Matthew Pt. 68 - God's Heart for the One

Sir, you can turn to Matthew chapter 18.

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

So remember, Jesus is in the middle of a sermon.

We've cut him off and we're just taking a, a chunk at a time.

It all started with they were on the road.

As we take different gospel accounts, we get the full

picture. They were on the road.

Jesus said, hey, what were you guys talking about earlier?

Like, well, funny you should ask Jesus saying I'm going to die

soon and they're already jockeying for position.

Who's the greatest? I mean, no, we're super sad

you're going to die, but who's the greatest?

Like in the Kingdom among us, you know, what's what's our

rank, what's our position? Where are we going to land?

Where are we going to stand? Jesus brings a little one,

probably a toddler into into the presence of everybody and starts

to say, I'll, I'll tell you who's the greatest guys, whoever

humbles themself like a little child, whoever can make

themselves this low. This was especially shocking for

these guys. This was especially shocking for

Matthew's Jewish readers because children don't have a place of

prominence in Jewish culture. And you know, they're not,

they're not thought a lot of. So for Jesus to emphasize them

to to call them in, it is a big deal.

And now he continues his points as he walks through the next

couple of verses. He says whoever humbles himself

like a child. And then he adds on top of it,

he says, don't you dare cause one of these little ones to sin.

So he makes a shift, and if we're just reading at the

surface level, we might not see it, but he's actually not

referencing exclusively children.

When he says the little ones the first time, he's talking about

the actual child in front of him.

But when he makes this shift, he begins to talk about believers

in general, Christians, whoever would cause one of my little

ones, one of my flock to sin. And he continues his point here

where we're picking up now in verse 10.

As I read this passage to you, I read from the ESV, in case

you're ever wondering, the translation that I use, there

are many faithful good Bible translations.

There's a couple that I would probably say you could do

better. But most, most of the time I'm

going to say it's fine. It's going to bless you.

It's going to be really, really, really accurate.

But as I read this passage, you're going to notice that I

skip over verse 11. So if you don't have in ESV,

you're going to say, why didn't he read verse 11?

And the reason there is not, not to cause you to stumble or

confuse you. But the ESV omits verse 11, not

because it wants to do away with the words of God, but because in

all the manuscripts that we have, all the historical

documents that we have that helped us to accumulate the

scriptures as we have them today, a lot of those did not

include what was written in verse 11.

So no big deal. We don't lose some massive

doctrine by omitting verse 11. There's no, there's nothing

sneaky going on here. It's just pretty simple stuff.

So just wanted you to see that as I, as I read through it.

Yeah, NIV omits it as well. NLT does as well.

NLT does as well. All right, so if you're, if you

got King James Version, you might say, hey, where was verse

11? But, but sounds like most folks,

it'll omit it. So we're picking up in verse 10.

See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I tell

you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father

who is in heaven. What do you think?

If a man has 100 sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he

not leave the 99 on the mountains and go in search of

the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say

to you, he rejoices over it more than over the 99 that never went

astray. So it is not the will of my

Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should

perish. Let's pray.

God, we thank you so much for your love, and we thank you for

the compassion that you have on us, the care that you've shown

us as you have come and you have sought us out.

And Lord, I pray that you would open the eyes of our hearts

today to see and build our affection for the Saints, for

the flock of God, for all the little ones that you love, the

old little ones and the young little ones.

They're all little ones in your hand.

They're all little ones in your sight and they're all little

ones that you hold close to your heart.

I pray that you would help us to honor one another, to cherish

one another and Jesus to obey your command to never despise or

look down on one another. Cut us to the heart this

morning. Tenderize us, keep us soft in

Jesus name, Amen. The first thing we want to

clarify, like I said, is who are the little ones that He's

talking about? To give you some more context to

prove this point to you, in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 42,

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

he was talking about sending his disciples out.

And when he did that, he said whoever gives one of these

little ones even a cup of cold water, because He is my

disciple, truly, I say to you, He will by no means lose His

reward. So there's just another context,

an example for you where Jesus would use little ones to refer

to his disciples. So you say, guys, I'm sending

you out. It's going to be like this, It's

going to be like that. But if anyone gives a cup of

cold water to one of these little ones.

