Luke, The Orderly Account of Truth - Know You Are Valued - Luke 15

Glad you're all here and welcome to the roots where

it's all about Jesus. We are continuing our series called

Luke The Orderly Account of Truth. Where we are going

through Luke's careful examine is examination into the eye witness

testimony of our Lord and Savior's life and ministry, his

death and resurrection. And we're gonna get right into it

because we have a very big and rich chapter to

get through today. Yes, I said chapter, and it's gonna

be awesome. Are you ready with your bibles? All right,

if you need one, there are some at the connectable

just pass the double doors, take it, keep it, read it,

love it. And if you're taking notes, my servant today

is titled Know Your Valued, Know Your Valued. Turn with

me to Luke chapter fifteen. We're gonna read through it first,

and then I'll pray and we'll spend some time examining.

Like I said, this is this very rich chapter in

Luke's Gospel. Verse one. Now, the tax collectors and sinners

were all drawing near to him, and the Pharisees and

the scribes grumbled, saying, this man receives sinners and eats

with them. So he told them this parable, what man

of you, having one 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've 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.

Or what woman having ten silver coins, if she loses one,

does not light to the 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.

And he said 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. 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 they

that the pigs ate, And no one gave him anything.

But when he came to himself, he said, how many

of my fa 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. 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 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 fat and 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 his older son was

in the field, and as he came and drew near

to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he

called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.

And he said to him, your brother has come, and

your father has killed the fat and calf, because he

has received him back safe and sound. But he was

angry and refused to go in. His father came out

and entreated him, But he answered his father, Look, these

many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed

your command. Yet you never gave me a young goat

that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this

son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes,

you killed the fat and calf for him. And he

said to him, son, you are always with me, and

all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to

celebrate and be glad for this. Your brother was dead

and is alive. He was lost and is found. This

is God's word. Hallelujah. I am so excited to go

through this text, to go through these these three parables

that Jesus gives because they are such a beautiful and

imperfect demonstration of how much God values his children. All

three parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, the prodigal son,

all demonstrate how God seeks after his loss and sinful children,

the children he values despite our sin, and the rejoicing

that follows once they are found. Like God and all

of Heaven rejoice when his children are found. These parables

give us yet another reason of infinite reasons to rejoice

and praise God. My prayer today through this text, through

God's Word, is that every believer here will remain walking

with him. That you will rejoice because of the value

He ascribes to you. That you will rejoice because of

His mercy and grace toward you. That you will rejoice

in being counted among His valued children. For any unbeliever here,

my prayer is that this text, that God's word will

pierce through any pride, any hardness of heart, any confusion,

any love of the word of the world, and that

it would reveal to you the unending and immeasurable love

of God. And that God will bring you to faith

in Him, into repentance of your sins. And for any

believer here that's actively running from God or living in rebellion,

my prayer is that God's word today will show you

how lost you are and yet how much you are

still valued. I pray that you will see how He

awaits your return to his merciful and loving embrace, to

the sound of all of Heaven rejoicing, and that you

will see that nothing will ever separate you from that love.

So let's pray for that, and then we'll get into

the text. For God, we humbly ask you that you

would change us through the truth of your word, that

you would remove any pride, that you would remove any

lie from the devil that we cannot approach you, that

we would see that you are a loving father waiting

to embrace his child, and that we would rejoice at

the value you ascribed to us, the value that we

do not deserve. And Lord, I pray that you would

be glorified above all else in your name, we pray Amen.

I told lindsay, I'm definitely gonna cry today and I'm

already starting. And that's the end. I forgotten my hanky,

I told Lindsay, I always have a hanky. It's not

in my pants. Man, No, it's not in there, man. Yeah,

pre cleaning. Let's go. Let's just get ahead of it

right now. Thank you A free four No faith in me.

I wouldn't either. I mean, these are beautiful parables, and

I'm gonna cry because they're so good. Over the past

few weeks, we've seen Jesus come completely destroy the Pharisees.

