Lost Sheep - Lost Coin - Lost Son

is told in three separate parts
by our Master. Of this parable, Charles Spurgeon
had this to say. These three stories, which make
up one parable, are three sides of a vast pyramid of gospel truth. But there is a distinct inscription
on each side. Each one of these stories is
needful to the other. And when combined, they present
us with a far more complete exposition of the gospel than could possibly
be conveyed by any one of them. And I would like to add that
I believe much error has been promoted by teaching these parables
separately, or these stories separately, dividing them, taking
them away from one another. Now, the occasion for the parable
is found in verses 1 and 2. Let's look at it again. As I said to you some weeks ago,
if we're going to profit by these parables, and understand what
our Lord's teaching. One of the first things for us
to look into is the occasion for the parable. Why did he say
this? And then secondly, to whom was
he speaking? Now in verse 1 of chapter 15
of Luke, Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners
for to hear him. Now imagine the crowd. Fallen women, tax collectors,
riffraff, uneducated, swearers, blasphemers, unchurched people,
just the common, ordinary folks off the streets will gather all
around the master to listen to him. And standing off to the
side, not in the crowd, not identified with him or with them by any
means, were the Pharisees. These were the religious leaders.
It was of this group that the man from this group, the man
came who said, I thank thee, Lord, I'm not like other men.
I tithe, I fast, I give alms. These men wore the broad phylacteries. They stood on the street corner
and prayed. They were teachers of the scripture. They were blind
leaders of the religious, blind. And the scribes, who were the
scribes? They were the men who wrote the scriptures. transcribed
the scriptures. They kept it going, kept the
scriptures going. They wrote them from other copies
of the Word of God. They were the doctrinalists and
the theologians. And these men murmured, saying,
This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. Now, our Lord,
the scripture says, came to seek and to save the lost. That was
his mission. That was his reason for coming
into the world. Paul wrote in 1 Timothy, Christ
came into the world to save sinners. And he said he came not to call
the righteous, but sinners to repentance. So it's not surprising
to me to find him where sinners were. That's not surprising at
all. He came to save the lost. He came into the world to save
sinners. He died for the ungodly. He came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. So it's
not surprising to me to find Him where the sinners were, in
their company. And because of His mercy and
His words of grace and words of compassion and words of love
and words of hope and words of help and words of welcome, it's
not surprising to me to find sinners where He is. You usually find sick people
at the doctor's office, and you usually find the doctor where
there are sick people. Would a physician shun or avoid
those who are sick? So this isn't surprising to me
at all. It was to the Pharisees. They
didn't understand his mission. It was to the Pharisees. They
didn't understand that the essence of sin. They didn't
even see their own sins. They didn't understand why Christ
came. They didn't understand the mission of the Messiah. So
naturally, it's not surprising to me to find him where sinners
were, and it's not surprising to me to find sinners where he
was, and it's not surprising to me that the religious leaders
would be critical of him and of his congregation and of his
friends. Why, he's the friend of sinners.
When he went down to eat with Zacchaeus one time, one of these
religious fellows says, well, look at him. He's gone to be
the guest in the house of a man that's a sinner. They stand back
and they sneer. And they look down their pious
noses as guilty sinners flock around the master. Needy sinners
find their way to his side as he goes to their home, as he
eats with them and talks with them and welcomes them to himself. He welcomed their presence. Imagine
one of the Pharisees would say something like this. Look at
him Look at him. He collects about him the riffraff
of our city. Look at him the publicans the
fallen women the beggars all Kinds of sinners are around him
and instead of rebuking them as we would Instead of repelling
them as we would instead of avoiding them as we would He receives
them He welcomes them. He understands them. For some
strange reason, he seems to have a peculiar relationship with
them. He is the friend of sinners. He is the friend of sinners.
You know, as I read that and thought about it, I just wonder
how many of us are the friend of sinners. I wonder how many
of us, it's not our faith in Christ that makes people uncomfortable. What is it? Is it a holier-than-thou
attitude that makes folks uncomfortable around us? Is it our attitude? Is it our gruffness? Is it our self-righteousness?
For some reason, I know the reason, I believe, for some reason Sinners
like to be around the master. They flocked around him. It said
they drew near to hear him. So much so that the religious
people sneered and mocked and ridiculed and said, look at him.
One of those Pharisees said if he were a prophet of God, he'd
know what kind of woman this is. He knew. He wouldn't let
her touch him. I wouldn't let her touch me.