So it's just showing the tender heart of the Father to the

people that he loves so dearly. So he's saying you will not lose

your reward if you care well for his people.

But now in this passage, he's bringing the warning about what

would happen if you treat his people poorly.

He's already given the warning about judgment.

He's already warned about it would be better to have a

millstone tied around your neck and to be thrown into the sea if

you cause one of my disciples to sin.

So the main thing that Jesus starts off with here is he's

saying don't look down on any believers.

This is the main thrust of this passage.

The parable he goes into next only serves to reemphasize that

point. What's the big take away today,

pastor? God's heart for the One should

reveal, should show you how much you should care for everyone

around you. God's heart for the One is so

big and so significant, it should move you to compassion

for everybody so that you never, ever despise so so that you

never, never devalue and you never, ever look down upon

anyone. Jesus doesn't want you to write

anybody off because everybody is valuable to the Father.

Jesus says don't you dare dismiss somebody that God loves

and somebody that God has chosen to set his affection on.

Who does this mean? Who does this include?

This means the person living in sin.

This means the person you just don't like the way they are and

they rub you the wrong way. This is the person who thinks

more highly of themselves than they ought.

This is the person who's just a hot mess and can't get their act

together. This is the person who just

won't do right like you've told them to.

This is the person who left the church and ignores you.

Don't write them off. Don't despise them.

Don't look down upon them. Can we judge all of those

things? I literally did just judge all

of those things. Of course we can.

Those things are objectively bad, and there's certain things

that are objectively good. And yet in calling the thing

objectively bad, I cannot despise the person made in the

image of God who Jesus loves, because Jesus loves the one, no

matter where they are, no matter what they're going through.

Well, I love them. When, when, what?

When they're perfect like you. When will you love them?

When will, when will enough be enough?

When will their progress? When will their sanctification

take them far enough? God loves them like he loves

you. Don't write them off, don't

despise them, don't count them out.

Do not show contempt for them. God loves them like God loves

you. And you must never devalue one

of the Father's children. He goes on to tell you why.

So again, verse 10, see to it that you do not despise one of

these little ones. So first it was don't cause them

to sin. If you did that, it's better for

you to be drowned in the sea. Let me go farther.

Don't you despise one of these little ones?

Why not Jesus? For I tell you that in heaven

their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

So this is the why the the argument that Jesus is making.

His logic here is you shouldn't despise them because they're so

cherished by God that they have angels in heaven who are always

seeing the face of my Father who is in heaven.

His point is that God loves them so much and that they are so

important to God that He has gone so far as to instruct

angels to work His will into their lives.

God has given them special attention and affection.

They're not forgotten. God is not the great clock maker

who set his clock and then turned away and forget it to let

the thing run on its own. He is deeply involved, and He

has sent angels and He has assigned angels.

This verse is where some have assembled the idea that we all

have individual guardian angels, but we really don't see that

taught in Scripture. It's an idea that some have come

up with, but I don't see it anywhere in the Word.

It's a familiar thing among Christian circles, but I don't

see where we really have the argument for it.

The truth is even better though. We don't just have guardian

angels. The truth is that we have an

entire guard of angels. Jesus made the point that the

angels aren't watching over you and I.

The angels are looking up at the face of the Father, awaiting

instruction. That's where their assignment

is, what would please you, Father, and then the Father.

But Jesus said they're angels. That's your and my angels

collectively together. The body of Christ has angels

and these angelic beings, they have been created by God to

serve God and to serve his children.

So they are ministers to us. They are servants to us and they

they look to the face of the Father to see what it is that He

wants to accomplish. In Scripture, it's obvious.

We can see that angels are His servants and angels are our

servants. In Scripture, we see angels

bringing messages. We see angels protecting

believers. We see angels serving God's

people, and angels have a sincere interest and a sincere

love for you, God's children. They're watching over God's

people as God has instructed them to do so.