In Chapter fourteen, he challenged their hypocrisy, their pride, and

in the first couple of verses in our texts today,

they give Jesus yet another reason to be called out

Verse one through two. 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. Oh, Pharisees. They've been angry at Jesus

because he healed someone in the Sabbath instead of doing

anything to help the sick themselves. They've been angry at

Jesus because he exposes their self righteousness, and instead of

recognizing it and correcting it, they continue in the view

this view of themselves that they are better than everyone else,

that they are the elite. And now they're upset because

Jesus receives and eats with sinners the nerve of that guy.

How can this man who claims to be the son

of God associate himself with this rabble. There's actually an

interesting connection that I want to point out happens at

the end of chapter fourteen that we went over last week.

We learned that to follow Jesus requires one to die

to self, to die to self and put him first.

And as Pastor Duncan summarized, it means picking up your

cross and saying farewell to what you used to treasure

and following him. It means to be all in. A

follower of Jesus can't be lukewarm, cannot be lukewarm. So

keep that in mind for a second. To follow Jesus

means to be all in. At the end of saying

what it requires to follow him, Jesus finishes by saying

this in chapter fourteen, verse thirty four salt is good.

But if salt has lost its taste, how shall it beats? Wow?

How shall it saltiness be restored? It is of no

use either for the soil or for the manure pile.

It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear,

let him hear. So Jesus says, follow me, and to

do that, die to self be all in. And then

he says, he who has ears to hear, let him hear.

If you go back to verse one of our texts today, now,

the tax collectors and the sinners were all drawing near

to what hear him. That's just me, because it's really cool.

It wasn't the pharisee who drew near to hear what

he was saying. They were there to judge him. Certainly,

it was the tax collectors, the people that everyone hated

because of their shrewd dealings. It wasn't the so called

elite that drew me to hear him. They were there

to judge him, to catch him. It was the sinners

that drew near to hear him. And the pharisees are

so angry that Jesus would even allow himself to be

approachable by such people. Let me say this. Jesus is

the only one, past, present, in future that would have

the right to say, be gone, wretched sinner, you can't

be near me. He's the only one who could ever

say that. But instead he makes himself approachable. He makes

himself approachable to the sinner. You and me, Praise God.

I want to remind ourselves of something else before we continue.

We need to be sure to stamp out any pride

that may be willing up inside of us when we

read these accounts, because it's easy to read these encounters

and others like it, and sometimes be quick to judge

and shake our heads at the Pharisees or others in

different stories without taking a look at ourselves. It's incredible

that Jesus drew and draws sinners to himself. But do

we do the same. Do other sin like us flee

from us because of our own self righteousness? Do we

make ourselves approachable to other sinners? Are we approachable like

Jesus was? I think we can sometimes forget that God

appointed us to first be vessels of grace and not

policemen of others sin. And I was telling my wife Linzie,

when we preach a sermon, we first have to preach

it to ourselves before we can preach it to all you.

So this, I'm saying this to myself too. Jesus was

approachable because he lived what he spoke. Jesus was approachable

because he spoke with authority and compassion, not carelessness in spite.

Now I'm not saying and you don't call out saying

when you see it, I'm saying, pull the plank out

of your eye before you call out the speck in

your brother and sister's eye. We should always strive to

be approachable to everyone, because we're no more worthy of

the mercy and grace of our God than they are.

And we do that by living like Christ, by acting

like Christ, by speaking like Christ, all the while pointing

back to him. So the Pharisees are upset at Jesus

yet again because he's allowing sinners to approach him, and

Jesus responds with parables, the first two being the lost

sheep and the lost coin. Let's look at him verse three.

He told them this parable, 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. We're going to stop here

briefly because there's a there's another cool connection and a

reference to to prophecy that Jesus is fulfilling here that

I want to point out. In the Book of Ezekiel,

the prophet Ezekiel has given a word from God to

prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. They're leaders. It won't

be on the screen, but if you want to turn

there with me, or more than welcome to it's Ezekiel

thirty four, verse one. The word of the Lord came

to me, son of Man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel.

Prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds, thus

says the Lord God Ah, shepherds of Israel, who have

been feeding yourselves, should not shepherds feed the sheep. You

eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You

slaughter the fat ones, But you do not feed the

sheep the weak. You have not strengthened the sick, You

have not healed the injured, You have not bound up

the straight you have not brought back the loss you

have not sought, and with force and harshness you have

ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd,

and they became food for all the wild beasts. My

sheep were scattered. They wandered all over the mountains and

on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all

the face of the earth, with none to search or

seek for them. Now watch what God says he's going

to do about it. Verse seven. Therefore, you shepherds, hear

the word of the Lord. As I live, declares the

Lord God. Surely, because my sheep have become a prey,

and my sheep have become food for all the wild

beasts since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds

have not searched for my sheep. But the shepherds have

fed themselves and have not fed the sheep. Therefore, you shepherds,

hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God. Behold,

I am against the shepherds, and I will require my

sheep at their hand and put a stop to their

feeding of the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed them.

I will rescue my sheep from their mouths. That they

may not be food for them. For thus says the

Lord God. Behold, I I myself will search for my sheep,

and I will seek them out as a shepherd seeks

out his flock when he is among his sheep that

have been scattered. So I will seek out my sheep,

and I will rescue them from all places where they

have been scattered, on a day of clouds, in thick darkness.

And I will bring them out of the peoples and

gather them from the countries. And I will bring them

into their own land. And I will feed them on

the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all

the inhabited places of the country, feed them with good pasture.

And on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their

grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land,

and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains

of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep,

and I myself will make them lie down, declares the

Lord God. I will seek the loss, and I will

bring back the straight, and I will bind up the injured,

and I will strengthen the weak and the fat and

the strong. I will destroy, I will feed them justice,

God's big man. The shepherds who were over God's sheep,

the Israelites, the sinners, the sick, the needy, The shepherds

that should have been caring for God's flock were instead

keeping themselves fat and comfortable by keeping the sheep under

their righteous rule, their self righteous rule. And now here's

Jesus saying to them. You haven't cared for God's sheep.

You haven't looked out for them, you haven't sought them out.

So God is going to shepherd them instead. In verse six,

when the shepherd finds his lost sheep, 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'd need no repentance. Or

what woman having ten silver coins if she loses one more,

excuse me, 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 her neighbor's 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 repair. Hence, there

are few themes that I need you to see here,

the first being the rejoicing that occurs when what was

once lost is found. When the shepherd finds his sheep,

he calls his friends his neighbors to rejoice with him.

I found my sheep. Let's party. When the woman that

lost her coin finally finds it, she responds in the

same way. She invites her friends and family come party

with me. I found my coin. Now, I recognize that

sometimes it can be difficult for us to connect with

parables because we always try to relate to them. I'm

not saying that's a bad thing to do. Sometimes we

should read them for what it is, And in this time,

these parables made sense because a sheep has value. If

you lost a sheep, you're losing wool for your clothing,

for your blankets, and maybe potential income. The sheep was

your livelihood. No, I'll try to help you out a

little bit here to make the connection. Imagine, instead of

a shepherd it was the owner of like a taxi company,

and instead of a sheep, it was one of their

fleet vehicles. If you lose that fleet vehicle or someone

steals it, that's potential income for your employees, for yourself

down the drain. It's your livelihood. And a single coin

doesn't sound like much, but back then that was an

entire day's wage. I don't know if anyone here still

receives paper checks from their employer. I don't even know

if that's a thing anymore. I remember getting paper checks

from office depot, we old stopping grounds. But imagine after

receiving your check, you get a printed check. Okay, you're

with me, We're gonna go back ten years or however

long it was. You get a printed check and you

lose it somewhere in your house. You'd be doing the

same thing this woman was doing with the coin. That

check peace for your groceries for a week or maybe

eggs nowadays, I don't know eggs are eggs are expensive,

but you'd be tearing your home apart trying to find it,

and then you would rejoice when you did when the

sheep was found. When the coin was found, there was

rejoicing and there was rejoicing because the sheep and the

coin were valued. And just in case you're still a

little bit lost with this parable, I'm gonna make this

clear for all of us. You are not the shepherd

in this story. You are not the woman who lost

your coin. In this story. You are the sheep that

was lost. You are the coin that was lost in

the darkness of the house. God was the shepherd that

left the ninety nine to come find you. God represents

the woman who lit a lamp in the dark house

to find that coin and then rejoiced with all of

heaven when both were found. Thank you, guys. If you're

taking notes, I have a point for you. God values

his children. God values his children, and I hope you

see that. I hope you see that in these parables,

you are the sheep that has value and that is valued.

