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00:00:00 good morning church today's scripture reading will be taken from The Book of Luke 15: 4 to7 suppose one of you has 100 sheep and loses one of them doesn't he leave the 99 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
00:00:41 over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent this is the word of the Lord and that will be the last time Dr Peter allows me up here Friends next week we have Brandon Wong sharing with us what faith has got to do with work the following week honor Lim lessons from how Jesus speaks to the 7 woman and on the 18th of 13th of October uh Wong Yen the writing on the wall friends this morning I'm going to talk to you all a Sunday school story that is familiar to all of us it is commonly known as the parable
00:01:53 of the lost sheep and it comes in a series of Parables of something that is lost and found the lost sheep the Lost coin the lost son or The Prodigal Son now to understand this Parable or what Jesus was teaching let me get back clicker on to understand this Parable what Jesus was teaching we need to ask five questions and these five questions would be our points for this morning and I tried as five hours first there was rambling that is why that was occasion of this Parable number two representation who do the Sheep
00:02:41 represent third which is an important point the reason why did the Sheep get lost or wonder off fourth rejoicing why was there rejoicing in heaven the fifth is actually not a point it's actually the conclusion but it's a responsibility for us as Believers now friends let us quickly look at the texts that was just read to us but let us look at it a bit from the original Greek understanding now if you're able to follow what is on the screen you probably can read with me Luke 15:1 now the text collectors and sinners
00:03:25 were all gathering around to hear Jesus now this was an unusual scene normally the tax collectors and the Sinners will run away from the Pharisees and the teachers of the law they'll run away from the other uh rabbis but he was different the tax collectors and sinners they flocked to Jesus they didn't flee from him verse two tells us but the Pharisees and the teachers of the law they muttered they were upset they was R rambling and this is what it said this man welcomes Sinners and eats with them now the word welcome in the
00:04:07 original Greek is prai which means it's not just welcome it's something more than that it means to show kindness to show Hospitality to show respect to a sinner to wait with confidence or patience to accept and eat with them verse three then Jesus told them this Parable that that was occasion it's because of the ramblings he told them this Parable and the parable comes very strong in wor four it was anger you can see the anger in Jesus face he said suppose one of you has 100 sheep it is if I had 100 sheep suppose one of you
00:04:49 had 100 sheep because during those days sheep raring was a lucrative source and income and most of them were livestock owners and they were in the livestock business now suppose one of you have 100 sheep and loses one of them doesn't he leave the 99 in the Open Country he leaves the 99 and goes after the lost and the original Greek word for loss is aomi which means something that will be destroyed it will die it will perish he goes after that lost sheep until he finds again is an uncertain Affinity
00:05:35 hos when there is restoration among Believers there is more rejoicing cheerfulness in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous who do not need to repent let's bow our heads and look to the Lord in prayer Heavenly Father we come before you this morning we humble ourself before you Lord father you are a good God you are a great God you are in the ministry of reconciliation you are in the ministry of restoration father as your children we come to together to hear your word we pray Lord that you will speak to us you
00:06:25 will Minister unto us this morning be with me as I Proclaim your word and your children as they hear your word father we pray for your presence to be in this place we pray for each and every person that we will not be distracted but we able to focus on you we commit this time into your hands and may your name and your name alone Be glorified in Jesus name amen now as mentioned earlier the occasion for Jesus coming up with this series of sermon of Parables of what that is lost and found was because there was rambling
00:07:06 murmuring Jesus was not like the other rabbis he was different Sinners flocked to him and this made the others irritated the pH teachers this man welcomes Sinners he should despise them now in those days the tax collectors were people were most hated because they made themselves so rich at the expense of the Jewish countrymen they worked for the despised Roman government and they're guilty of extort extortion and blackmail it will be very difficult in Jesus day to find anybody who was most hated it