So you can see that throughout Scripture.

You can see them fighting battles with with demons and and

fallen angels. You can see them bringing

messages. You can see them bringing people

out of prison cells, kicking Peter.

Hey, wake up. I'm going to lead you out of

this jail cell. We can see them doing all kinds

of things. You don't see the Saints

commanding angels. You see the Saints going

directly to the father in prayer.

And then the Father assigns his angels so we can, we have

promises that he will set his angels to watch over us and we

can remind our Father of that promise and we can thank our

Father for that promise. But that's not where you and I,

you and I would not be instructing, instructing angels.

We would be praying to God, walking by faith.

And then the fall, the angels are looking to the face of the

Father. And the Father says, you're

distributed here, you're distributed there.

And the angels are excited about this work.

They long, they pour over our salvation.

They, they wonder at it because they are not all for the

salvation that you and I are. 1/3 of the angels turned against

God and it's game over forever. They will burn forever in in

hell with all of God's enemies because they, they just, they,

they turned against God in disobedience with the devil.

Whereas you and I were offered salvation, You and I are offered

grace. You and I are offered

forgiveness by the blood and by the name of Jesus.

So why are we supposed to not despise one another?

Why are we not supposed to look down on the little ones?

Because God doesn't, because his angels don't.

God is so patient, God is so merciful, so don't look down on

others because they have angels who are committed to fulfilling

the will of the Father in their lives.

Keep going here. In verse 12, Jesus says, what do

you think? If a man has 100 sheep and one

of them has gone astray, does he not leave the 99 on the

mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?

And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more

than over the 99. They never went astray.

So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one

of these little ones should perish.

It's so obvious to Jesus. He makes a point that everybody

would have understood. Shouldn't you be celebrating

over the 99 that you have? Well, they're secure.

They're already secure. So yes, you're blessed by that.

And yet, like, yes, you're thankful for that.

But one goes missing that changes everything.

All of a sudden, my, my heart has left my body.

This is this is my responsibility.

This is my charge, this is my care.

And now I'm concerned. If a father has five children

and he leads them out of a burning house, only to then

realize that one is missing, he immediately sprints back into

the house for the one without thought.

Oh, don't you? Aren't you thankful for your 4

kids? Well, yeah, they're safe though.

They're secure and they're together.

The idea isn't that the 99 are now being put at risk somehow.

No, they're secure, they're taken care of, they're fine.

But God cares about the one that's missing.

Every parent who's ever lost their child for 30 seconds in

some public space. And you thought, what's

happened? Your other kids are fine, but

now you have one focus your entire life his boil down to

this one moment. Nothing else matters.

You can't see anything else. You can't think about anything

else. Nothing else matters.

These kids might be Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.

Can I have candy? Can I have candy?

Your brother is missing. Nothing else matters right now.

This is the priority. This is the greatest need.

Does that remind you of us at all as Christians?

Me, me, me, and the Father's going.

I do love you and I do care for you and I will provide for you.

But don't forget about my mission.

Don't forget about the calling that I've given you to, and

don't forget that I love the whole world and it's not my will

that any should perish. Your heart is focused on the one

that you lose. Any parent can relate to this.

As a pastor, I can relate to this.

I am thankful for you and I love every single face that I see

this morning, But I'm always concerned for the faces that I

don't see automatically, automatically like and it it, it

can kind of drive you to some kind of pessimism also as a

pastor. And all good, all good shepherds

feel this thing because, you know, you leave and you're

thinking, where's so and so? Let me text so and so was so and

so there today. You know, what did you get to so

and so? And we're checking and we're

caring. Why?

Because you're caring for the one who you feel like is most on

the fray. You're always concerned for the

way you like. It seems like they're in the

flock, but it seems like they're wandering from the flock

slightly. And that's where my heart

latches on to. And some would say, well, that's

just pessimism. Like focus on the good thing

that you have. But that's not the heart of the

father. The heart of the father says, if

there's someone on the perimeter, I'm always looking.

That's what good leadership does.

