A PASSION FOR YOU
Luke 15:1-32
S: God’s love
Th: God seeks us out
Pr: GOD HAS A PASSION FOR YOU!
?: Who? Who does God have a passion for?
KW: Inductive
TS: We will find in our study of Luke 15 three
The _____ person God has a passion for is the…
I. WANDERING (3-7)
II. MISSING (8-10)
III. DERIDING (11-32)
Version: ESV
RMBC I1 April 04 AM
INTRODUCTION:
1. Have you ever had trouble losing things?
ILL Notebook: Find (Detroit)
Mary Brumbaugh’s husband, an airline pilot, often has difficulty locating items around the house. One day he asked Mary where the salt was. Annoyed, she responded, "How on earth can you find Detroit at night in a blizzard, but you can’t find the salt in your own kitchen?"
"Well, darling," he replied, "they don’t move Detroit!"
Mary W. Brumbaugh, St. Augustine, Fla.
Perhaps it is good they don’t move Detroit, but sometimes I wish someone would move Buffalo further south!
Well, I don’t know about you, but I hate losing things.
2. When we lose something that is important to us, it is so frustrating.
Like when you get up in the morning, and you can’t find your keys.
You are scurrying all about, calling out to your spouse, “Have you seen my keys?”
And the classic response is, “There right where you left them.”
Oh, that is so much help!
How frustrating to lose those keys, the wallet, and especially the checkbook!
Or those shoes, socks or earrings…
But, you know, when we lose them, it is an all out search, isn’t it?
We don’t sit around and say, “Oh, that’s too bad.”
It becomes such a high priority.
We look everywhere.
We retrace our steps.
We try to remember when we last saw them.
In the passage we are considering today, it revolves around the concept of things that are lost.
For…
3. In Jesus’ day, there were people that didn’t understand His priorities (15:1-2)
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them."
It was the Pharisees and the scribes that didn’t understand Jesus.
They were among the religious leaders of the day.
It was their conclusion that since God is infinitely righteous and holy, God only likes those who are righteous and holy.
And, as a result, He doesn’t like or want to be with those who are not.
But they misunderstood,
You see, people are God’s priority.
God is vitally interested in every person in His creation.
They are His beloved creatures.
So, when Jesus came to earth, He reflected God’s priority.
You see, in the same way…
4. People were Jesus’ priority.
He came to seek for those that were lost.
He came to help those that had lost contact with God.
And to do it, He didn’t pre-qualify people before He spoke to them.
No, He sought them out.
Now, these Jewish leaders didn’t understand this kind of thinking.
So Jesus told them three stories to help them get the point of what God was really like.
OUR STUDY:
Here is the first story He told…
"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ’Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
You see, God loves the…
I. WANDERING (3-7)
God values those who have been distracted.
Jesus tells a story and uses sheep as a picture of people that are distracted and wandering.
You see, sheep are not good at knowing exactly where they need to go and what they need to do.
If they get lost, they can’t find their way home.
If they are left in a field, they will stay there until the grass is gone and then starve to death.
Sheep need help.
They are followers, and sometimes, when they are not paying attention, they wander off.
They get lost.
They don’t do it on purpose.
They don’t do it out of rebellion or maliciousness.
They are simply distracted or they are deceived and lured away.
But the shepherd loves the sheep!
They are valuable.
They are important to him.
And this is how God feels about us.
We may be distracted.
We may be deceived.
We may wander.
Regardless, God considers us valuable.
And He seeks us out.
He brings us out of the danger we have put ourselves in.
And then He rejoices!
Now Jesus moves to the next story…
"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ’Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
Here we learn that God loves the…
II. MISSING (8-10)
When it comes to lost people, God is intense.
In this story, Jesus tells of a woman that literally turns the house upside down in search for a missing coin.
She lights the lamp.
She gets out the broom.
She gets down on her hands and knees.
And she searches every corner until she finds it.
She is intense.
She is determined.
And this is how God is with us.
You know, those inanimate objects that we are go nuts over when we lose them – those keys and those earrings – they have absolutely no idea that they are lost.
In the same way, God searches for people that don’t even know that they are lost.
He is intense.
God is resolute.
He searches for those that are missing.
And when He finds them, He rejoices.
It is worth celebrating.
In the third story, Jesus gets even more personal in describing God’s attitude toward His creation.
For it is here God’s heart is truly revealed.
God even loves those that are…
III. DERIDING (11-32)
Those that reject Him and insult Him are still objects of His love.
Here is how the story begins…
"There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ’Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.
The father had to be wounded by such a harsh demand.
For in that culture, it was like saying, “I wish you were dead.”
It was a demonstration of a love of money more than family.
The son shows himself as self-centered, impatient, and in effect, estranged.
But we find here that…
1. God lets us go, even though it breaks His heart.
The father lets him go.
He doesn’t stand at the door and refuse to let him go.
He doesn’t try to talk him out of it.
He grants it!
And I imagine that he shed many a tear over his son’s foolish behavior.
And what does the son do?
He heads straight for the casinos (Cheektowaga), bars, and strip joints.
And loses everything that he has.
He blew it all.
Jesus continues the story…
And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
"But when he came to himself, he said, ’How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants."’
The son hits rock bottom.
He is now in a foreign land.
He is working with pigs.
He is working as a slave.
And for a proud Jewish son, there was nothing worse.
He could not get any lower, even if he tried.