00:07:49 was the tax collectors and the Sinners were the prostitutes those who made a living through immorality The Pimps and they defiled they defil the temple and the Jewish tradition and this Sinners these are the people Jesus is associating with now the tax collectors and sinners were attracted to Jesus they were not attracted to the other preachers to the other teachers of the law they they saw something different in this Rabbi and I told you earlier they flocked to Jesus but they fled from the uh Pharisees and the the teachers of the
00:08:31 law Jesus had earned their right to be heard because of his genuine love and concern for them he did not despise them like the other Pharisees and teachers of the law he spoke to them the truth he told them about their sin in their life and he saw the Samar Riden woman and he told her you're right the man you are with now is not your husband he was direct he was clear he never he never minc his words yet in his preaching and his teaching he gave them hope he gave them hope of Salvation not only for their lives here
00:09:14 but also in their life beyond the grave because in Luke Chapter 19:1 we read for the son of man came to seek and save the lost the son of man came to seek and save that is lost and these people are the lost sheep now when the Pharisees and the scribes observe the Lord's tenderness they despised him and they made him even more made him even more upset the majority of the Pharisees and teachers of the law they knew the law but they never learned what Jesus was doing he came to preach repentance to the wicked repentance to the wicked
00:09:57 and so their souls will be saved from death now my friends Ramblers complainers those are murmuring you will always find them you you you will never lose them even around us you'll find people are complaining always finding fault in something that is always a dissatisfaction so Jesus spoke this Parable to rebuke them and he says suppose you upset that I'm I'm speaking and associating with the tax colors and the the and the prostitutes but suppose one of you had a 100 sheep he was actually rebuking them for condemning
00:10:39 him for his love for the lost but instead of speaking harshly he told them this Parable and trying to tell them how much God rejoices when people repent and when a lost F lost soul is found in Galatians 6:1 we are told brothers and sisters if someone is caught in sin you who live by the spirit should restore that person in gently not condemn the person but try to restore him but watch yourself CU you also may be tempted the second Point representation who are the lost sheep who do they represent friends when we look at the
00:11:26 Bible when we study the scripture we realize in the the Bible only God's people are referred to as sheep let me reiterate that in the Bible Old Testament New Testament it is only God's people who is who are referred to as sheep if you look at Psalms 91 95:7 he is our God and we are the people of his pasture the Sheep under his care today if you listen to his voice Isaiah 53:6 we all like sheep have gone astray each of us has turned to our own way the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all or in the New Testament John 10:27
00:12:07 my sheep listens to my voice I know them and they follow me and the passage Luke Chapter 2 Luke chapter 1 the Good Shepherd left the 99 for the lost so my friends who do the Sheep represent is a specific group of people it is very clear listen very carefully it is very clear that this lost sheep was once with God was once among the 99 it was Among Us it was once in the church was once a Believer was once among the people but now they have wandered away lost in sin probably left out of rebellion and living in a
00:12:55 rebellious life and because of that rebellious living no hope of coming back just like the tax collectors and the Sinners the Bible Compares God's people to sheep because sheep is always prone to wander away sheep is very stubborn you know you say come here it look at you and say B and run away and then when he looks at grass on the other side it'll just look at the grass and they'll move to to the direction while the flock is already moved away and the shepherd has already moved away and then they become a target for
00:13:44 Predators now the Lions and the Wolves will not attack a flock but they will look when the Sheep is alone and away from the shepherd and then they will go to make the kill and that is how many Believers are lost but Jesus said the Good Shepherd leaves the 99 you're okay but let me go for the Lost he leaves the 99 and goes to the field in search for that one lost lamp now maybe that lost lamb lost in the family could be a rebellious or disobedient husband or son at one time when we got married he was so faithful
00:14:26 he was so good I don't know what came over him it must be that beautiful secretary in the office suddenly my cooking is not good my dressing is not good my son was perfect was such a wonderful child when growing but he came a teenager it must be all his friends his school friends he those he Associates with a rebellious disobedient son or daughter or relative or friend who shows no hope of coming back lost in the family friends do you follow me say something La please the third Point why did the Sheep
