Luke 15:1-7, 11-13, 22-24, 28-32 – When folks come to Christ!
By Pastor Lee Hemen
March 18, 2012 AM
The meeting grew quiet. Tension filled the air. The pastor had just shared his concern for the lost of the community. A deacon stood. “Pastor, if they want to come to our church, they know where it is. We need to take care of our own. I’m not sure they are our kind of people anyway.” The pastor took that deacon visiting, and he experienced the joy of seeing someone saved. The deacon now leads witnessing teams to experience what he has experienced. He changed from hindering evangelism to promoting and leading it in his church. Evangelism is taught, but it is also caught.
Salvation is a joy like no other. The point of Jesus’ parables in Luke 15 is to teach us to invite people to Christ and welcome all who come to Him. Jesus’ stories should inflame our hearts for outreach and turn skeptics into joyful participants
READ: Luke 15:1-7, 11-13, 22-24, 28-32
In our Lord’s eyes, everyone is someone who matters. To Christ, there is no insignificant person. Red, yellow, black, or white, each one is precious in His sight. The parable of the lost sheep expresses Jesus’ concern. His compassion for lost people shows itself in heartfelt action. The shepherd goes on a search-and-find mission that should be the mission of every disciple. Shepherds search for lost sheep; believers search for lost people. When folks come to Christ believers should…
I. Manifest Compassion (Luke 15:1-7)
1. Compassion comes when we sacrifice our safety for the security of others! — Leeferism
1) In response to the religious leaders’ attitude toward His actions, Jesus gave a package of three parables all designed to show how wrong the leaders were and how right He was. His defense began in the form of a question that suggested an agreeable answer, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” Jesus described the sheep as lost from the flock, a word that portrays a life-threatening situation for a sheep. The number of safe sheep does not justify the shepherd ignoring the missing one. The right decision was to go after the lost one on a rescue mission! It became the highest priority even to the point of leaving the 99 in the open field! Certain risks and obstacles would have to be faced to mount the rescue! The “go after” mind-set of the shepherd is worth noting. In this case, the searching shepherd refuses to quit until he finds the one lost sheep. To go after … until he finds should be the focus of every Christian. Lost people are a priority with a loving God. Whatever risks there are to bear, the disciple should never allow taking care of the “found” to replace exhaustive efforts to reach the “lost.” Notice what occurs after the one lost sheep is found, “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep!’” This parable ended with Jesus’ words, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Heaven rejoices when the lost are found! God manifested His compassion on us “in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Believers manifest compassion when they seek and win the lost!
EXAMPLE: I shook from fear the first time I shared my faith. Yet after I had shared with the young mother, she accepted Jesus as her Savior and Lord! Her husband later was saved and served as a deacon. She is still active in her church and all her children are saved as well. The adventure of outreach is a risky adventure. It will push a Christian to the edge of his or her courage. What is sacrificed in shrinking back from going out is the finder’s joy of seeing the lost coming in. This heavenly delight is more experienced than explained. To see a lost person receive Christ because of your witness is to experience the Father’s joy.
Jesus was facing religious experts who had more of an accusing finger and less of a forgiving heart. We can understand it by the misbehavior of the “tax collectors and the sinners” of His world. One ripped off honest people to line their pockets while the other led trashy lives. It was not a wholesome crowd. When it comes to forgiveness, however, all of us are in the category of “tax collectors and the sinners”. Too often, our Christian voice is raised more in accusation than in celebration. What should drive us more is the response of heaven—a chorus of hallelujahs! When folks are saved we should…
II. Celebrate Forgiveness (Luke 15:11-13, 22-24)
1. We will either hardly party or party hardy when someone comes to Christ! — Leeferism
1) A man had two sons. The younger son approached the father with an arrogant attitude: “Father, give me my share of the estate.” What should have been a request was a demand. How often do we “demand” from our loving Father our “fair share” right now? The son was not patient enough to wait for his father’s death but wanted his share of the estate immediately. Jewish law would award the younger son a third of the estate at his father’s death (Deut. 21:17). The son, however, succumbed to his greed. We learn that “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.” The younger son wasted no time he took his share and split. A rich son quickly became a broke son and another thrill ride came to a miserable end. He spends all he has and to make matters worse, there is a severe famine. In desperation the son has to hire himself out to a pig farmer, a disgrace to a Hebrew, and had to eat the pig’s food! In the midst of his misery he comes to his senses and decides to head home and ask his father for forgiveness. In the other parables, the shepherd searched, the woman searched, but here the father waited. Will the father forgive him? Will he love him again? After the son confesses that father’s response are orders to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate! For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” This celebration spared no expense and restoration would not be complete without a major celebration. “So they began to celebrate.” We should always celebrate forgiveness!