That's what he was thinking. I'd have no part of it. And these
words here, look at verse 2 again, this man, this man, there's no
respect there, this man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. These words were spoken with
scorn, not with admiration. I speak them and some of you
speak them with admiration. Thank God he does receive sinners.
Thank God he is the friend of sinners. But these words were
spoken with scorn and mockery. These ignorant religionists couldn't
imagine a prophet of God having anything to do with the riffraff. They couldn't imagine a prophet
of God being seen in the company of a profane person, or a publican,
or a harlot, or a person of that nature. And their reproach, and
that's what it was, a reproach, this man received the sinners
was a true description of his office and of his mission. They actually spoke prophetic
words. This man received the sinners.
Yes, he does. He receives them to pardon them.
He receives them to redeem them. He receives them to love them.
He receives them to sanctify them. He receives them to redeem
them. You turn to Romans 5, verse 6. I hope we all learned something
here tonight on this particular point. Romans 5 verse 6, because
we've certainly got people of this nature who trade with us,
or with whom we trade, in our families, in our social circles,
with whom we work, or who work for us. People whom we contact
day by day, who are not professing Christians, who don't even know
the gospel. God's revealed to me the gospel,
but I encounter people every day to whom he hasn't revealed
the gospel. Now, what's going to be my attitude
towards them? What will be their attitude toward
me? Will it be anything like this? Will I be in the company
of those sneering, mocking, snobbish, pious, self-righteous Pharisees? who scoff at these people and
will have nothing to do with them, or will they come around
and maybe they're interested in what I believe. I don't understand
what you believe, but it's done something for you, why don't
you tell me about it? I wish that could be so. I wish
that could be so. Look at Romans 5 verse 6. For
when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the
ungodly. That was you and me. Now they,
by God's grace, we're in the side and they're outside. But it was His grace that opened
the door and brought us in. It's by His grace I'm in His
family and not in the gutter tonight. It's by His grace that
I am a believer and not a rebel. It's by His grace that I've been
saved and not left out in the darkness of my ignorance and
false religion and tradition. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet for a good man some would even dare to die.
But God committed his love toward us in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. You know, God found me in the
pit and lifted me out of the pit. I'd be a pretty poor representation
of Christ if I looked back down in the pit and began to find
fault with those that were still there. God found me in the gutter
and lifted me out of the gutter and washed me and robed me in
His spotless robe of righteousness. I'd be a pretty poor representative
of Christ to look back at those people who are still there and
find fault with them and feel that I'm lifted up above them
and look down upon them because they don't know what I know or
believe what I believe or act like I act or walk like I walk
or talk like I talk. It's only by His grace I talk
this way and not that way. Look at verse 10. If we were
enemies, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by
the death of His Son. I don't want to be with these
Pharisees. Under God, I'd rather be accused
of murder than be a Pharisee. I'd rather stand before God tonight.
Believe me, I mean this, I'd rather stand before God tonight
accused of murder than to be robed in and wrapped in and trusting
in self-righteousness. That's right. If I were one of
you ladies, I'd rather be a harlot than to be one of these Pharisees.
Because Christ said, the publicans and the harlots enter heaven
and you'll find yourself outside. That's what he said. If I got
my choice of sins, and I don't because we don't catalog them,
but self-righteousness in the eyes of God is the granddaddy
of all evil. Our Lord had the most compassionate
words. He had the tenderest words for
those who had fallen the fatherless. He had the hardest words, words
of scorn, harsh words for those who by their own self-righteousness
had lifted themselves to the pinnacle of condemnation upon
others. That's right. And I don't want
to be with this outfit here. I know that. He's the friend
of sinners. In a word, salvation is not of
merit but mercy. It's not of works but of grace.
That's what it's all about. And that's the reason for this
parable. That's the occasion for it. That's the foundation.
That's what brought it for my Lord. He was standing here preaching,
loving, reaching out, ministering, showing mercy, healing these
poor, needy, fallen, wretched sons and daughters of Adam. And
these pious, moral, good-for-nothing religious theologians were standing
off there at the side, mocking and ridiculing and saying, look
at him, he's the friend of sinners, look around him, look who's associating
with him. And our Lord turned and spake
this parable to them. Now there's the background for
it. And I wouldn't deceive you for
10,000 worlds. But this is the background for
the whole thing. He spake this parable to them,
and he said, verse 4, Now look at it. 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,
till he finds it? And when he finds it, he lays
it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth
together his friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, I found
my sheep that was lost." Now, brethren, in this part of the
parable, the shepherd is the Lord Jesus Christ. There's not
one doubt in this world about that. He's the shepherd. Our
Lord called himself the Good Shepherd. He said, I'm the Good
Shepherd. I give my life for the sheep.