00:15:15 get lost this is very important why did they leave the fellowship why did they leave the flock why did the ship get lost or wonder off a crucial question we need to ask here now we know that the lost sheep are the Jewish people of Israel that's what Jesus is talking about they were Israelites the Jewish people they were descendants of Abraham they had the law they had the temple they had the sacrifices they had everything yet they were lost and gone astray yet they've rejected the faith yet they've gone into
00:15:53 sinful living today we have Believers in the family who have gone astray I was once in our T life group uh while we were sharing one person said I'm in the church we because it was on Tuesday and just after that Sunday he said I was in church but I fell lost fell lonely in the church you know there are people in the church who can feel lost lost in the crowd now some have gone lost because of other believers some are offended hurt because of other belever delers because of pastors with of church leaders
00:16:34 elders some are lost because they have sinned and they feel guilty or they have been sinned against people have done people have been unkind to them nasty to them harsh towards them not understanding and so they have left friends I want to share with you all a story by the famous British celebrity Anglican clergyman Reverend J John now the story goes something like this there was a wonderful lady wonderful churchgoing lady she was active in church ministry doing Ministry and Everything But as time went along
00:17:22 she had problems she could not get along with the others in the family she couldn't get along with her spouse she couldn't get along with her friends with her children and life was miserable she tried her best to get along with people but she just could not get along some issue would come up some problem would come up and she found it very difficult so she decided to go and see a psychotherapist she went and saw a psychotherapist to find out exactly what was a problem now this psychotherapist begin to talk to her counsel her speak
00:17:59 with her and try to find out when this woman's problem All Began excuse me now as he journeyed with her through her life as to where the problem began as he began to check her childhood and go back where all this thing begin he found out that it took back it goes back when she was in school during her school days now this lady for some reason during her school days in primary school she had a teacher who hated her a teacher who hated her and the teacher would tell her come up to the board come up to the white
00:18:44 board and write on the board I am a failure come up to the board and write I am a failure the teacher forced her to do that and so this girl a young child fearful obedient she came up and she began to write I am a failure and the teacher didn't just stop at that she told her friends in the class her classmates I want the rest of you to come up and right on the board next to her what do you think of her and some of the students who didn't like her came up and wrote nasty things she smells she is ugly she's fat she's
00:19:36 stupid she's pathetic she's poor she's disgusting one even wrote she's trash and so on so forth now the psychiatrist asked her when all this was happening was to die I just wish I was dead I just wish I was dead now my friends thank God that psychotherapist was a Believer he was an elder in the church and he told her this now as a Christian I know something else happened on that day and I'm so sorry that you were not aware of it but something else happened that day and her eyes bright brightened up
00:20:35 and she looked when everyone el else had finished saying and writing those nasty things about you on the board there was a MRI at the end of the classroom his name is Jesus he got up from his desk and he walked to the front he picked up an eraser and he he raised everything was written on the board about you he raised everything was written about you your sin your mistakes whatever you're ashamed of he rais it and he wrote the words I love you and I forgive you now my friends maybe some of those
00:21:23 stuff that were written on the board about this woman was true it may be true it may not have been true but whether it is true or not Jesus did not come to rub it in but he came to rub it out the word of God tells us the Son of God did not come into this world to condemn the world but he came to save the world that through him we might be saved remember this your past doesn't matter matter to him he did not come to rub it in but he came to rub it out my friends the teachers of the law and the Pharisees during the time of
00:22:14 Jesus they love to rub it in they love to pinpoint the sin and the mistakes of others you all remember in Luke 18:9 to14 two people went up to pray one was a Pharisee and other was tax collector the Pharisees stood by himself and prayed God I thank you that I'm not like other people I'm not a robber I'm not an evildoer I'm not an adulterer I'm not even like the tax collector I fast twice a week I give my 10th I serve in the church voluntarily I give my earnings for you I support your ministry your work but the
