Ollie Ollie Oxen Free
Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." Then Jesus told them this parable: "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? 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.’ 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. - Luke 15:1-7
Luke chapter 15 is an incredible chapter NOW – most of us have heard the stories in this chapter many times before… I MEAN - the parables of the: lost sheep, lost coin & lost son are not new to us… BUT – as CS Lewis once said; “we don’t need new truths as much as we need to be reminded of old ones…” AND – that is what I want to do this morning March 18 2007, remind you of some old but incredible truths.
Prayer…
OKAY – raise your hand if you have ever played the game hide & seek… NOW – hide and seek is a very simple game. One person seeks and everybody else runs off and hides. And, if you are playing hide and seek, the fun part is to be one of the hiders. BECAUSE - If you are one of the hiders… YOU GET - to be in control. YOU GET - to decide where you are going to go. YOU GET - to keep your eyes open. YOU GET - to call the shots.
The hard job in hide and seek is to be the one who has to seek. I MEAN - after you get this job you have to let everyone run away from you. AND then, you have to keep looking for people who are trying to evade you, people who are laughing at your inability to find them (which usually makes them easier to find them). That’s why nobody wants that job, because if you take it, everybody is going to run from you and you’ll be on your own.
AND – have you noticed that in the game of hide and seek, that the one who gets stuck with the job of seeking doesn’t even get much of a title. I MEAN - in other games you at least get an exalted job description. TAKE – basketball for instance, you have a CENTER and he is the one around whom the action flows. Then there is a FORWARD - and at least that has a progressive kind of sound to it. The GUARD is somebody who is protecting something that matters. But in hide and seek, it is not that way.
QUESTION – what do you call the one who seeks in hide and seek? Anybody know? "It,” they’re called “it.." Not "Commander It, “President It” “Prime Minister It” not "C.E.I. - Chief Executive It," “Senior It’ not “Mr. it” not even "Cousin It" (for those old Adams Family fans), just plain old "It." And nobody wants to be "It." IN FACT -at the start of the game, what does everybody say? "Not ’It.’
ALRIGHT – another question. WHAT - happens at the end of the game, if people have hidden themselves too well. WHAT - happens if everyone has successfully eluded "It" through the entire game? (or if it gets called home for dinner?). "IT" - cups its hands and opens its mouth and shouts as loud as it can 4 words that penetrate the entire neighborhood. "It" ends the game by saying, "Ollie, Ollie, Oxen free."
QUESTION – have did you ever wondered where that phrase comes from? WELL - it is a Latin phrase that means, "Liberate the oxen." No, I’m just kidding – I really don’t have any idea what it means or where it came from.
BUT – whatever ‘ollie ollie oxen free’ means – in hide & seek, it means that it is now safe to come home. No one will chase you. No one will tag you. You won’t have to suffer any penalties… AND – you won’t have to be “it.” YOU SEE - ollie ollie oxen free, is the cry of grace to people who are hiding, that it is now safe and it is now time, to come home.
WELL – in Luke 15 Jesus is telling a kind of hide & seek story. ACTUALLY 3 stories where there is someone who is seeking and someone or something is lost or hiding. AND – do you know what the really Amazing thing is, that in this all important game of hide and seek, God has taken the job that no one wants… GOD – has taken the job of being ‘it.’ AND – He has taken that job forever!
A few years back there was a bumper sticker campaign that was trying to spread the word about God and the possibility of knowing him. AND – all over the place you’d see bumper stickers and bill boards with these 3 words on them, "I found it." IT was a way of striking up a conversation… What did you find? WELL – I found faith, I found truth, I found God… BUT – from a theological perspective this is actually backwards. BECAUSE – what the bible teaches is NOT, that I found it – BUT that it (that God) found me…
UNDERSTAND - there is a reason why Jesus tells the story this way. YOU SEE - very often people who are on a spiritual journey, think of themselves as "seekers" or "searchers." Why? Because, they are seeking truth, they are searching for God. THEY - ask questions, read books, go to classes, watch The Discovery Channel, attend church all in a search for the truth…
AND LISTEN - it really is a good thing to seek. IN FACT – God wants us to seek, He created us to seek, He commands us to seek… AND IN – Jeremiah 29:13,14, God says, “when you seek me with all your heart I will be found by you…” AND – in that great Sermon by the Sea Jesus said that, “He who seeks finds…”
YES - we are seekers. BUT - that is not the whole story about us, is it friends? YOU SEE - the truth about us is, that we are not just seekers, we are also hiders. LISTEN – it is important for you and I to come face-to-face with our tendency: to get lost, to hide from God.