Good leadership is always finding whatever is, is it most

at risk? And then it's saying, well, let

me solve that. Let me go to work and make sure

that that thing is most covered. The father loves the one that's

most at risk, the one that's most far gone, the one that's

farthest out of his presence. That's the one where his

attention is. And when that one returns, he

rejoices. He rejoices more.

You got 1 sheep, you got 1. You had 99 of them.

Why weren't you throwing a party for them?

Because they weren't lost. But this was lost.

And now I've got them back. And now it's 'cause for

rejoicing. It's 'cause for celebration.

So in the same way we're to care for and rejoice over one

another, you are to develop the heart of a shepherd.

You are to develop the heart of the Father, because that's who

Jesus is. To look around and see people

that way and feel about people that way, so that you rejoice

over people in the same way you go, I'm so glad that they're

walking with the Lord. And when you've got somebody on

your heart and you've been praying for somebody, you reach

out to them and you send them that text message.

Hey, how are you? You've been on my heart.

I love you. I miss you.

Or you know for sure that they're walking in sin now and

you knock on their door and go, hey, I know things are difficult

for you right now. I'd love to be with you.

I'd love to see you encouraged. I'd love to see you restored.

I'd love to see you walking in the light.

That shepherding work. What if they don't want that?

Well, you still want it. The Father still wants it.

They'll get to cast their vote for sure, but make sure you cast

yours. That's so bad.

Make sure you've officially cast your vote in your prayer closet,

of course, but also in their life, in that relationship.

Make sure there's a heavenly record that says I plainly cast

my vote of compassion. I plainly cast my vote of love

and encouragement and blessing, seeking to restore, seeking to

bless. My heart rejoices over you.

Your heart should rejoice in the same way or in the same way that

our Father's heart rejoiced over all of us when we turn from our

sin and trusted in His name. Whenever I see you, just so you

know, as a pastor, if you've been gone and you come back, I

never, ever feel anything other than delight.

It warms my heart and blesses me.

Satan accuses everybody and he accuses the brethren, and it

tells you, well, I've been gone and now I'm going to feel

ashamed to come back. That's the lie of the devil.

The devil is a liar. All I feel is affection.

All I feel is delight. All I feel is Hallelujah.

Thank you, God. What a joy, what a blessing.

This is the heart of the Father for you.

This is the heart of your pastor for you.

And this is what we all want to keep cultivating so that we go

and set up back again. Gone tomorrow.

No, no, no, no, no. That's despising.

Don't you dare do that. Don't despise anyone.

Don't write anybody off. Compassionate love, care and

affection. This is the love that the Lord

has shown to you and I. This is the love that we must

show to one another in Second Samuel.

We've got a beautiful example of the Lord's compassion, of His

kindness, of his goodness. Second Samuel, Chapter 9.

2 Samuel 9 · chapter mention

Turn there with me. You got First and Second Samuel

in your Old Testament, First and 2nd Kings, First and Second

Chronicles, Second Samuel, Chapter 9.

2 Samuel 9 · chapter mention

So remember Saul and his son Jonathan, they've been killed in

battle. And whenever they were killed in

battle, the the typical thing that would happen whenever your

enemy king has been killed in battle, what you're going to now

do is you're going to go kill all of his descendants to make

sure nobody else can ever rise up someday and take the throne.

Well, David didn't do that, and instead we're going to see

something glorious that the Lord does and something gracious the

Lord does through David. But in Second Samuel, we have

this beautiful example of what the Lord has done for us.

And it's in the in the story is the man's name is Mephibosheth.

It's fun to say Mephibosheth. So when Mephibosheth was five

years old, Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle.

Word comes all the way back to where Mephibosheth has been

cared for. So Mephibosheth is Jonathan's

son. So he's being cared for by his

nurse. And they get word that the king

and his son have died. So panic strikes because they

go, I guess David's coming to kill us all now, like, so they,

they need to evacuate and they do it now.

He's five years old. His nurse, his nurse picks him

up. She begins running.

I don't remember if it was a staircase.