00:22:58 tax collector stood at a distance wouldn't even look up at heaven but be his chest and said simple prayer God have mercy on me a sinner friends Jesus is not in the business of accusing us or accusing our family members reminding us of our mistakes and failures of our past but the Jesus that you and I worship today is still in the business of giving every sinner a second chance or third chance or fourth chance is willing to forgive those who have sinned and is even willing to forgive those who have been sinned
00:23:50 against a second chance like the lost sheep it doesn't matter what your your sin or failure is it could be a failed marriage it could be a failed career or it could be a failed parenting effort or failed investment too greedy lost money it doesn't matter Jesus is there or failed academic Pursuits or failed relationships my friends people who are lost in the family are in danger you know why when we are lost from Christ we are distracted from the church from God from the flock we are attracted to the
00:24:35 world and there is a lot of danger there and sometimes of no coming back and that is why Jesus heart is for them he reminds us in this Parable that every one of us every one of us are precious to him so precious to him he loves you so much where he says he goes after the last sheep he goes after that one ship until he finds it the word until is so important he goes after the Sheep until he finds it it's like a lover Jesus like a lover who comes after us moving after us even we reject him he comes again and again he comes after
00:25:19 us he's willing to leave the 99 and go after that one lost sheep you know economically this is bad economically this is bad will you leave 99 and go after that one why are you going to waste your time over one like you 99 here why after that one not a wise thing to do for some that would be bad stewardship but my friends if you are seated here this morning or your loved one or your friends or anybody you know who is that one person and you feel there's no hope of of coming back my friends Jesus heart
00:26:01 is for that one person don't give up hope your children your family members whoever you're praying for Jesus loves them Jesus loves you and is coming for them he's more concerned about that one that is not here than the 99 who are saved and serving God because the Lost matter to him and you know the joy of the savior he puts the the sheep that is found on his shoulders and he returns home so much joy this brings us to the fourth Point rejoicing why was there rejoicing in heaven rejoicing because that which was
00:26:58 lost or doomed or dead has been found has been restored now John macur explains this very explicitly now this is what he says the joy that comes to the heart of the shepherd when a sheep is found it is not because it is more valuable than the other Sheep No but it's because it is safe from danger for hardship and death it's a special concern of a caring Shepherd now this is the example given many of us here are parents fathers mothers you have children now just imagine if one of your child is ill one
00:27:45 of your child is sick a mother will devote much care and time for that one child while she's sleeping she will thinking about the child while she's cooking Lord please heal my child while mooping the house she will thinking about child she will go and check the child look at the child she will leave the others because they okay but she'll go after that sick child and when that child recovers the mother rejoices not for the children who have been healthy all the while but for that one child who was sick and suffering but
00:28:26 has Health has been restored and if the brothers and sisters are loving to they will also rejoice in the restoration of their fellow sibling in the same way in the same way in the same way God is concerned about you because you and I we matter to him that is why in John 6 3739 Jesus says all those the father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never drive them away even the run away from me I will never drive them away for I have come down from heaven not to do my will but the will of him who sent me
00:29:06 and the Pharisees and the text and the teach of law couldn't understand that on that day and so he had to share this Parable and this is the will of him who sent me that I shall lose none of them for who has given me friends it is very important for you and me not only to know Jesus but to have the Heart of Jesus it is important for us not only to look out for each other the 99 that are safe but we need to be concerned for those who are lost those who are hurting and specifically those who have wandered
00:29:53 away from the Lord and Shipwrecked their faith and probably even made wrong choices in their lives and unable to come back if we only look out for each other I Pat my bag you Pat my bag and we encourage other then the church becomes a clubhouse we are just taking care of each other's needs now Philip yansy wrote a wonderful book I'm sure most of you have read this book what's so amazing about Grace now in this book and and this in his other book that um the Christ and AV knew he shares the same