UNDERSTAND - hide and seek is a game that people have been playing with God ever since the garden. AFTER - the fall… AFTER - they ate the forbidden fruit, What did Adam & Eve do? THEY - hid from God in the bushes… “I can’t believe we did that, Oh no I hear God coming.. quick let’s hide.. I hope he can’t see us…’ AND – God’s people have been hiding ever since….
• Abraham hid in Egypt
• Moses hid in the wilderness
• David hid behind his crown
• Jonah hid in a boat that was traveling away from God
• Zacchaeus behind his wealth
• The Pharisees and teachers of the law behind their religion.
OKAY – I have 2 questions in regards to hiding from God…
#1 – WHERE - do people hide from God today?
THEY – hide behind;
• busyness, activity, pleasure, possessions
• work, drugs, alcohol
• anger, relationships (even those that they know are wrong)
• ritual, religion, rules
• ignorance and many other things.
BUT REGARDLESS – of where people choose to hide… the goal, the purpose is always the same… to keep God distant, to keep God from seeing them…
Question #2; WHY – do people hide from God…?
NOW – there are as many reasons for hiding as there are places to hide.… People hide from God because;
• They’ve done something wrong (They’ve messed up, sinned, failed, fallen short)
• They want to or they are doing, something wrong
• They are afraid of what God is going to do to them if He finds them
• They don’t feel worthy (oh, they feel a little worthy, but not fully worthy. So they never completely come out of hiding, because they are afraid there is a part of them that God might reject and turn away from)…
BUT LISTEN – here’s the bottom line, people hide from God because they don’t understand who God is… YOU SEE – if they knew who God was… they would realize 2 things; #1 – you can’t ever hide from God and #2 – you don’t really want to hide from God.
QUESTION – have you ever wondered how God feels about you when you are lost? When you are hiding? When you have strayed? When you have left His path in order to walk your own? HOW – does God feel when He sees lost people? What does he see? WHAT - is His desire for them?
“Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."
THERE ARE - 2 groups of people gathered around Jesus (Sinners & tax collectors) – (Pharisees & teachers of the law…) QUESTION – why were the sinners & tax collectors gathered around Jesus? BECAUSE: They were thirsty, hungry… They were hoping to hear words of life from the author and sustainer of life…
AND - why were the religious leaders muttering? Because they were ticked off? And why were they ticked off… BECAUSE - Jesus wasn’t hanging out with them, telling them what great rule keepers they were. YOU SEE – in their minds, if Jesus really was the Son of God he would have treated those sinners like the outcasts they were… AND THEN – sat around drinking Lattes with them…
QUESTION - what did these Religious Leaders misunderstand about both God and His one and only Son? That people; regardless of race, education, color, looks, economic standing, their past or their present condition mattered to God – which brings us to the first point in your notes…
You Matter To God…
Then Jesus told them this parable: "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 ?
OKAY – what we have hear is a lost sheep. NOW – let me ask you, what do you think the odds are that this sheep is going to make it back home on his own? NOT – very good. BECAUSE – (Now, I how can I say this delicately) sheep are dumb…
HEY – have you noticed that most animals that have any IQ at all ultimately get some kind of a television series of their own or a movie. For example:
• Dolphins--very intelligent creature. Anybody here remember the name of a dolphin that had his own television series? Flipper.
• How about dogs…Lassie, Rin-Tin-Tin, Beethoven
• There are cats like Garfield.
• Famous horses like: Black Beauty, Mr Ed, Sea Biscuit
• Spiders get their own story: Charlotte’s Web.
• And even Pigs: Anybody here ever watch a show called "Green Acres?" Remember the pig’s name? Arnold Ziffel. Arnold Ziffel, whose tail could actually forecast the weather. Babe
BUT – can anybody here come up with the name of a great sheep? And you older people don’t say ‘Lamb chop.’ I hate to say this, friends, but Lambchop was actually a puppet. He was not a legitimate sheep. It was Sherri Lewis’ hand talking the whole time. I hate to burst your bubble, but get a life, friends. Lambchop was not a sheep.