You are the coin that has value, that is valued.

And God is the one rejoicing over you being found.

And praise God, he went searching for you. Funny thing

about a coin is that it's just a thing, right,

sounds like a seinfold skit. It's not. It's just a thing.

It doesn't know when it's lost. It's just a thing.

A sheep doesn't know when it's lost either. You know

why a manda got it because they're dumb. When a

sheep is grazing, the only thing they're focused on is grazing. Sheep.

Hear me on this. Sheep need to be guided. Remember

you are the sheep. Sheep need to be guided. They

need to be shepherded. That's why shepherding is a full

time job. Sheep need to be kept grazing where it's

safe for them to graze. Without a shepherd, the sheep

will end up grazing wherever the grass looks best. Then

they get separate from the flock. Then they get lost,

and they don't even know they're lost until they look

up from their grazing from the green grass that looked

so good, and they find I'm in the wilderness and

there's a wolf at my throat. A little more about sheep,

and know this isn't Animal Hour with Jordan. Sheep aren't

completely unintelligent. I'm gonna give them credit. They're not unintelligent.

God made them to be how they are, Okay. Sheep

are very social creatures. They can recognize the faces of

the other sheep. They know. Sheep tend to leap bounce

around when they're happy. Sheep will also run away when

they are afraid. Sheep also know the voice of their shepherd.

Sheep know the voice of their shepherd. In John's Gospel,

Jesus said, I am the good Shepherd, and in verse

twenty seven he said, my sheep hear my voice, and

I know them, and they follow me just like a sheep.

We need to be found. We need to listen for

the voice of our shepherd. We need to heed his

voice and come to him and remain close to him,

Because in the presence of our good shepherd is where

we are safe. In the presence of our good shepherd

is where we are secure. In the presence of our

good shepherd is where we are fed. In the presence

of our good shepherd is where we are loved and

cared for. If you are wandering from his flock, or

maybe you've never heeded his call before, listen to him.

Here's the remark. Will think. One of the remarkable things

about this parable when the shepherd who did not wait

for the sheep to return, and the shepherd knew his

sheep was lost, he went out and searched for it,

and didn't put a leash on it or a rope

and drag it back to the pasture. He picked the

sheep up and put it on his shoulders and carried

it back to safety. Let him carry you to safety.

Let him put you on his shoulders and carry you

out of the wilderness away from the wolves, and let

him put you in the flock where you belong. Sometimes

a lot of times I'd say we're dumber than sheep.

What's funny is we should be dumb like a sheep

that does what it was created to do. But we're

giving a desire to please him. So stop being dumb,

but also listen to him like a dumb sheep. I

hope you make that connection if you're taking notes to

My next point is follow the good shepherd's call. Follow

the good shepherd's call. This next parable is another confrontation

to the Pharisees, and after hearing their outrage and criticism

that he would associate with sinners and tax collectors, Jesus

was full of compassion and, like he said in Luke

chapter five, which we went over a year ago, those

who are well have no need of a physician, But

those who are sick. I have not come to call

the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And it was the

sinners who came to hear him. So. In verse eleven,

Jesus tells another parable of the lost son's repentance and

the mercy of a loving father. And he said 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. 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. You might know this

story as the parable of the prodigal son, because the

son in this parable earns the title prodigal, because he

leaves and lives out the very definition of prodigal, which

is to spend money or resources freely and recklessly, to

be wastefully extravagant. I mean right. Just a few days later,

after his father gave him his share of the property,

he wagtes no time, leaving to waste it, to live

a prodigal life. But prodigal habits die hard. That was

for you, Cardi, the die hard part, not prodigal living. Sorry,

prodigal habits die hard, and you can't live beyond your

means for very long. You may have a good time

while you're doing it, but it doesn't take very long

living in that way before you find yourself in the

same state as the younger son. So hungry you're willing

to eat with the pigs. Have you ever seen what

pigs eat? It's disgusting. All it takes is a single,

unexpected and unplanned disaster like the famine in this country,

and you're unprepared to handle it. There's a big lesson

in this parable that teaches us to not live beyond

our means, to not live a prodigal life. But there's

an even bigger lesson for us to learn from this parable,

as sheep, when we stray from our good shepherd's pasture

our father's pasture, because we see grass that looks tasty.