He's called in the Word of God the Chief Shepherd. He's called
the Great Shepherd. Now, the Great Shepherd of the
sheep. Well, one of his sheep is lost.
It's his sheep. He knows this sheep by name.
He's standing out there and looks over the flock, and he sees all
the different ones. He knows each one, and he sees
one of them's missing. He knows that one by name. It's
out yonder somewhere in the wild, and it's lost. It's his sheep. Turn to John 10. Let's look at
this just a moment. He loves it. He knows it by name. It's his sheep, and he sets out
to find it. The Lord compares us to sheep
for several reasons. Number one, the sheep is defenseless. The sheep is defenseless. It
has no way of defending itself. It can't and it won't defend
itself. When the fox or the wolf comes
along, the sheep is just easy prey. It has no defense. Secondly,
the sheep is senseless. If you lose a dog, a dog will
come home. If you lose a cat, a cat will come home. If you
lose a sheep, he'll never come home. The sheep is shiftless. A dog will find something to
eat. A horse will find something to eat and drink. But the sheep
knows nothing about providing for itself. It's totally dependent
upon the shepherd. And in John chapter 10, listen
to our Lord, verse 14, I am the good shepherd, I know my sheep. and am known of mine. As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down
my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which
are not of this foal, them I must bring, and they shall hear my
voice, and they shall be one foal and one shepherd. The shepherd
is our Lord. The lost sheep are you and me. Sons of Adam, fallen, defenseless,
we've left our defender, senseless, on our own we'll never return,
shiftless, we cannot provide, our hopeless inability, but we
belong to Him. In John chapter 10 verse 24,
the Jews came to him and they said, How long do you make us
to doubt? Now watch this carefully. If
you be the Christ, tell us plainly. And Jesus answered them, I told
you, and you didn't believe, the works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not, because
you're not of my sheep. As I said unto you, my sheep
hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I have a
people. I have a sheep. They're lost sheep, they're fallen
sheep, but they're mine. And I love them, and I know them,
and I call them by name. And I give my life for them.
Now look back at the story. And he leaves the 99 and goes
after that which is lost. Now this is a personal search.
He doesn't send the minister after it. He doesn't send the
angels after it. He doesn't send the church after
it. He went after it himself. Our Lord Jesus Christ, that great
shepherd of the sheep, that chief shepherd, that good shepherd,
came down here into the wilderness of our world on a mission to
save his sheep, to find his sheep. And it was an all-absorbing search. He left the 99. He left the Father's
throne. He left the glories of heaven.
He came here to the wilderness, and it was a persevering search. He searched till he found it.
Look at John 6, and he sums it up in this way, in the 6th chapter
of John, verse 37. Now listen to this. All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out, for I came down from heaven.
not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
And this is the Father's will, which hath sent me, that of all
which he hath given me I lose nothing, but raise it up again
at the last day." It's a persevering search. Personal search, all-absorbing
search, a persevering search, and when he found it, he lifted
it He put it on his shoulders and he brought it home. And he
said, Rejoice with me, my sheep which was lost, I found it. Now this part of the parable
is illustrating and teaching us the work of Christ, our Redeemer,
in coming to save the lost. It shows how the sheep is lost.