BOTTOMLINE – sheep are not bright animals. Sheep are not leaders. They are followers. OKAY – here is what happens, there is a whole flock of sheep traveling, and one of them goes over the side of a cliff… QUESTION - do you know what happens to the rest of the flock? They all --every one of them will follow right over the edge of that same cliff…
NOW - you would think that at least one of them, would pause for a moment and say to himself, “you know, Molly went over the cliff and she never returned…. I think I’ll stop and reflect on this truth for a few moments before I go any further.” BUT NO - it never happens that way. The sheep just says to himself, "Well, okay. I’ll give it a try. Doesn’t sound like a ’baaaad’ idea to me."
QUESTION – what is the only hope this lost sheep has? That His Shepherd will search for him UNTIL HE FINDS HIM… That’s it – that’s his only hope. AND – why would a shepherd do this? BECAUSE – that lost sheep matters to him!
AND GUYS – here’s the point… Why did Jesus come to seek and save the lost… BECAUSE – every person matters to God. I love how Bill Hybels puts it; “you will never locked eyes with anyone who does not matter to God…” LOOK - around this room…. Every face you see matters to God… AND - when you leave here today, and you go out to eat, or you go to the mall…or wherever…. Every face you see matters to God.
AND UNDERSTAND - it doesn’t matter to the shepherd, it doesn’t matter to God how or why people are lost… WHATEVER – the reason he will go out after them… AND – He will go after them individually… BECAUSE – they each matter to Him personally. IN - his book; ‘More Jesus, Less Religion.’ Steve Arterburn (the founder of Women of Faith) writes;
When God calls a man, he calls him personally. When God calls a woman he calls her personally… He tugs at the hearts of individuals, calling them one by one. It is a biblical pattern, repeated time and again. From the time the Creator walked with Adam in the garden during the cool of the day, calling out to him by name after he rebelled and right through the Old and New Testaments we see a God who relates to men and women in a personal way… (we see) stories about men and women who have met a personal God who is not too big to care about each individual. If he knows all the stars and calls each by name (Ps 147:4; Isaiah 40:26), is it too much to believe that he knows and cares about each one of us?
Jesus came to seek and save the lost… AND – when He walked the dusty streets of this world Jesus went after lost people; passionately, individually and personally. No matter… WHO - they were… WHERE – they were hiding… OR WHAT - they had done…
• He went after Nathaniel as he sat under a fig tree
• He went after a woman who had been married 5 times and was now shacking up as she went to draw water from a well
• He went after Peter as he was casting a net
• He went after Matthew as he sat behind a tax booth
• He went after an invalid as laid by the pools of Bethsaidia
• He went after a prostitute as she anointed his feet with perfume
• He went after a crooked tax collector as he hung from a tree limb hiding behind his wealth… AND – he called him by name… Zacchaeus, come down immediately
YES – Jesus in the flesh, went after lost people: passionately, personally and individually… BECAUSE - every person matters to God… (I think that is one reason there is so many lists of names in the bible)… people matter to God.
NOW - the sheep in Jesus’ story does have one thing going for it. YOU SEE – this sheep knows that it is lost. NOTICE – that the sheep does not say to the shepherd when he find him, "Hey, I’m not in such bad shape. There are other sheep far worse off than me I’ll be fine." NO – this sheep doesn’t say that. This sheep is not in denial. UNDERSTAND – this sheep’s eyes are wide open, it knows it is lost, that it’s situation is hopeless. It knows it needs to be saved.
AND - it is also interesting to look at what the shepherd does not say. The shepherd does not come to the sheep and say the things that we would be tempted to say--"You stupid sheep. You have only yourself to blame. What were you thinking of, wandering off like this? Why couldn’t you be more careful? Didn’t you know the path was narrow, and the cliff was steep and the countryside was filled with wolves? Didn’t you know that the path you choose always ends up in trouble?... So, don’t come bleating to me now that you have gotten lost. YEAH - I guess it does look like lamb stew for you, my little wooly friend"
NO - the shepherd doesn’t say any of these things. INSTEAD - the shepherd just opens his arms (breaks one of its legs) and gathers the sheep around him and goes home…. No condemnation, no lecture, just a shepherd so filled with compassion towards the sheep that when he finds it, his heart melts. And what does he do when he gets home… he throws a party
QUESTION – what do you think is going through the minds of the sinners and tax collectors as they heard this? “No way Jesus – I can’t matter that much to God… Not me. Not where I’ve been, not with all I’ve done… I mean just look at me… “
AND Jesus would say – “Oh yes you do – in fact – the Father has had party plates, cups, napkins and a banner with your name on it since the day he carefully knits you in your mothers womb… And He’s been waiting all this time, to stop all the activity of heaven and throw a party just for you on the day you come home…”
THEN - Jesus would look at them and say – “Ollie Ollie oxen free” - you can come out of hiding it is safe to come home.” YOU – matter to God…
The next point in your outline is;
You Are Valuable To God
"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ’Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Lk 15:8-10
NOW – you need to understand that this was more than just a coin; it was kind of like a wedding dowry. In that day there were 10 coins a married woman would wear around her headdress. SO YOU SEE – losing it would be like losing the diamond in your wedding ring.