EXAMPLE: Too many evangelical churches have stopped having a response time at the end of their worship. The excuse is so they do not embarrass those who need to make a decision. Is it any wonder that the percentage of folks coming to Christ has diminished? The response time not only follows Jesus’ public asking his disciples to “come and follow me” and it is also a time of public congregational rejoicing! The body of Christ is to celebrate together when someone comes to Christ! Forgiveness is our greatest need and God’s greatest provision. The joy of our receiving it is only exceeded by God’s joy in giving it. The prodigal reminds us of how gracious God has been to all forgiven sinners. Regardless of the depth of sin, every Christian is a product of amazing grace. Therefore, as we join the forgiveness celebration we rejoice with the forgiven, but we also delight in the Forgiver. Join the party. When folks are forgiven, we are to celebrate!
Not all is happiness in the family, however. The older brother is the poster child of self-righteousness. He reflects the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day and sadly some believers today. The eldest son had been off stage while the younger brother had been restored. Coming in from the fields, he heard the music and asked for an explanation. The news of his brother’s return and the fattened calf being slaughtered stopped him in his tracks. In all three parables of chapter 15 everybody experienced joy except the elder brother. We learn that when folks are forgiven we must…
III. Reject Self-Righteousness (Luke 15:28-32)
1. We can be right, we can be correct, and yet be oh so wrong! — Leeferism
1) The news about his brother’s return and the ongoing party made the older son angry. You would think he would be happy not resentful and sullen. Anger for the wrong reasons can be destructive. He refused to be part of the celebration; he didn’t want to go, not even to speak to his brother. So the father had to take the initiative to restore the relationship. He went to his son. The father’s discussion with his firstborn was not an in-your-face speech. He “pleaded” with him repeatedly in an effort to change his attitude. The son accuses, “Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.” It all seemed so unfair! Perhaps the father had preferred the arrogant younger brother. The elder blames his father, “But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!” The father responds in the only way he can, in love, “My son.” The father gently reminds him, “You are always with me, and everything I have is yours!” The acceptance and forgiveness of the younger brother did not mean the rejection and dismissal of the elder brother. The father loved them both! The father desired his son reject his self-righteousness, “We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!” The older brother just didn’t get it. The issue was not him, not his father, not even his brother. The issue was that his brother had been dead and lost to them but now was found! When folks are forgiven we are to reject self-righteousness.
EXAMPLE: “You don’t know him like I do!” he declared to me. He was angry that his friend who had betrayed him with a girlfriend had just accepted Christ. I reminded him, “That is true, but God knows him even better than both of us. Do not allow your anger to get in the way of what God has done.” When folks are forgiven we are to reject self-righteousness. The parable ends on an open-ended note. We are left not knowing the response of the elder brother. The appeal, however, moves beyond the parable occasion to reach out to the self-righteous of every age. Each of us is challenged to break the gridlock of our own elder brother attitude. Rejoicing with the Father is far better than nursing the coldness of self-righteousness. It is the difference between stagnation and celebration. When folks are forgiven we are to reject self-righteousness!
Conclusion:
When folks come to Christ believers should manifest compassion, celebrate forgiveness, and reject their own self-righteousness! What about you? What do you do when folks come to Christ?
—
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2012 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.
PastorBlastor 