ILL David Dykes: Why doesn’t God stop me?
Pastor David Dykes talks about an experience about a person God let go…
I was talking to a man a few years ago who at one time was a deeply committed Christian, a servant of Jesus Christ. I have no doubt he is a child of God, but a few years ago, he got messed up in sexual sin and committed adultery and ended up leaving his family. He’s miserable today, even bitter toward God. He made a statement to me one time I thought was interesting. He spoke of when he first started getting involved with the “other woman.” He said, “If it was so wrong, why didn’t God stop it?” It was almost as if he was blaming God… Doesn’t God have all the power? Couldn’t He have shot a lightning bolt down and warned the guy? He could have – but He didn’t.
God didn’t stop this man for the same reason He didn’t stop Adam and Eve from eating the fruit.
God didn’t stop him for the same reason He didn’t stop King David from having a sexual relationship with Bathsheba.
God didn’t stop it for the same reason the father in this story didn’t fling himself across the door and say, “Stop it son, I won’t let you leave.”
God allows us to make choices, even though He knows what the consequences will be.
What makes this interesting is that when Jesus told this story, it was familiar to the Jewish leaders’ ears.
The rabbis had been telling the same story for years.
In their version, the younger son takes the money, spends it, and crawls home.
And Jesus listeners were thinking, “Oh we have heard this before.”
But Jesus had a new twist to the story.
In their version, the father rejects the son and sends him on his way.
But not in Jesus’ story.
No, instead, the father reacts much differently.
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ’Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ’Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
Now that’s a different ending…
2. God runs to us!
Everyday while he was gone, the father has been thinking of his son.
Day after day, he wondered what he was doing and where he was.
Each day, he walked to the edge of the property, stood at the stone fence, and looked down the road.
And one day, he sees a bent figure, dragging along the road, and he knows who it is.
It is his son.
So he jumps the fence and sprints out to meet him.
This would have been so out of character, but because in this culture, men of respect never ran.
And though we might think he should, the father doesn’t force the son to grovel.
But the son does confess…
I have sinned against God – “Right!”
I have sinned against you – “Right again!”
I am no longer worthy to be your son – “Perhaps – but my son you are – a loved son!”
The father really doesn’t wait for the confession to finish.
It’s party time!
It’s time to call the neighbors.
It’s time to pump up the music and break out the popcorn.
No, it’s even bigger…it’s time for an old-fashioned barbecue.
And you know what Jesus teaches us?
It is that…
3. God gives us exactly what we don’t deserve.
APPLICATION:
Have you seen “The Passion of the Christ”?
It is worth seeing, but what is more important is the Passion itself.
This Holy Week that we have just celebrated is meant to be much more than a Spring Break.
It refers to the time Jesus prepared to go to the cross.
And we call this time the Passion because a root meaning of the word for passion is to suffer.
Jesus suffered as He went to the cross…
In the garden, He suffered…
At the hands of the temple guards, He suffered…
Mocked by the people, He suffered…
Insulted and scourged by the Romans, He suffered…
Carrying the cross, He suffered…
And finally crucified.
And do you know why?
It is the other meaning of passion.
1. Jesus has demonstrated a passion for us by taking the journey to the cross (John 15:13; Romans 5:8).
Jesus said…
Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.
Later, Paul would write…
…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
And here is what each one of us needs to hear…
You need to hear this!
2. GOD HAS A PASSION FOR YOU!
ILL Edith
Years ago, there was a bag lady in New York City who attended a preaching service at a Manhattan Rescue Mission. Afterwards in the line to receive soup, she mentioned to the preacher she was now ready to give her life to Jesus. She said, “I never knew until today my name is in the Bible.” The preacher smiled and said, “What’s your name?” She said, “Edith. My name is Edith. And my name is in the Bible.” The preacher said, “I’m sorry ma’am, but you must be mistaken. The name Edith never appears in the Bible.” She said, “Oh yes it does, you read it a few minutes ago!” He opened his Bible and she pointed her dirty finger to Luke 15:2. The preacher had been using the King James Version, and it says, “The man receiveth sinners and eateth with them.” She said, “There it is! Jesus receiveth sinners and Edith with them!”
And indeed the good news is Jesus does receive sinners, and Edith, and David, and Jane, and Mary, and John and anyone else who comes to Him!
So please understand that as Jesus told these stories, He communicated what could almost be described as a restlessness of the Father.
He has been looking for you…
He has been looking intently…
He has been looking down the road, waiting for you to return…
You see…
He’s passionate about you.
He’s crazy about you.
You are His most valuable possession.
He is a seeking God.
3. Isn’t now the time to be found?
Do you really want to see heaven rejoice?
Get found!
Because, friend, simply…God is crazy for you and wants you to spend eternity with Him.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
If you have been wandering or missing…get found…God is looking for you…it is as simple as calling out His name.
If you have been rejecting God…even deriding Him…it’s not too late…come back and find a God who is waiting for your return.
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
RESOURCES:
Previous Messages:
God on the Move, 16 Apr 00
The Worth of the Lost, 27 Aug 95
A Father’s Heart, 21 Jun 98
Sermoncentral.com
What is God Really Like? David Dykes
Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World, Steve Simala Grant
Finding Lost Passion for Lost People, Ryan Johnson
The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son, John Covell
God Doesn’t Play by Our Rules, Kenneth Sauer
Lost and Found, Robert Deffinbaugh