AND – what does she do? She lights the lamp, sweeps the house and searches carefully until she finds it! BECAUSE - the coin was valuable to her.
• QUESTION – do you feel valuable? Not just when you are in this room… BUT – do you feel valuable; Monday morning? Wednesday afternoon? Friday night? DO – you feel valuable; at home? at work? At school? AND – if you don’t feel valuable, why don’t you?
Steve Arterburn, writes
Too often we base our self-worth on what the world views as valuable. The world thinks that money is a barometer of value, and if we do not have it in great amounts we feel bad about ourselves. Physical beauty has almost become a religion unto itself, and those without it feel no value in a society that judges by the looks on the outside. In this age of technology, IQ is often used to determine who is to be esteemed and who is to be shown the basement.
It is difficult for most of us to measure up. And the more we focus on the world’s standards and values, the more negative we feel about ourselves.
God has a different system, and if our faith is in Him, we can feel tremendous relief. Christ talked about the worth of an individual. His words are good news to all of us who will never be fashion models, billionaires or members of Mensa.
(Mensa was founded in England in 1946 and is a group that welcomes people from every walk of life whose IQ is in the top 2% of the population… The word "Mensa" means "table" in Latin. The name stands for a round-table society, where race, color, creed, national origin, age, politics, educational or social background are irrelevant.).
Jesus came to seek and save the lost… He came to let every person know how valuable they are to God… AND UNDERSTAND – a lot of people Jesus came to… did not feel all that valuable BC… I MEAN – how valuable do you think;
• the woman caught in adultery in John 8, FELT
• Or the crippled man in John 5
• the blind man in John 9?
• the leper in Luke 17
• the naked demon possessed man in Mk 5
• the widow in Luke 7
• the single mom (with the demon possessed daughter begging for food from the table) in in Matthew 13
• or the prostitute who poured perfume on the feet of Jesus in Luke 7
LISTEN BC – they did not feel very valuable… BUT AFTER – they met Him they were never the same and they knew that they were priceless… And they were
QUESTION – what do you think God sees, when he looks at you? What do you think he sees at this very moment? MAYBE – it will help you to answer that question by answering this one… What did Jesus see 2000 years ago, as he looked into the eyes of the sinners and tax collectors who were listening to him tell this story for the very first time?
JESUS SAW – incredibly valuable people. HE SAW – people who were made in the very image of His Father. HE SAW – people who the King of kings and Lord of Lords knit in their mothers womb. HE SAW – people for whom He had left all the glories of heaven and put on human flesh just to be with. AND – it broke His heart to know that not one of them saw themselves that way.
OH – if we (if you & I) could only see ourselves through His eyes… WE WOULD NEVER AGAIN -
QUESTION – would you give all the money in your bank account for this pen? Why not? It’s not worth that price, (it isn’t THAT valuable).. YOU SEE – the value of something is determined by the price that people are willing to pay for it….
[Tim…] – that’s why I don’t think you have any idea of how valuable you are to God… CHECKOUT these words in 1 Peter 1:18-20; maybe it will begin to help you see your value…
For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him for this purpose long before the world began, but now in these final days, he was sent to the earth for all to see. And he did this for you.
(Read it again, with Steve in it)
FRIENDS – I could not get anymore valuable then that?
On the wall of the chapel hung a 3 foot crucifix. I awoke each morning at 2:00 am and went to the chapel for an hour of nocturnal adoration. On the night of December 13, during what began as a long and lonely hour of prayer. I heard in faith Jesus Chris say;
“For the love of you I left my father’s side. I came to you who ran from me, fled me, who did not want to hear my name. For the love of you I was covered with spit, punched, beaten, and affixed to the wood of the cross.”