It shows how the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, through suffering
through agony, through coming into this world, through death,
went out there in the wilderness and found his sheep, searched
till he found it, and brought it back home. Now the second
part of this parable. He says in verse 8, either what
woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not
light a candle, sweep the house, and seek diligently till she
find it. And when she had found it, she calleth her friends and
her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, I have found
the peace that was lost. What's this teaching? It's teaching
the work of the Holy Spirit. And this story is right where
it ought to be. It represents the work of the
Holy Spirit, and the work of the Holy Spirit always follows
the work of Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ redeemed
his sheep through his suffering, through his death. He found his
sheep. He came into this world to redeem
those given him by the Father. He said, I have a sheep. I lay
down my life for the sheep. I'll call my sheep. I'll redeem
my sheep. I'll save my sheep. And then
the Holy Spirit comes and restores them. Now in the first story,
the element of sin and sacrifice are present. The sheep willfully
went astray. It willfully wandered away from
the foal. The shepherd's got to suffer
till he finds it. He's got to toil and labor till
he finds it. And the sheep is stupid, that's
right. The sheep is senseless, that's right. But the coin, in
this story, is lifeless. It's dead. Totally dead. And this represents the Holy
Spirit dealing with dead sinners, dead in trespasses and sin. Now
think for a moment about this story. Here was a woman that
had ten pieces of silver, and she lost one. She lost it in
the dust, down in the dirt. That's where we're lost. We're
lost in the dust of flesh and the dust of the world and the
dust of this earth. It's somewhere in the dirt and
the dust. So this woman and the coen was
lifeless. The coen was absolutely ignorant
of being lost. The sheep knew he was lost. The
sheep was out there wandering around and probably suffering,
hungry and tired and weary and bleeding and bleating. But the coen, lifeless, dead,
ignorant of being lost, doesn't even know where it is, doesn't
even know why it's there. It's just lost in the dust. That's
the way we are by nature. But that coin belonged to that
woman. It belonged to her when she had it. It belonged to her
when she lost it. And it belonged to her wherever
it was. And the woman, first thing she
did, is got a candle. She's got to have some light.
That's the word of God. That's the gospel. The Holy Spirit,
in coming down here into the dirt and dust and flesh of this
world to awaken dead sinners, brings with him the light of
the gospel. He illuminates them. That's what
the gospel does, it illuminates the place. And the woman found
her coin, she sought till she found it. And this is the work
of the Holy Spirit. Now this second parable just
doesn't tell the story. without the first part of the
parable. In other words, I could take this second parable and
become a fatalist. I could take this second parable
and become a person who preaches without preaching the necessity
of Christ. The shepherd's not in this. Sin's
not in this. The sacrifice is not in this.
The toil and labor and love of the shepherd's not in this. A coin is not like a lost sheep.
A coin's valuable, but it's not like a sheep. You don't love
coins, you love a sheep. And this is what the Master's
illustrating here. He's illustrating finding the
lost. And the first part of this story
is showing us the work of the Redeemer. There's a sheep out
there which he loves. There's a sheep out there which
belongs to him. There's a sheep out there which
is his own. and it's lost and our master
goes out there and it cost him time and cost him trouble and
cost him toil and cost him labor and cost him sacrifice and cost
him suffering but he loves that sheep and he goes out there and
he stays on the trail of it till he finds it and he puts it on
his shoulder and brings it home. Now illustrating the work of
the Holy Spirit, our Master said it's like a woman losing a coin,
a lifeless coin, a dead coin, a coin that doesn't respond,
a coin without any life at all. And she gets a light. She won't
hear that coin making any noise. She gets a light and she brings
that light and shines it all around, illuminates the place.
And that coin then sparkles under the shine of the light. She sees
it and she picks it up. Now then, the third part of the
parable. The third story pictures the father. I don't think this
third part of this parable is making much of this boy at all.
I think the spotlight, I think the main character, the key to
the third part of this parable is the father. His willingness
to receive the one who had wronged him, his compassion, his love
that never changed, His mercy in welcoming the boy back. Look
at the story. And if your heart doesn't respond
to this father, if you don't see him as the one who is the
most important character in this whole third story, I think we've
just missed it. Now what? So here was a boy,
I'll just tell it to you, and he wanted what his father was
going to leave him when he died, I guess. He wanted his inheritance.
The father said, all right, and he gave it to him. And he went
out to a far country and wasted it on righteous living and spent
everything he had. And a famine came up and he's
starving to death. And he tied himself to a man
in that country. And this being a Jewish boy,
he put him to the worst thing he could possibly be doing. That's
feeding swine. And he would have eaten the husk
that the swine did eat. Nobody helped him. And he's sitting
there thinking, well, back at my father's house, the people
who work for him that have more than I got, He came to himself,
and he said, I'm going home. Now, this is where a lot of people
make a severe mistake. It appears that this prodigal
reasoned out his plight and his difficulty and his sorry lot
by his own free will, doesn't it? He looked like he was sitting
down there, and he really thought. Now, he came to himself, and
he really considered, what am I doing staying down here when
I've got a rich father? What am I doing staying down
here when servants wear better clothes and eat better food than
I am? Well, I'll just get up from here, and I'll go back home,
and I'll tell my father to make me as one of the servants. And if you're not careful, and
you leave out the suffering of the Savior, substitution in the
first part of this parable, and the illuminating, enlightening
work of the Holy Spirit in the second part of this parable,
you lead your heroes astray with the third part of this parable.
