
know, they're all under the wrath of God. Right. Until they're brought
into the fold, we're we're not we're telling them You're under
the judgment and wrath of God. And when they're finally brought
in the fold, we can say, hey, you must have been one of his
sheep all along, a son all along. But while they're lost, it's
a bad time. It's a terrible time. It says
until. Until he finds it, that sheep
is in bad, bad circumstances. Look at verse six of Ezekiel
thirty four verse four five he said they were scattered they
became meat all the beast of the field. Verse six they were
scattered upon every mountain wandering everywhere verse seven
verse eight they became meat there was no shepherd they became
prey. They fall for anything and everything.
And they did. Down in verse 12, it says they're
scattered. And the last line says they've
been scattered in a cloudy and dark day. They're in darkness
even as others. They're in the gutter just like
everybody else. They're down and out, low life,
no good, unworthy. Far from God, without hope, without
God, without Christ in this world. The Virgin said that on this
until. He said the sheep, until he finds
it, is apt to wander further and further away as sinners go
on from one sin to another. It's like decaying fruit. They
grow more and more rotten. They don't get sweeter. They
get more and more rotten. And that man, he said, who's
bad today, he'll just certainly get worse tomorrow, if you can
count on it. He went on to say, if restraining
grace is not brought to bear upon that man, that woman, that
young person, they will certainly go to unutterable lengths of
depravity, infamy, and sin. Until he finds it. Until he finds it. And look at verse five in our,
go back to Luke 15. Now, here's the good news. he
will find it. Until he finds it, it looks bad.
But verse five says, and when he hath found it. When he hath
found it. How don't you love the he hath,
he shall, he will, he hath of Scripture. He hath, he doth,
he shall find all his lost sheep. He finds them because he foreknew
them, predestinated them, and he finds them through the gospel
call. what I'm doing right now, what
the world calls foolishness. We keep doing it, it's like old
Joshua's little ram's horn and it keeps sounding the same message. I've heard this message many
times. I've preached this message many times. Well, this was the
message that called me, old lost sheep, old prodigal son. This
is the message that called me. One long blast of this ram's
horn will call the sheep. The gospel call. This is the
gospel net. The gospel is called a net. The
kingdom of God is like a net. The gospel call is not an invitation. It's a command that the Lord
sends forth with power. He said, My sheep will hear my
voice and they will follow me. They shall. The gospel is called
a net. A net. The God, the God, our
gospel is we don't use lures. You may go fishing. And this
is what modern religion thinks fish preaching is, is you use
lures. You use baits, bait, man-made,
artificial bait to try to lure them in, you know, try to trick
them. Isn't that what lures are doing? Isn't that what you do
with a lure? You try to trick them into thinking this is something they
really want and something they need. Right? And people swallow
them hook lines. Well, the scriptures say our
Lord said the gospel is a net. You don't bribe, trick, lure,
promise anything with a net. You capture. The Lord sends out this net and
just like that day, the Lord told the disciples, he said,
I'm going to make you fishers of men. And he proved it. He
said, they toiled all night and caught nothing with their own
methods and means. But the Lord said, now, give
up. You can't catch one fish, can
you? You thought you was a fisherman,
didn't you? Yeah, we did. Now, cast your net right there. We've tried there. Right there. I've got every one of them numbered.
And it says they took a boatload. That's the gospel net. And it's
the gospel, the gospel is the rod and staff of our great shepherd
in it. Rod and the staff. Oh my, it
comforts me. The rod and the staff, doesn't
it you? This rod and this staff, you've looked at this with me
before I brought one down here. You remember when I brought that
down, Steve, that great big old staff, shepherd's staff with
a crook on the end of it. You've seen them. Got a crook
on the end of it. Just the shape of a sheep's neck. And what's
it for? To ring their necks. They need
it. Or to bring them in. Bring them in. Come, come, come. Rod and the staff of the gospel
call. You can't help but come when
he calls you by his power. The gospel cord says that they'll
be drawn with cords. Cords of love, yes, but cords. Cords. When I was training my
dog, Abner, whom I loved, what I trained him with was a leash. That's how you train them. Ask
the dog whisperer. Well, ask me. It's a chord. That's what it is. And it's a
good thing. It'll save his life. It'll keep
him, it'll bring him to you. And I couldn't help but think
about Ray Hebb's red line. OK. It's not a matter of if. The Lord said, now, if he find
it. No, no, no, no. It's not a matter of if, only
when. He's the good shepherd. he will
find his sheep. Great shepherd, chief shepherd.