If I remember correctly, I think it was stairs.

She stumbles and falls and drops Mephibosheth.

They both fall down the stairs and he is paralysed from the

waist down. He's lame in his feet for the

rest of his life, as the scripture says.

So at least from his waist down it seems because it says both

feet are lame. So this happened when he was

five years old and now we pick up, he's probably 20 to 25 years

old here in Chapter 9. And David said, Is there still

anyone in the House of Saul that I may show him kindness for

Jonathan's sake? So remember, Jonathan was a

close, close, loving friend of David.

Now there was a servant in the House of Saul whose name was

Zeba, and they called him to David.

And the king said to him, Are you Zeba?

And he said, I am your servant. And the king said, is there not

someone in the House of Saul that I may show the kindness of

God to him? Zeba said to the king, There is

still a son of Jonathan. He has crippled in his feet.

The king said to him, Where is he?

And Zeba said to the king, He is in the House of Mekir the son of

Emil ET Laudibar, the King David.

Then King David sent and brought him from the House of Mekir the

son of Emil at Laudibar. And Mephibosheth the son of

Jonathan son of Saul came to David, fell on his face, and

paid homage. And David said Mephibosheth.

And he answered, Behold, I am your servant.

And David said to him, do not fear.

Why is he fearing? Because he's figuring out.

David finally found me. I was hiding in load a bar,

which means the place of no pasture.

So he's in a barren place. This sound familiar?

If you need a mirror, there's one.

It's us. You and I are Mephibosheth,

lonely, isolated, broken. And now the king is calling him.

David said to him, do not fear, I will show you kindness for the

sake of your father Jonathan and I will restore to you all of the

land of soul your father and you shall eat at my table always.

What an upgrade, what a day from Mephibosheth.

King David wants to see you. Well, I knew this day was

coming. And then he gets into the

presence of it falls on his face and he says, I'm so happy to see

you. Your father and I were best

friends and I'm going to show you such love and kindness for

your Father's sake. This is how God the Father sees

you, church. This is how he loves you.

For Jesus sake, you and I get all the blessings of Christ.

You and I get the restoration of the inheritance.

Mephibosheth, you're going to eat at my table from now on.

You'll eat what I eat and you'll sit with me.

And also I'm going to restore to you all the lands.

Mephibosheth went from poverty to great wealth instantly at the

word of the King. You shall eat at my table

always. And he paid homage and said,

what is your servant? That you should show regard for

a dead dog such as I. So here we have the heartbeat of

God underneath all this, just showing that God loves people so

much, He loves you so much. You are Mephibosheth, I am

Mephibosheth, and the person in beside you and behind you and

around you is Mephibosheth. And Jesus is the greater King

David. He is the great King who

restores us and who gives us the inheritance.

Divine love is what God is looking for in his church.

Back in Matthew chapter 18. We have much that we're going to

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

continue to look at as we go through this passage in the next

couple of weeks. It's an important chapter for

our entire New Testament. I told you because there's so

much here to help shape what's supposed to happen in the

household of God, but primarily He wants love.

This is how people will know that we are the disciples of

Christ by the love we have for one another.

Divine love is the freshwater that flushes out all kinds of

toxins, like pride, like jealousy, like rage, like lust,

like greed, like gossip, like cruelty and all forms of

disobedience. What does it do?

It protects us from despising or looking down on anyone.

Why is that such a big deal? It seems like there's worse

sins. Well, the greatest command is to

love God and to love others. So we have no business.

We have no right despising or looking down on anyone.

The Lord is wanting to share his heart with us.

Honor everyone in the Kingdom community.

This is what Jesus is looking for.

Everyone who gets honored in the Kingdom community, the in the

Kingdom community. We are not a meritocracy.

It is not what you've accomplished get you privilege

in the Kingdom. Jesus said just the opposite.

It hasn't about what you've accomplished, it's about what

Jesus has accomplished. This is the story.

This is the message. Do we have roles?

Do we have assignments? Do we have authority?

We certainly do. All those things are true.