00:30:39 story now this story this incident didn't happen to Philip YY but it happened to a friend of his he said a friend of his was once standing by a corner and a prostitute approached him carrying a 2-year-old child in her hands and The Prostitute was begging for money she was wretched homeless and sick with sobbs and tears she told him the most horrible thing she said she's been renting out her 2-year-old daughter to men who were interested in kinky sex and you said that 2-year-old daughter made more money for an hour
00:31:27 that she could earn a night and she had to do it to support her own drug habit it was horrible and it made Philip's friend feel even more horrible listen to this story and he didn't know what to do then he looked at it and just said blured this out said why don't you go to the church go to the church go to the house of God and seek help from the house of God and the moment he said that the moment screamed Church why Church why why church can you tell me somebody else why the church if I were to go to the church
00:32:22 they will make me feel horrible as it is I'm already feeling terrible they'll make me feel horrible they'll make me feel guilty they'll accuse me and make me feel worse and they will be those in the church who would say that they are legally liable to report me for abusing my daughter and who knows in the pretext of counseling me they may use me as a case study or even worse use me in a sermon illustration friends in this story Philip says we read that the b in the Bible that the prostitutes flock to Jesus not away from
00:33:14 him people flock to Jesus to find refuge in him but today people who sin do not feel welcom among the followers of Christ and they flee from them they flee from the church but in the parable of the lost sheep had not gone after the sheep that sheep would become food for wolves stolen by a thief or become a barbecue dinner for somebody's backyard friends zakus was a lost sheep he was a chief tax collector sought in stature and despised by everyone to see Jesus he climbed up the sigo tree and Jesus being Jesus going after
00:34:04 the loss went right under that tree and looked up and said zakus come down today I want to stay in your house and the people rumbled and they grumbled and they murmured this man has gone to the home of a sinner but what did Jesus say today's salvation have come to this house for this man is a child of Abraham my friends the parable of the lost sheep As Told by Jesus in reality is actually a revelation of God's heart for those who are struggling in their faith fallen into sin who have found themselves out of fellowship with God's
00:34:49 people the parable is not so much about a lost sheep but is more of the heart of a shepherd and he and what it does to find the lost sheep and restores it the parable of the lost sheep teaches us that we have a God who pursues Sinners after sinners that's as a lover who is obsessed and goes after them this brings us to the fourth point we have a God who pursues us even though we wander away from him in this Shepherd we find a powerful example of what God expects of us and his people as we rub shoulders with the
00:35:39 Lost of our day and in Ezekiel 34 vers 11 onwards God himself takes on the role of a shepherd He tells what the shepherd will do for this what the Sovereign Lord says I myself I myself will search for my sheep and look for them as a Shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he with them so I will look after my sheep I will rescue them nobody is beyond God's rescue plan I will rescue them from the places where they were scattered on the day of the clouds and darkness I will search for the Lord and
00:36:28 bring them back if someone tells you your son your daughter your husband your friend your relative is hopeless in Christ there is always hope he's out on a mission of rescue and restoration I will search for the lost and bring them back I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak but the sleek and strong I will destroy I will Shepherd the flock with Justice friends in The Parables found in Luke chapter 15 it answers to one of the greatest questions of mankind and you know what one of the
00:37:13 greatest questions of mankind is does God care I've seen so many Believers and people even those sit here today who are asking does God really care does God care my friends by studying the Bible by studying to realize yes God cares Jesus cares the Holy Spirit cares Heaven cares but do God's disciples care oh that's a question mark every generation produces those who do not care for the lost or couldn't care less but Jesus mission is clear for the son of man came to seek and save that which was lost he did not come to call the
00:38:13 righteous but Sinners to repentance it is hard to imagine anyone claiming to be a True Believer who does not share that pain and passion and the conviction of Christ one writer wrote religious people who have no time for sinful men are out of touch with God friends I'm convinced that The Parables of Luke 15 it's not about our efforts in evangelism but it's in our efforts of restoration which you don't talk much about and many congregations are terrible in the area of restoration for many two Christians