These words are burned on my life. Whether I am in a state of grace or disgrace, elation or depression, that night of fire quietly burns. I looked at the crucifix for a long time, figuratively saw the blood streaming down from every pore of His body, and heard the cry of his wounds: “This isn’t a joke. It’s not a laughing matter to me that I have loved you.”
The longer I looked, the more I realized that no man has ever loved me and no one ever could love me as he did. I went out of the cave, stood on the precipice, and shouted into the darkness, “Jesus, are you crazy? Are you out of your mind to have loved me so much?”
(Tim…) - you are valuable. You are priceless. You are worth the precious lifeblood of Christ…. AND – don’t let anyone or anything tell you, (OR make you feel), otherwise… NOT YOUR; parents, wife, husband, children, boss, friends, enemies, society , your past or your present condition…
YOU - are valuable… AND – God will light the lamp, sweep the floor… Search and pursue you until He finds you!
2,000 years ago Jesus Christ, the Son of God… CRIED from a blood stained cross, “Ollie-Ollie oxen free!” You can all come out now – it’s safe – there is no penalty – It is finished, I paid it in full just to be with you…
THIS – brings us to the third point in your notes.
Ollie Ollie Oxen Free
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. Lk 15:11,12
The father had done everything he could for his Son, but it wasn’t enough. AND – one day the son comes to his father (and remember we are the Son and the father is God). One day the son comes to his father and says, “Dad, I don’t want to be here anymore, I don’t want to live in this house any longer… AS a matter of fact, I’m sick of living here – I gotta get out of here. AND – I don’t want to wait for my inheritance either. I want what’s mine and I want it now.
SURE – the father could have refused his son’s request and made him stay, BUT – he knew it wouldn’t really solve anything. AND – not long after this the son gathered up all he had and left home. AND – not only did he leave home – he left the country – he went as far away as he possibly could from His father’s from house/presence.
(QUESTION – how do you think the father felt as he watched his son turn his back and walk away down that dirt road?)
AND – in that far off country, the son forgot all about his father… He didn’t call, he didn’t write, he didn’t come home for the holidays – he didn’t even send an e-mail… He just stayed in that far off land….
AND – this guy really lived it up – I MEAN – non stop partying it was like Panama City during Spring Break time… drinking, drugs, woman…. He was in 5th gear with the top down… BUT – then something happened, the money ran out…. The well went dry and all of his so called friends – scattered like rats on sinking ship…. (ever had friends like that )
AND – Jesus tells us that this guy hit rock bottom… 14After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
NOW REMEMBER – he is a Jew, and Jews and pigs were not on speaking terms… AND – what kind of job does this guy wind up getting? Feeding pigs… AND – what starts looking good to him? Pig food…. NOW - I am all for a hunk of bacon or a pork chop – but muddy smelly pig food…(I think I’ll pass)
WELL – one morning as this guy was staring at and lusting over a pig pod – I MEAN – he was about to take on the biggest hog in the trough – the light bulb came on – HE came to his senses… “Hey, wait a minute, I don’t have to live like this… (and neither do you, by the way)… I don’t have to sit with the pigs and starve to death… I’m going home… Yeah – that’s what I’ll do – at my fathers house there is food to spare…”
OKAY – and here’s what I’ll do – I tell my father – Father I have sinned against heaven and against you and I am no longer worthy to be called your son – but could you let me be one of your servants..”
SO – the Son starts heading back home (dirty, smelly, pig duky habg off all over him)… and as he walks he keeps rehearing speech… NOW – the Father is sitting on porch, like He has been doing ever since His Son left… (let’s pick up at Luke 15:20)
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him
looks like my son…
and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son,
something fathers in that culture never did… POINT – the only time we see God in a hurry is to forgive!
He ran to His son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. "The son said to him, ’Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ "But the father said to his servants, ’
Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. (mark of honor)
Put a ring on his finger (sign of authority)
and sandals on his feet (a sign of son ship
Bring the fattened calf and kill it. (a sign that it’s party time)
Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
OKAY – what does God want you to do with this message… HE – wants you to do 2 things.
STOP HIDING….
LISTEN UP – I know some of you don’t really believe it!
SURE – you’ve heard it hundreds of times before, maybe you’ve even taught it.
BUT – you have yet to FULLY believe it! NOT – down deep inside.
START BEING… Jesus to the people in this world!
YOU SEE – in many ways our world is just one huge orphanage. Full of people, I MEAN – you work with them, live with them, go to school with them) Who need to know that it is safe for them to come out of hiding to…