We find ourselves in the wilderness, in an area outside

of the safety of the pasture that our good shepherd

placed us in. And when our reckless living outside the

safety of our father's pasture lands us in trouble or

lands us in hardship, we find ourselves living in fear.

We find ourselves living in regrets, threat or in shame.

And maybe that fear or that regret or that shame

keep us from even trying to go back to our father.

You might end up thinking what the younger son thought

in verse seventeen. But when he had come to himself,

when he came to himself, so he came to his senses,

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 younger son is so a shame of his sin,

of his choices, of his reckless living, that he's prepared

to throw himself at his father's feet and beg to

be made a servant. He's even rehearsing what he's gonna say.

I want you to think about the last time that

you ran away from your heavenly father. We can all

make this connection. Think about the last time you ran

away from your heavenly father. Maybe you're running from him

right now, or maybe you've never surrendered to him before.

Any shame or regrets or fear that we feel makes

us feel like we have to say the correct thing

or do the correct thing, almost as if if we

make ourselves good again, that will get us back in

our father's good graces. Like we have to make ourselves

right first, And so we put it off, and we

keep eating that tasty grass that looks so good. So

we put it off. We put it off, and that

shame and that regret just grows and grows and grows.

But like one of the songs that we sing here says,

there is no deed that can redeem us. There is

no right, there is no magic word. It's only by

the work of Jesus that our salvation is secured. The

blood that Jesus Christ, the spotless lamb of God, spilled

for you. The work that he accomplished on the cross

covered whatever sin you're living in. When he died and

said it is finished, that meant that the redemption of

that sin is covered and you are secure in him.

You can do nothing to separate yourself from the love

of your Father, Praise God. There is nothing you can

do to separate yourself from the love of the good Shepherd.

Like inn Ezekiel, when God said I will bind up

the injured sheep, he didn't go out looking for only

the healthy sheep. When he saw the sheep that was injured,

up its legs and carried it out of the wilderness. Anyway,

it doesn't take a magic word or some deed. It

doesn't require your perfection. It requires your repentance. It requires

you saying I'm not perfect, but I'm going to rely

on God's perfection. I'm not perfect, but thank you God

that in your perfection you still died for me. All

it takes is repentance and belief in the death and

resurrection of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ. That's it,

nothing less and nothing more. My next point is Jesus

finished work covers our sin, and by the way, Any

shame or guilt that you're feeling is conviction of the

Holy Spirit telling you to get back to where you belong.

If that shame or regret keeps you away from doing that,

that's a lie straight from the devil. I'll say it

one more time. That's a lie straight from the devil.

Praise God. You feel that shame and regret because it

brings you back to him, But don't believe it. Don't

believe it excludes you from the pastor just hear his voice,

listen and let him carry you back, your dumb sheep

again preaching to myself here, okay, and then watch him

lovingly and mercifully embrace you back where you belong every time.

Verse twenty, the son comes to him senses, and he

arose and came to his father. Pay attention to this.

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'm no

longer worthy to be called your son. But the father

said to his servants, I love The father doesn't even

acknowledge it, yes, doesn't even acknowledge that, He says to

the servants. Instead, bring quickly the best robe and put

it on him, and put a ring on his hand.

That ring signifies he's in the family. Put a ring

on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring

the fat and 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

he began to celebrate. The father was just waiting for

his son to return to him, And before the son

could even get a word in, the father is running

down the road to meet him and to embrace him.

He's just waiting for his son to be back where

he belongs. Do you see how much the father values

the son? Like the shepherd that found his sheep and

the woman that found her lost coin. When his son

returned home, he wastes no time celebrating his son's return

with the entire household, just like all of Heaven rejoices

when you come home. Do you see how much your

heavenly father values you? Stop running, Stop running. Don't believe

the shame of the regrets. Let the shame and regret

drive you back into his merciful forgiving, gracious, loving embrace.