But do we have equal value and worth?

Absolutely equal value, equal. Equal worth, equal to be

cherished, equal to be loved, equal to be cared for.

Honor everyone in the Kingdom community.

Next week we're going to see where Jesus teaches us how to

deal with sin in his family. But first he deals with the sin

of despising one another. So do not despise anyone who's

not gifted in the way that you are, who doesn't think the way

that you think. Don't look down on them because

of their maturity or their immaturity.

They are valuable to God because they are God's children.

Jesus sees the smoldering Wick. It's just barely flickering.

He doesn't extinguish it. He doesn't go, well, that's not

providing enough light, enough of it.

He sees the bruised Reed that's bent and bowed over and he goes,

well, that one doesn't look strong like the others, so go

ahead and cut it down. It's not his attitude towards

you. His attitude towards you is one

of patience. It's one of mercy.

It's one of kindness. You and I have all been the

smoldering Wick. You and I have all been the

bruised and broken Reed. And Jesus says, well I'll come

bind it up, I'll come heal you, I'll come restore you, I'll come

make you new. This is the good news of the

gospel. We're not disposed of and we're

not cast aside. The weaker parts are in fact

cared for more lovingly. The so-called little ones.

You and I are cherished and we don't even have anyone other

than little ones in the Kingdom of God.

This is his point. If you're in the Kingdom of God,

it's because you are a little one and if you're not in the

Kingdom of God it's because you are not a little. 1 You won't

make yourself low. Remember, you cannot even enter

the Kingdom of God. Disciples arguing about hey,

who's going to be the greatest? Hey guys, I need to rewind you.

I need to take you back. Forget being the greatest.

You won't even be in it at all unless you make yourselves

humble like little children. That's step one.

Then you want to get in and then you want to be the greatest

also. Just be humble like little

children. That's what pleases me.

Why does God talk this way? Because God is so humble.

God who became man, God who sacrifices himself, has no

tolerance for us being prideful and especially with one another.

Keep going here in verse 14. So it is not the will of my

Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should

perish. Look what God doesn't do.

He does not just cut his losses and protect what remains.

Whenever he says I got well, at least I got 99 sheep.

I lost one. I'll do better next time.

I'll pay closer attention. I'll make sure the wolves and

the bears don't carry any more off.

The Good Shepherd cares about every single person.

This is why he launched the greatest rescue mission in the

history of the world when he came.

It's not his will that anybody perishes.

How is your heart affected by this?

How's your heart affected by your brothers and by your

sisters? Are you paying attention to

them? Are you watching?

Do you care? Have you noticed anybody else?

Or are you only thinking about yourself?

Where's my walk with the Lord? Where's my walk with the Lord?

Where's my walk with the Lord? Where's their walk with the

Lord? Who have you encouraged?

Who have you blessed? Who have you looked out for?

Who have you watched over? Who have you been your brother's

keeper for? Jesus is the Good Shepherd who

goes out to find the lost sheep. He's the Good Shepherd who left

the glory of heaven to seek and save those who were lost.

He did it for you, He and He's also doing it through you.

So this is the two pronged message of the gospel.

You were saved. And also go out now with the

shepherd's heart. Go out now with the Lord's will.

Go out now with the Lord's desire and see people the way

God sees people. You have the mission of God

assigned to your life that you would rescue others as you have

been rescued. You are so loved and we're

closing. God has angels to watch the

Father's instruction for you. Jesus has come for you.

Trust Jesus. Be strengthened by Jesus, but be

sent out by Jesus. What about me?

What about me? You're loved.

What more do you want to know? I could go on and on and on

about the love of the Father for you, and I'm happy to.

What about me, Pastor? You're loved.

That's what I can tell you about you.

You're cherished. You are cared for.

It would be nice if somebody chased me down.

If you were lost, we would. If you were lost, he would.

But now that you're in the fold, now that you're in the

household, you can enjoy everything the father has

belongs to you. The prodigal son, wasteful goes

off, spends everything he has on sinful, wicked living and

finally comes back and says, I'll just I'm ashamed.