You lead them astray. That coin didn't jump up in that
woman's pocket, and that lost sheep wasn't looking for the
shepherd. It is true that that boy thought about his predicament
and he reasoned these things and he came home. But the only
reason a sinner thinks, even knows his predicament is when
God opens his eyes, when the work of the Holy Spirit illuminates
his heart, when the revelation of the gospel comes and shows
him his lost condition and shows him the grace and mercy of the
Father. That's when he comes to himself. And that's when he'll
return home. But the emphasis here is on the
father. He said, verse 18, I'll go back
to my father and I'll say, Father, I've sinned and am not worthy
to be called thy son. He arose and came to his father.
But when he was a great way off, his father saw him. You know
what I see there? I believe that father was looking
for him. When he was a great way off. I just imagine that
that father sat by the window lot of days and watch that road.
One day he gave that boy that money, and he saw him walk down
that road and leave home. And he saw the back of his son
as he disappeared in the distance, a rebel, a rebel, a self-seeker,
and he watched him go. And he hadn't heard from him
in months and months and months. And he sat by that window hoping
someday he'd see that boy. I imagine he watched every traveler
that came down that road, he's waiting on that boy. And one
day he saw a familiar figure, ragged, dirty, wretched, thin. And he said he saw him and he
ran to meet him and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the
son said, Father, I've sinned against heaven, and in thy sight
I'm not worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to the
servant, bring the best robe, bring the robe of righteousness,
put the best robe on him, put a ring on his finger, that's
sonship, the seal of the Lord of the matter, put shoes on his
feet, and that fatted calf that we've been saving, that we've
held apart from all the other caves, making it ready for the
greatest feast. Kill it and let's eat and be
merry. My son was dead and he's alive
again. Now there's no mention in this third story of the love
and compassion and suffering of the Redeemer. That's in the
first story. There's no mention in this second
story of the light of the gospel or the illuminating work of the
Holy Spirit or finding the dead sinner in the dust, but that's
in the second story. And the third story is its emphasis
is on the Father. He welcomes the sinner, he receives
the wanderer. The work of the Savior is to
redeem, the work of the Holy Spirit is to restore, and the
Father receives. What kind of people? All the
same kind. He closed every one of these
parables like this, or these stories. Listen to verse 7. I
say unto you, now get this picture, and I'm closing. Our Lord's surrounded
by folk like me and you, if we'd admit the truth. And these religious
folks are criticizing him for having anything to do with it.
Looking down on him. They're critical, they're hard,
they're sharp, they're demanding. And they looked down on him,
and he turned to them, and he gave them this stove, this parable,
three pots. And he said in verse 7, I say
unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner,
one ungodly sinner, one profane sinner, one rebellious sinner,
that repenteth. Now watch this word, more than
over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Now
watch this, I think I can help you on that verse. These just persons who need no
repentance, they cannot be just persons because
the scripture says there's none righteous, no not one. There
aren't any just persons. The Lord God looked down from
heaven to see if any did understand. There's none good, no not one.
Isn't that what the Master said? None good. So he doesn't mean
that. When you're interpreting the scripture, one thing is to
put it up here on a pedestal and throw the rest of the Bible
at it. If you knock it off, then that's not what the Lord says.
He's not calling these people just people. There aren't any
just people. There's none good. He said that
himself. Why callest thou me good? None good but God. So we
erase that. He can't be talking about just
people. actually just, truly just. All
right? He can't be talking about people
who need no repentance, because our Lord said Himself, except
you repent, you shall all perish. So who are these people? They're
the people to whom He's talking. I say unto you. That's who He's
talking to. He's ministering to the sinner,
and He turns to these Pharisees. And He says, I say unto you.
That's who I'm talking to, you. The people here are the very
ones to whom he spake this parable. They were people who thought
they were just, who were just in their own eyes, and who needed
no repentance. The Pharisees would not come
to the baptism of John, it was a baptism of repentance. They
needed no repentance. You see what he's talking to?
And what he's saying, and I want you to see how powerful this
is, he says there's more joy in heaven. The thing that makes the bells
of heaven ring. is one sinner, just one poor
old wretched pitiful son of Adam who really comes to repentance,
there's more joy in heaven over him than over all of the religious
righteous people in this world who think they're just and who
need no repentance. That's what he's saying. Our
Lord is saying you can take all the Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian,
Methodist, Nazarene, Camelite, Church of Christ, Church of God,
Pentecostal, Holy Rollers, all of them and put them together.
And they couldn't make one bell in heaven ring but one old sinner
who really repents. One sinner. One person who's
lost and knows it, who's a sinner and knows it, who needs Christ
and knows it, who comes to Christ, there's more joy over him in
heaven than the whole shooting match put together. With their
tithes, and fastings, and alms, and charity, and morality, and
righteousness, and tradition, and customs, and ritual, and
ceremonialism, and the whole outfit. That's what he's saying
right there. He don't believe it go home study it and see if
you come up anything else But that's what he's saying All right,
I'm sure you something else verse 10 when he finished that second
part work of the Holy Spirit He says likewise I say unto you
There's joy in the presence of the angels of God Now who's in
the presence of the angels of God? well, the Father is and
the Holy Spirit is and the Son is And the redeemed are, that's
Heaven's population, Heaven's inhabitants, over one sinner
that repented. Now, I want to ask you a question. Would you accuse Heaven of premature
joy? I'm told that that's true. Our
Lord says this sinner, this one true sinner, one needy sinner,
one guilty sinner truly repents. And heavens, he sets the marriage
bells to ring and they start sending out the invitations.
He starts the joy in heaven over that sinner. Now maybe this is
premature joy. He could fall from grace. He could finally be lost, that's
what I'm told. He might not make it. He might
not hold out. Maybe they rang the bells too
soon, you reckon? Would you accuse heaven of premature
joy? Now, I know, I'm like, I wish I were like David Brainerd, starts
out like David Brainerd, but I'll tell you this, I like him
in one respect. David Brainerd, you'd scare him
to death when somebody made a profession of faith. He's afraid they wouldn't
make it, Ronnie. That's right, he wouldn't even let those Indians
make a profession for a long time. He's afraid it's a false
profession. We see somebody come down and
say, I'm trusting the Lord, I'm saved, I believe on Christ, and
I'm happy, and you're happy, and mama's happy, and daddy's
happy, and everybody's happy, and we shake hands and go home,
Lord save so-and-so. About six weeks later, he's nowhere
to be found. We rejoiced prematurely, didn't
we? That's right. But you see, heaven doesn't rejoice
over a profession of faith, it rejoices over a sinner that repents. That's different. Heaven doesn't
rejoice over a fellow that joins a church, it rejoices over a
fellow that's brought into a living union with Christ. Heaven doesn't
rejoice over a Pharisee that joins a church, heaven rejoices
over a sinner who repents. And I'm telling you this, If
he's one of the sheep of the Lord, and the Savior came after
him, and the Holy Spirit brought the light of the gospel to find
him, and the Father welcomed him home, I'm telling you this, he'll be there. He'll be there. And the songwriter put it this
way, I to the end shall endure, as sure as the promise is given. More happy but not more secure
are the glorified saints in heaven. They're happier than I am, but
they're not more secure than I am. That's right. They're no more secure. That's
one parable. I think you can see that. I think
it's clearly, clearly spoken by our Lord and meant to be a
rejoicing over one sinner who repents. Wouldn't it be wonderful
if if we were among those sheep whom he came to find, among the
coins that the Holy Spirit, through the illuminating Word of God,
would find, whom the Father would embrace and prepare the fatted
calf and say, my son's back home. My son's back home. He's back
home to stay. Because there's joy in heaven.
They don't rejoice prematurely. He's home to stay. Our Father, we thank Thee for
speaking to us. We believe that Thou hast enlightened
us tonight, made the words of our Master precious, convicted
us, humbled us, stripped us, brought us to rejoice in the
mission of our Lord Jesus Christ. Make us willing pupils. Make
us willing bond slaves. Oh, that we might be among those
who are called his sheep, that we might be among those who are
called sons of God, embraced by the Father because of the
righteousness of the Son. In his blessed name we rejoice
in these things for his glory. Amen.

Lost Sheep - Lost Coin - Lost Son

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Lost Sheep - Lost Coin - Lost Son

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book