He's there waiting for you. What are you waiting for?

It's because we're dumb. Already said it. We're dumb. That's

why stop being dumb. Every time I preach, I feel

like I'm getting mad at you. I'm not mad at you.

I'm just calling it like it is. We're all dumb.

All it takes is repentance, and we're embraced by our

father waiting for us to return, to come back home

where we belong, and to share in the inheritance that

he has set aside for us. So don't let your

shame stop you from being open and honest with your

heavenly father. He knows what you did, he knows what

you're doing, he knows what you're gonna do, and still

died for you. Anyway. My next point is this, go

back to where you belong. Go back to where you belong.

Don't delay Verse twenty five to get the band to

come up. Now, his older son was in the field,

and as he came and drew near to the house,

he heard music and dancing. And he called one of

the servants and asked what these things meant. And he

said to him, your brother has come, and your father

has killed the fat and calf because he has received him.

He's received him back safe and sound. But he was

angry and refused to go in his father. Once again,

the father came out to him and entreated him, but

he answered his father, Look, these many years I have

served you, and I never disobeyed your command. Yeah, you

never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate

with my friends. But when this son of yours came,

who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the

fat and calf for him. And he said to him, son,

you are always with me, and all that is mine

is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad

for this. Your brother was dead and is alive. He

was lost and is found. This last part of the Parable,

Jesus is finishing his rebuke of the Pharisees, the former

shepherds of God's sheep, the ones that said, why is

he letting sinners and tax clickers come to him? The

ones who thought we're the elite, We're the ones who

have it together, We're the ones who deserve celebration. Not

all these, but Jesus shows them that all of God's children.

All of His sheep need to be home and celebrated,

not only the ones currently in the pasture. We need

to be just as approachable justice forgiving, and celebrate just

as much when one of God's children come home. Just

as God is approachable, and just as he is forgiving

toward us, as an adopted child of God, you too

should extend that same mercy and grace and love to

those around you. We need to be quick to repent

of our sin to the Father, and quick to seek

forgiveness from those we've heard, and be just as quick

to forgive when they've hurt us. Sometimes that in our

own self righteousness, our own pri our, own sense of justice.

Remember that when I was talking about earlier about us

feeling like we have to be a certain way, or

do a certain thing, or accomplish a certain task before

God would allow us to come back to him that lie.

Remember that sometimes we put that same expectation on someone

else who wronged us. But we need to be as

quick to forgive as he is. Don't let your shame

stop you from repenting and returning to where you belong,

and don't shame others when they come to do the same.

My last point and our application. Remember your value as

one of God's valued Remember your value as one of

God's valued. It seems easy, but we get in the

way of that, like we always do. Return home to

his waiting embrace. Don't delay any longer. These parables, the

lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal Son have

shown us how God seeks after his lost and sinful children,

despite our sin, and the rejoicing that follows when we

are found. If you're already a believer, then remain with

him and rejoice because of the value He ascribes to you.

Rejoice because of His mercy and grace toward you. Rejoice

in being counted among his valued children. For any unbeliever here,

I pray that you have seen. I pray that you

have heard the good Shepherd's call. I pray that you

have seen the unending and immeasurable love of God as

shown in this text, and that God would bring you

to faith in Him, and that you would repent of

your sins and place your faith in Him, and let

Him place you on his shoulders and carry you back

to where you belong. And for anyone that's actively running,

for anyone that is in rebellion, whether it's anger toward him,

whether it's shame of what you've done, regret of what

you've done, shame and regret for what you're doing. Just

come home, Just come home. Like the father in the

parable of the Prodigal sudden, he's at the top of

the road, waiting to see you on the horizon, to

run and meet you. Ye. And like the father in

that parable, he's going to ignore your plea, you're please,

I'm not worthy. I've done this, I'm doing that. He's

going to turn to the host of heaven and say, celebrate,

my child is returned. Just come home. Come home and

see and know that you are valued. That's it. Come

home and see and know that you're valued. I praise

him for it.