He comes back rehearsing his I'm so sorry speech.

I'll be a slave in your house. Speech and the father's

rejoicing. Throw a party.

Get the best robe. Get the gold ring.

Kill the fatted calf. Why am I celebrating?

Because my son was dead. And now he's alive.

He was lost. And now he's found.

But the older brother, he won't even come inside.

He refused to come into the house.

I've. I've been obedient to you for

years, Father. I never got to a big festival

like this. I never got a party.

And the father comes outside. Son, I love you.

I love you. Everything I have is always

yours, buddy. But your brother's back.

So this is cause for celebration.

Love your brother. Don't.

Didn't you miss your brother? Don't you see that we've gained

something that we didn't have? Son, I love you.

And I've always had you. But if you were lost, I'd come

for you. But your brother's back.

Saints, let's not be the older brother, the angry brother who's

going. What about me?

You're loved. Everything you want, everything

you need is provided by your father.

Now, do you see your other brother?

Are you happy for him? Are you rejoicing over him?

Do you care? Are you, are you thankful that

she's come back? Are you thankful that she's

getting attention and that she's getting love and that she's

getting congratulations and encouragement?

She needs it. Well, I don't get that kind of

attention. If I if we knew you needed it,

we'd we'd pour it on. If you were crying out for

attention, I'd give you nothing but attention.

You can have all the attention you want because you're loved.

There's no competition among us. It's just identifying.

Where is the pain? Where is the injury?

When you stub your pinky toe in your house in the middle of the

night, the whole body reacts to 1 little toe.

The head, the back, the hands, everybody.

Then the shoulder doesn't go. What about me?

What about me? Nobody cares about me.

What shoulder? You're OK, but pinky toe is

struggling right now. And pinky toe makes the whole

body hurt. We all feel the whole body is

seized up. If one of us hurts, we're all

hurt. That's how a body works because

we're we're connected. We're not to be individuals.

We're to be a body with Jesus as the head.

So the head says, don't despise one another.

Well, I'm the hand. Praise God for the role that he

gave you. I'm the, I'm the ear.

Praise the Lord for the position he put you in.

Well, I'm the eyes. Praise God for the position he

assigned to you. Well, I'm just this Praise God

for the position he put you in. I'm just, I'm just, I'm just

pleased to be in the body of Christ.

I'm just thankful that's enough for me.

Easy for you to say. You're a pastor.

I'm happy to be a nobody. I could vanish and never be

heard from again if it pleases the Lord, whatever he wants.

Amen. That's a blessing.

As long as I get to be with the Saints.

As long as I get to be with the people of God.

Are you kidding me? What a joy.

What a gift. So rejoice over one another.

We want to go so much far past. This is like step one.

Don't despise one another, OK? Just don't look down on anybody.

Of course, our New Testament goes on and continues to build

the case. Honor one another, honor one

another, outdo one another in showing honor for one another.

Those are the high levels of love.

How can I care for them? How can I bless them?

How can I elevate them and build them up?

You are a sheep who was found, but now you're also a shepherd

in the search party. We're going to take the last

couple minutes here together to just pray, and we're going to

raise our voices together to pray for one another, to pray

for those who aren't yet in the Father's house.

In this passage, Jesus is referencing all of God's

children who are in his house but maybe have wandered.

But we're going to, we're going to take this time as a church to

pray for whoever would come on your heart.

Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus, and we

thank you for your compassion and for your care.

And we lift up one another right now.

We pray for the Saints, We pray for the believers, the little

ones who are close to you and the little ones who have stepped

away from the warmth, who have stepped away from the fire, and

who are who are in a dangerous place, who are walking in sin,

who are being tempted by the enemy, who are discouraged, who

are being accused, who are being overwhelmed, who are being beat

down. God, we ask that you would raise

them up and that you would strengthen them.