And verse 7 says, oh, look at this in closing. Verse 5, when
he hath found it, when he hath found it, verse 7 says, or verse
5 says, I'm sorry, he layeth it on his shoulders. When he hath found it, he layeth
it on his shoulders. Shoulders so big that every single
sheep can lay on, rest on, every single sheep. He puts us on his
shoulder and carries us all the way. Isn't that good news? Nancy, that's one of your favorite
verses in Isaiah 46. Even to your hoary head shall
I carry you. There's always been just one
set of footprints. Never has been two. We haven't
walked on our own one step of the way. He's carried us all
the way. If he sets us down, what does
he do? He sets us down for a minute. No, he puts them on his broad
shoulders, and every one of them can rest on those broad shoulders. And it says in verse six or verse
five, he lays it on his shoulder in verse five, rejoicing. Oh, that word just jumped out
at me. Rejoicing. Yes. Scripture says Hebrews 12, who
for the joy set before. One time it says Christ rejoiced
in spirit. So I thank the Father. Lord of
heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise
and prudent, and revealed it unto me." His people, they were
taught of the Father, and they had come to Christ the Good Shepherd,
and he rejoiced. And he put them on his broad
shoulders and rejoiced. And verse 6 says, And when he
cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying
unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was
lost. He brought them all home. Doesn't
the scripture say that he will say in the end, here they are,
I and the children which thou hast given me. None lost. All
here. He carries them all the way,
rejoicing all the way. Then he throws a party and gathers
all his friends and neighbors and says, rejoice with me. I have found my sheep. So he
said in closing. I say unto you, verse seven.
that likewise, now get a load of this, likewise, joy shall
be in heaven. There's feasting, there's a party
that goes on over one center, that repentance, one center. Now I can just hear somebody
like that eldest son complaining about the prodigal getting that
party. Remember the father threw a big party for the prodigal?
I can just hear somebody like him saying, why, that prodigal's
not worth throwing a party over. He is to a father, isn't he? Huh? A father? If a prodigal
son comes home to stay, a new person, would you not throw a
party? Huh? You kill a fatted calf, that's
exactly what the heavenly father did. I can hear somebody saying
about a harlot. That harlot's not worth saving,
let alone throwing a party. If that harlot's your sister,
she is. Huh, Barbara? What if the Lord saved your sister?
Would you throw a party? Huh? Jeanette? If the Lord saved
your sister, wouldn't you throw a party? Anybody else? He said, who among you, if you
lost a loved one, would not go after that which is lost until
you find it? And how much more, shall our
Heavenly Father. So that's our hope. That's our
hope. And that's the hope for our children. All is not lost
until It's over. And it's not over. It's not over. Until he says so. Until the door
is shut and the door of the ark is still open. The gospel is
still being preached. We're not seeing large numbers come in. That's the reason I know that
it's the last of the very last of the last days. Nobody's seeing large numbers
come in. It's the latter part of the latter harvest. That's
the plan. But he is bringing a few in here and there, isn't
it? Huh? And I just believe that
he brings some more in. Maybe one of our children. Huh?
And we're going to keep preaching this same message that captured
us, that found us. and in hopes that the Lord, that
they're one of his elect. All right, stand with me. Our Heavenly Father, we thank
you so much for the gospel, the good news of a great Savior,
Shepherd of the sheep, that goes to find his lost, worthless though
they be, goes to find them and brings them all home. Lord, it's
our prayer, our prayer that you bring more into that fold, that
you still have sheep that are not yet in the fold, and then
you must bring. Lord, may it be one of our own. May it be one of our, or more
of our children, our sons, our daughters, our spouses, husbands,
sisters, brothers, friends. Lord, neighbors, And we will
rejoice with thee, and thee, if you do. He'll give you all
the glory, and it is in your power. Thine is the kingdom,
the power, and the glory. And so we call upon you to do
this great work. Enable us, Lord, to continue
here by thy grace to preach this same gospel. Let us not grow
weary in well-doing, and this is a good thing. And bless this
church, Lord, and make us more firmly resolved than ever. And
it's in Christ's name we pray and give thanks. Give thanks
that have met here tonight. Amen. You're dismissed.