00:39:03 share a sinful attitude like the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son instead of rejoicing over those of repent who repent they Fred yeah that that family the couple there they're not married you know but living together I don't know you know you know how they speak about him in his place of work we are not in the position or have the heart of Christ to welcome them but always where we do not rub it off rub it out but we always like to rub it in pathetic isn't it friends how is your attitude towards
00:39:58 that 1% that lost in the family not coming to church don't want to come to church maybe they don't want to come for physical service but they probably join us online safer when we are not concerned for the loss then we are no better than the Pharisees or the Elder son who is selfish self-centered and self-absorbed you know what what a problem with the Pharisees and the teachers of the law whom Jesus was Reb rebuking on that day they were with the shepherd but didn't have the Shepherd's Heart friends I was reading this
00:40:41 book about Bon Hofer Pastor Marty Prophet spy and very interestingly in the preface of this book Tim CA had given a wonderful preface and it touched me and I want to share that with you all and this is what it said those of us who are saved all of us who sited here those of us who are saved we are saved by grace but what we don't realize is that through Grace come to Comes To Us by a costly sacrifice Jesus was willing to go to the cross and endure such pain and absorb a cost in order to save us we then must live sacrificially in
00:41:26 order to serve us others the lost that's the gospel not salvation by law or cheap Grace but costly Grace costly Grace changes us from Inside Out friends Jesus heart was for the lost because Grace may be cheap to us but it was costly for him so as a church we have a responsibility it's not only the respons of the elders or the pastors or the leaders but all of us it starts with us in John 21 the last chapter we know the dialogue between Peter and Jesus and when Jesus asked Peter Simon Peter do you love me more than this and
00:42:17 he said yes Lord I love you and the only thing Jesus said feed my lambs and again Jesus asked him Simon son of John do you love me and he answered yes Lord you know that I love you Jesus said take care of my sheep the third time Simon son of Jonah do you love me Peter was hurt for Jesus asked him the third time do you love me and he said Lord you know all things you know that I love you and Jesus said if you love me feed my sheep friends Jesus is on a search and rescue mission and that's what the kingdom of
00:43:09 God is really like that was Jesus mission and it was be ours let me conclude by saying this the Sheep was found because someone searched for it today there are many there are lost and no one searches for them the Holy Spirit searches for people who are lost and so was me so must we friends Jesus told these three Parables to correct the misconception of the Pharisees about God this Parable shows that God loves all people and wants everyone every sinner every backsliding don't slide with them but every back rting believer
00:43:59 runaway Believers to return to him God does not play favorites but he rejoices with anyone who turns to him let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this time we thank you for your word we continue to pray that you will bless us with a Ministry of restoration for those who are lost to this we commit ourselves in Jesus name amen amen indeed there's a joy and comfort in knowing that the heavenly father is calling us and it's and he's welcoming us matter how far we have fallen so I think this morning let's arise As we
00:44:40 sing this song and let's sing with assurance that you can come before the father and know that he will accept you and love you as you confess your sins before him sing after me Lord forgive us for our Pride when our faith becomes to show dress in rightous to high all the stats below we have charged your sons and daughters for the sin that is our own may we now forgive each other and lay down our stones [Music] forg forgi through the blood of Christ we are [Music] forg forgive us for our love of the
00:45:54 things we wish to own forsake the feast above for all the Crums below though you've made us Sons and Daughters we do not the world is may we find a greatest treasure is in you alone sing this with confidence for forgi through the blood of Christ we are forgi forgi forgi through the blood Christ we are forgi [Music] for us for aing when we can't release the past when we're quick to take the blame but forget we free at last we avoid your sons and daugh for the fear we don't belong give us eyes to see each other
00:47:29 through your only son sing forgien forgive forgiv through the blood of Christ we are forg forg forgi through the blood of Christ we are forgi through the blood of Christ we are for through the blood of Christ we are forg [Music] friends the benediction Allah friends our service is over those of you who need prayer the elders and leaders here will be here to pray for you