Lord, I pray for every single one that's being laid on the

hearts of the Saints right now, that the Saints would also reach

out, that the Saints would have Holy Spirit wisdom, Holy Spirit

love, Holy Spirit conviction to to reach out and to snatch those

loved ones from the fire, hating even the clothing that is Saint

stained by sinful flesh, but dearly and deeply loving and not

despising the one that Jesus came to save.

God help us in our own hearts, drive out any older brother

attitude where we would have a a despising attitude, a selfish

attitude or a prideful attitude for any who are wandering, for

any who are lost. God, I pray for any in here this

morning, this moment, or even listening under the sound of my

voice. If they are far from you, if

they know that they are the one far away.

I just want to tell you right now that the Father is searching

for you. He is coming for you.

He has come for you even through this sermon.

He has come for you through the name and through the blood of

Jesus, and he eagerly welcomes you back.

The Father is looking for the slightest, the slightest act of

repentance on your part. And He's eager to throw a party.

He's eager to rejoice. And as the body of Christ, we

are eager to rejoice alongside. We're eager, eager to rejoice

and see you restored and strengthened.

How many times? 70 * 7 We'll do it over and over

and over again. God, continue to cultivate our

heart to make it look more like the heart of Jesus.

Give us wisdom, give us strength, give us care, give us

compassion. Open the eyes of our hearts for

the lost world around us. Come on, sayings, pray for those

loved ones, those friends, those family members, those enemies.

God, help us to love them. Help us to love them.

You commanded us, Jesus, even to love our enemies, so they might

be an enemy to us. But let it be said that we are

still a friend to them. Let it be said, God, that we

still want what's best for that person, that we still want good

outcomes for them, that we would not rejoice at their demise, but

they were. That we grieve over it.

God save them from hell. Rescue them from hell.

Those people who spoke those evil words about us, those

people who lied about us, those people who deliberately harmed

us, Jesus, they didn't crucify us.

They didn't hang us up on a cross.

And we didn't ask you to forgive them for that like you did for

your enemies, Lord, as you prayed to the Father.

Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.

Lord, if you could do it, how much more can we forgive all

these lesser and lower things that have been committed against

us? God cultivates such a sweetness

in this church and I pray that it would begin with me.

Not that I would get the any credit for it, but just God.

That I know I'm so guilty. I know I'm so guilty of

despising my enemies. I know I'm so guilty of harsh

and and unredemptive judgement. And I confess my sins before you

and before your people. I humble myself, knowing that I

need the the cleansing of the blood and knowing that I need

more of the heart of the Father, more compassion, more

tenderness. Yes, give me more of your

tenderness. God give, give us a heart like

David, who was eager to restore Mephibosheth, excited to to give

that blessing, excited to give that shrink to the one who

thought he was so unworthy, to the one who was so discouraged.

A broken man, a lonely man to be restored, to come into the

throne room of the king, to feast at the King's table.

That is what you've done for us. You brought us resurrection.

You brought us life. You gave us an inheritance, all

because of the affection that you have for your son Jesus to

glorify his name and to give him the nations as his inheritance.

Father, fulfill your promise to Jesus to bring him all the

nations as His inheritance and do it in our lives.

We're part of His inheritance, God.

And now send us out as other shepherds, as friends, as

family, as loved ones, as the powerful anointed church, the

hope of God and the earth. God, as we approach our 4th

birthday, I pray that we would redouble our efforts as disciple

makers, not sermon listeners. The Word of God obeying, Holy

Spirit filled disciple making Saints who walk in a deep love

and a deep care. Lord, as we prayed Wednesday

night together, we pray again now that we commit and we we set

apart the next four years for you.

We devote it to you, God. We ask you would make us more

obedient. We ask you would help us to walk

more in step with Your spirit in the next 4 years, that it would

be more fruitful by your judgment.

That it would be more faithful by your judgment.

That it would be more filled with Your presence.

We want more of you and we need more of you.

We love you, Lord. I plead the blood of Jesus over

your people. We thank you for forgiving us

and for strengthening us. We thank you for one another.

Thank you for the gifts of the body we submit together under

the head. In Jesus name we thank you and

now the Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face Shinedown upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you great

peace in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen.