Breath Of Life
Ministries Presents:
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Sermon #601 'He Found Me'
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[Breath of Life Theme music]
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PB:  The Word says, "Then
drew near unto him [Jesus]
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all the publicans and
sinners for to hear him.
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And the Pharisees and
scribes murmured saying,
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'This man receiveth sinners
and he eateth with them.'
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And he spake this parable unto
them saying, 'What man of you,
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having an hundred sheep, if
you lose one of them doth not
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leave the ninety and nine
in the wilderness and go after
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that which is lost until he
finds it. And when he hath found
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it, he layeth it on his
shoulders.'" That's important.
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"And when he hath found
it, he layeth it on his"--what,
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everybody? Aud.:  Shoulders  PB:
Shoulders. "'Rejoicing. And when
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he cometh home, he
called together his friends and
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neighbors saying unto them
"'Rejoice with me for I have
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found my sheep which was lost. I
say unto you that likewise, joy
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shall be in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth more than
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over ninety and nine
just persons which needs no
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repentance.'" I'm so glad to say
today in our sermon title, "He
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Found Me." He Found Me. Father,
bless us now. Speak through
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this, Your Word, today, and
Lord, when the appeal comes move
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in this church. Move over the
airways. And may we all be able
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to testify that Jesus found
me. We pray this pray and we
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ask these things in Jesus'
name. Let everyone say amen.
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Aud.:  Amen.  PB:  Amen.
All right. Luke chapter 15
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is often referred to as
God's lost and found department,
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because in this chapter
we have searching, saving,
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and shouting. Do I have
a witness in this place?
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[Aud. reaction]  PB: 
For after the lost is found,
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there is rejoicing.
Now in this chapter,
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Jesus shares with
us four illustrations.
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How many illustrations,
everybody?  Aud.:  Four.
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PB:  Four in three parables.
So we have four illustrations
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in three parables to deal with
God's desire to save the lost.
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All right, so this is a
good text, theology students,
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to do a week of prayer
on because you've got three
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parables with four
illustrations, which means then,
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you can make a week of prayer
out of this. Are you hearing
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what I'm saying? All right,
verses 3 through 7 identify the
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first parable and the
illustration of the lost sheep.
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Verses 8 through 10 identify the
second parable and record the
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illustration of the lost coin.
Verses 11 through 32 identify
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the third parable and record
both the illustration of the
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lost son and the illustration of
the lost brother. Because see,
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a lot of people read the
story of the prodigal son and
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they don't realize that
the story of the brother is an
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even more powerful story
than the story of the lost son.
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Now, verses 1 and 2
are applicable to all four
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illustrations, but today time
won't let me, permit me to
preach for a sermon.
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So I just preached one. Amen.
We deal with the lost sheep.
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Now look at verses 1 and 2
again. Look at it. The Bible
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teaches that publicans
and sinners came to hear Jesus
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preach. Everybody say
"publicans." Aud.:  Publicans.
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PB:  Everybody say
"sinners." Aud.:  Sinners
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PB:  Publicans and sinners
came to hear Jesus preach.
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Now let's deal with publicans.
Who are the publicans?
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Publicans were also known
as tax collectors. These were
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people who worked for the
Roman government, but they were
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despised by the Jews
because they worked directly,
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or indirectly, for the
hated Romans and put unfair
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and unnecessary tax burdens
on the people to fill their
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own pockets. They were
Jews themselves who had sold out
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to the Roman government and
worked against their own people,
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so the publicans were traitors.
These were the publicans.
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But now, number two, the
sinners. Sinners were Jews who
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had fallen away from the
life that God had commanded,
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living in unrepentant
sin, and because of this,
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they had been expelled
from the synagogue and doomed
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to hell. You know,
disfellowship from the church.
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Excommunicated from
the church. Picture that:
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sinners telling other
sinners that they can no longer
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be welcome at God's
church. [Aud. reaction]
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PB:  That they are no longer
able to receive forgiveness
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from sin; that they are no
longer able to receive pardon
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for sin. Sinners
telling other sinners that. Now,
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a part of the sinners'
group, prostitutes would have
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been a part of that
group. Drunkards would have been
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a part of that group.
Thieves would have been a part
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of that group. Drug addicts
would have been a part of
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this group. But sinners also
included anybody who violated
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the Pharisees' understanding of
the Commandments. For after all,
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they called Jesus a sinner
because Jesus healed somebody on
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the Sabbath. It was these two
groups, greedy tax collectors
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and poor sinners, that nobody
else cared about, that Jesus
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reached out to. Jesus reached
to these people, and these
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people came to hear
Jesus teach and preach.
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The Bible says that the
religious authorities murmured
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and complained and then
began to criticize Jesus for
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receiving sinners. Which
means then, the very folk that
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church folk should have been
reaching out to were the very
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folk that the people were
trying to keep out. And that's
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just like some church folks.
We keep people out who need
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Jesus the most. But the
Pharisees don't get too close to
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these people. People who
don't look like them; people who
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don't dress like them; people
who don't smell like them.
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But yet, Jesus eats
with them, accepts them,
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laughs with them,
fellowships with them, and even
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God forbid,
Jesus prays with them.
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Now, don't get it
twisted. Jesus didn't despite
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the Pharisees. Jesus
didn't hate the Pharisees.
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He just believed that
His time was better spent
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with those who didn't
have a relationship with him.
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After all, He said, "I
came to seek and to save that
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which was lost." But Jesus,
spending time with sinners,
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makes the Pharisees
mad. They don't like it that
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Jesus gives attention to
those who give no attention
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to their way of life.
They want Jesus to be focused
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on them and not on the
sinners. They want Jesus to
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reward them for all of
their ways and not sinners.
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They had been
faithful all their lives.
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They weren't bad
guys; they were good guys.
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They were the ones who
had grown up in the church.
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They were the
ones who didn't smoke,
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who didn't drink, who
didn't live lives of promiscuity
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or immorality. They
went to church every Sabbath.
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They tithed every Sabbath. They
gave offering every Sabbath.
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They had worked hard
at the church every week.
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But now Jesus is ignoring
them, and He's hanging out
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with the last, the
least, the lost, the unlucky,
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and the left
out.  [Aud. reaction]
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PB:  How dare Jesus show
more interest in them than us?
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How dare Jesus spend more
time with them than He does
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with us? To eat with tax
collectors, eat with public-
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-to eat with publicans
and sinners is to put oneself
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down to their level. To
eat with tax collectors and
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sinners is to contaminate
oneself and make oneself
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unfit for temple worship.
But let's not be too hard
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on the Pharisees, because
there's a lot of Pharisees
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in us. What would we say
if Jesus were at dinner with
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a drug dealer, a thief
or a prostitute or somebody
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with AIDS or a homeless
man, eating eggplant parmesan
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at Olive Garden. What
then Jesus can do? He can do as
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long as He wants to do,
as long then as it doesn't
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conflict with our comfortable,
clean, conservative,
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cool culture.  It's
okay for Jesus to spend time
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with people like that,
as long as we're not around;
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as long as they stay on
their side of town without
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wandering into ours. But
Jesus doesn't just care about
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good people. Jesus cares about
all people. Red and yellow,
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black and white, all
are precious in His sight.
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And Jesus is willing to
put energy and effort into
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reaching those who many
good people don't want anything
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to do with. The Pharisees
and scribes were grumbling to
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themselves. They were
saying to one another,
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"This man welcomes
sinners, and He eats with them."
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The Pharisees had strict
regulations about how they
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were to keep away from sinners.
They were not to entrust
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money to them or have any
business dealings with them.
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They were not to trust them
with a secret. They were not
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to give their daughter away in
marriage to any of their sons.
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They were not to invite them
to be guests or go out as guests
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with them. But Jesus, on
the other hand, openly eats and
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receives them.  Now, notice
in the text, verse 1 and 2,
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before we get to the
story of the lost sheep.
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The Pharisees don't
openly confront Jesus.
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They talk behind His
back. [Aud. reaction]
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PB:  Interesting that
they would do this because in
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other scenarios, like
Jesus healing on the Sabbath,
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if they felt Jesus was
directly disobeying one of their
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traditions, they would try
to openly call Him out about it.
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But when Jesus was
doing things they didn't like,
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rather than speak
directly to Him, they talk about
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Him behind His back. Now I'm
gonna tell you this right now:
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People like that are
dangerous. Say what you want,
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but one of the toughest
things to deal with in life
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are people that smile in
your face but are constantly
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stabbing you in the back. Do
I have a witness in this place?
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As I get older, I'm even
okay with people who may not
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agree with me, but at
least they can be man enough or
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woman enough to say I
don't agree with that. You can
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disagree but not be
disagreeable. Are you hearing
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what I'm saying? It's not
always the folk on the outside
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that you have to worry about,
but sometimes it's the phony,
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pretentious folk on the
inside that you have to be
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careful with. I've learned,
you will never hear a drunk
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person talk about another drunk
person. A drunk person says,
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"I'm drunk. He's drunk. She's
drunk. So we're all drunk."
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Are you hearing what I'm saying?
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The Bible says that
then drew near unto him
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all the publicans
and sinners to hear Him.
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Now the verb here,
"drew," in this context is
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imperfect in nature, which
means it is repeated action.
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In other words, the tax
collectors and the sinners
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were continuously
coming to Jesus. Which means,
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regardless of how much
the Pharisees and scribes
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tried to stop it, the
people kept coming to Jesus.
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Somebody's gonna get
this in a minute. Let that be
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a lesson to you. Folk
can stop a lot of things,
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but folk can't stop
the move of God. Folk can't
00:12:07.46\00:12:10.89
stop the move of Jesus.
They can't stop the move
00:12:10.93\00:12:14.60
of the Holy Ghost.
God will do what He wants,
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when He wants, and where
He wants, and how He wants.
00:12:16.56\00:12:20.70
The Bible says that all
the publicans, all the sinners,
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came near to Jesus. And
they come while the Pharisees
00:12:24.34\00:12:28.48
are still murmuring and
complaining.  Now, while Jesus
00:12:28.51\00:12:32.38
didn't approve of the
sinners' actions, He did receive
00:12:32.41\00:12:35.35
them socially and ate
with them for the purpose of
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bringing them to repentance
and salvation. I'm reminded
00:12:37.32\00:12:39.82
of what Ellen White says
in the book "My Life Today."
00:12:39.85\00:12:42.49
She says and teaches
that Jesus was social to save.
00:12:42.52\00:12:46.63
Let me say that
again. He was social to save.
00:12:46.66\00:12:53.30
A lot of times people
say to me, "Pastor Byrd,
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you're always friends
with people who are not of
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our church." "Pastor,
you bring in singers who are
00:12:56.37\00:12:59.04
not members of our church."
But you need to understand,
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Jesus was social to save.
Jesus rebuked intemperance,
00:13:01.41\00:13:07.88
He rebuked, she says,
self-indulgence and folly,
00:13:07.92\00:13:10.89
yet He was social in His
nature. He accepted invitations
00:13:10.92\00:13:14.26
to dine with the learned
and noble as well as the poor
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and afflicted. She says,
"Social power sanctified by
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the Holy Ghost must be improved
in bringing souls to Christ."
00:13:21.80\00:13:27.24
She says in "Ministry of
Healing," Jesus won people's
00:13:27.27\00:13:30.81
confidence, then He begged them
follow Me. Jesus was social to
00:13:30.84\00:13:36.48
save. But the Pharisees, the
scribes, they thought they were
00:13:36.51\00:13:43.12
too religious to associate
with sinners; too boojee to
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hang with the broke. I
wish I had time, 'cause you know
00:13:50.89\00:13:55.10
I could do a run right
there, you know? But let me just
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put it this way: Don't you
ever think that you're better
00:13:58.43\00:14:01.94
than somebody else. Don't
you ever think that you're
00:14:01.97\00:14:07.31
more righteous than somebody
else. Apart from Christ,
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you and I are just like
the tax collectors, just like
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the sinners of Israel.
Apart from Christ, we are just
00:14:17.22\00:14:20.99
as lost as that man
drinking Jack Daniels; just as
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lost as that drug dealer
on the corner; just as lost
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as that liar, fornicator,
gossiper, adulterer, stealer,
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cheater, deceiver, and
meth maker. All have sinned and
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come short of the glory
of God. If it weren't for the
00:14:35.87\00:14:38.71
blood of Jesus, where
would any of us be. The ground
00:14:38.74\00:14:41.81
is level at the cross. I
rebuke every foul, pretentious,
00:14:41.84\00:14:47.78
pompous, conceited, satanic,
superior spirit in this place!
00:14:47.82\00:14:51.29
[Aud. reaction]  PB: 
Luke 15 deals with the lost.
00:14:51.32\00:15:03.13
Under the figures of the
lost sheep, the lost coin,
00:15:03.16\00:15:07.07
the lost son, the
lost brother. Now remember,
00:15:07.10\00:15:12.41
the primary mission of
Jesus was to seek and save
00:15:12.44\00:15:14.34
the lost, so in this
parable Jesus uses the metaphor
00:15:14.38\00:15:17.55
of one sheep being lost from
the fold of one hundred sheep.
00:15:17.58\00:15:21.98
But why did He use this
metaphor to illustrate the
00:15:22.02\00:15:25.52
importance of saving the
lost? I like to offer four
00:15:25.55\00:15:29.32
reasons today. There might be
more, but I'm gonna share four.
00:15:29.36\00:15:31.73
Why does Jesus use this? 
Number one, I believe He uses
00:15:31.76\00:15:35.76
the lost sheep because sheep
are not the smartest animals
00:15:35.80\00:15:38.57
in the world. Sheep are
always getting into terrible
00:15:38.60\00:15:44.44
situations, and like sheep we're
not the smartest people in the
00:15:44.47\00:15:47.21
world either. And we find
ourselves getting into terrible
00:15:47.24\00:15:50.28
situations. We make bad
decisions, bad choices, say bad
00:15:50.31\00:15:53.58
things, and while we deserve
death, while we deserve doom,
00:15:53.62\00:15:55.75
while we deserve destruction,
I'm so glad that God
00:15:55.78\00:15:57.95
blocks it. He won't let
us fall. The angel of the
00:15:57.99\00:16:01.76
Lord encampeth round
about them that fear him.
00:16:01.79\00:16:04.69
God is using this
metaphor to remind us that
00:16:04.73\00:16:07.96
we're not the smartest
and He has to protect us.
00:16:07.96\00:16:10.87
Number two, I've
learned from the text that sheep
00:16:10.90\00:16:14.27
are defenseless. Lions
have teeth; bears have claws;
00:16:14.30\00:16:20.41
snakes have fangs; cheetahs
have speed; rams have horns;
00:16:20.44\00:16:27.15
porcupines have quills;
dogs have a bark, but not sheep.
00:16:27.18\00:16:34.39
They have absolutely no
means of protecting themselves
00:16:34.42\00:16:37.49
from danger. If they are
attacked, sheep are helpless.
00:16:37.53\00:16:41.73
We're the same way. There
is no way that we can protect
00:16:41.76\00:16:45.27
ourselves, in and of ourselves,
against the attacks from Satan.
00:16:45.30\00:16:49.30
We need someone to protect us.
We need someone to defend us.
00:16:49.34\00:16:54.41
We need someone to guard us.
We need someone to shield us.
00:16:54.44\00:16:59.11
We need someone to shelter us.
We need someone to safeguard us.
00:16:59.15\00:17:04.25
And that somebody, that someone
is Jesus. Jesus be affixed all
00:17:04.29\00:17:11.86
around me every day. Put on the
whole armor of God that ye may
00:17:11.89\00:17:15.83
be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. The Lord is
00:17:15.86\00:17:19.07
my rock. In Him we hide. A
shelter in the time of storm. A
00:17:19.10\00:17:21.60
sheep in the wilderness without
the Shepherd is defenseless from
00:17:21.64\00:17:29.54
the dangers and snares of Satan.
 But number three, I've learned
00:17:29.58\00:17:34.28
sheep need direction. If a sheep
wanders off from the rest of the
00:17:34.32\00:17:38.75
flock, it will have a hard
time if not an impossible time
00:17:38.79\00:17:42.36
finding its way back home.
You see, sheep have no sense of
00:17:42.39\00:17:46.86
direction. Sheep are not like
horses or dogs that can find
00:17:46.90\00:17:50.13
themselves back home. Sheep
could never find their way home
00:17:50.17\00:17:53.57
on their own. So it is with
those who wander from the Lord.
00:17:53.60\00:17:56.97
There is simply no sense of
spiritual direction in their
00:17:57.01\00:18:00.21
lives. They cannot find their
way to the Lord by themselves,
but they need a Shepherd.
00:18:00.24\00:18:04.31
My fourth and final point.
Sheep are not responsible for
00:18:04.35\00:18:12.79
getting themselves home.
Sheep are not responsible
00:18:12.82\00:18:21.23
for getting themselves
home. Now listen to me good,
00:18:21.26\00:18:25.00
this is my major point.
The sheep is powerless to
00:18:25.03\00:18:29.14
find its way back to the
flock or to the shepherd.
00:18:29.17\00:18:32.21
So if the shepherd
waited for the sheep to return
00:18:32.24\00:18:35.21
on its own, the sheep would
then die in the wilderness.
00:18:35.24\00:18:39.05
So what does the shepherd
do? The shepherd goes after
00:18:39.08\00:18:42.32
the sheep, because
getting the sheep home is the
00:18:42.35\00:18:46.99
responsibility of the
shepherd. Y'all don't hear
00:18:47.02\00:18:50.13
what I'm saying. [Aud. reaction]
00:18:50.16\00:18:52.43
PB:  The lost sheep was
not able to find its way
00:18:52.46\00:18:55.90
back home. Everything
depended on the searching of
00:18:55.93\00:19:00.10
the shepherd. The
shepherd feels bad about losing
00:19:00.14\00:19:03.84
the sheep and will
search until he finds the sheep.
00:19:03.87\00:19:07.98
It is his job, it is his
responsibility, which means
00:19:08.01\00:19:11.85
no trouble, no sacrifice,
no suffering is too great
00:19:11.88\00:19:17.45
to go look for the
sheep, get the sheep and bring
00:19:17.49\00:19:19.75
the sheep back home. Somebody's
gonna get this in a minute.
00:19:19.79\00:19:22.96
The same is true with
our salvation. Lost sheep
00:19:22.99\00:19:26.29
don't find Jesus.
They're not able. Everything
00:19:26.33\00:19:29.66
depends on Jesus, because
Jesus is seeking the sheep.
00:19:29.70\00:19:35.14
Lost people don't make
the first move to Jesus.
00:19:35.17\00:19:38.41
It's the Good Shepherd
that makes the first move
00:19:38.44\00:19:42.38
towards the sheep. God is
looking for us. God finds us.
00:19:42.41\00:19:47.28
That's why God says, "My
sheep hear my voice and they
00:19:47.32\00:19:52.39
follow me." I'm feeling
it good right now. And what I
00:19:52.42\00:19:55.32
love about God is, He will
search for us until He finds us.
00:19:55.36\00:20:02.03
He doesn't give us, thank
You, Jesus, after a few minutes,
00:20:02.06\00:20:06.57
after a few hours, after
a few months of searching.
00:20:06.60\00:20:10.24
But somebody knows that
I serve a God who stays on
00:20:10.27\00:20:15.34
the job until the sheep
is found. Somebody knows that
00:20:15.38\00:20:20.55
God stayed on the job
till you were found. That's why
00:20:20.58\00:20:25.89
He's not the God of a
second chance, but He's a God of
00:20:25.92\00:20:29.89
chance after chance after
chance after chance after chance
00:20:29.92\00:20:35.66
after chance. And I'm so
glad, I don't know ago but you,
00:20:35.70\00:20:41.47
that Jesus didn't give up on me.
That He keeps coming after me.
00:20:41.50\00:20:47.08
I'm so glad He keeps looking,
calling, knock--is there anybody
00:20:47.11\00:20:52.71
else in here that's glad
Jesus kept looking for you?
00:20:52.75\00:20:57.72
[Aud. reaction]  PB: 
Are you glad that we serve
00:20:57.75\00:21:02.29
a God that didn't give
up on you? I mean, your
00:21:02.32\00:21:07.00
family walked out,
your friends walked out,
00:21:07.03\00:21:10.00
the church folk walked
out. But I'm so glad that
00:21:10.03\00:21:13.77
I serve a God who didn't walk
out but He went looking for me!
00:21:13.80\00:21:19.04
[Aud. reaction] PB:  And
then, after the sheep is saved,
00:21:19.07\00:21:26.95
after the sheep has been
found, the sheep finds itself,
00:21:26.98\00:21:32.25
according to the text,
resting on the shoulders of
00:21:32.29\00:21:37.03
the shepherd. Hallelujah,
somebody. [Aud. reaction]
00:21:37.06\00:21:41.10
PB:  I said the sheep
finds itself resting on
00:21:41.13\00:21:47.10
the shoulders of the shepherd.
Let me break this down.
00:21:47.14\00:21:51.54
Somebody's still not getting
this, let me help somebody.
00:21:51.57\00:21:53.71
All right, what do we mean
here? In verse 5, look at it:
00:21:53.74\00:21:57.41
"And when he hath found it,
he layeth it on his shoulders,
00:21:57.45\00:22:00.72
rejoicing." Layeth it on
his shoulders, doing what,
00:22:00.75\00:22:04.35
everybody? Rejoicing. All right,
what is meant by this? Back in
00:22:04.39\00:22:09.62
the day, when the sheep
would wander from the fold and
00:22:09.66\00:22:14.30
the shepherd would find
the sheep, the shepherd, after
00:22:14.30\00:22:18.60
he found the sheep, would
break the legs of the sheep.
00:22:18.63\00:22:24.21
And then he would carry the
sheet on his shoulders until
00:22:24.24\00:22:29.91
the sheep's legs would
heal. Now, this sounds tough.
00:22:29.94\00:22:35.62
This sounds cruel and mean,
but it wasn't actually cruel
00:22:35.65\00:22:40.32
and mean because when a
shepherd would do this, what the
00:22:40.36\00:22:43.49
shepherd was doing was, he
was taking full responsibility
00:22:43.53\00:22:46.43
for the needs of the sheep.
The shepherd would now have to
00:22:46.46\00:22:50.00
take care of the sheep's
feeding, watering, and other
00:22:50.03\00:22:53.67
necessities because the sheep
couldn't take care of itself.
00:22:53.70\00:22:58.31
Somebody's getting this.
You getting this, somebody.
00:22:58.34\00:23:00.81
Somebody's getting this.
Breaking the sheep's legs
00:23:00.84\00:23:04.41
seems bad and cruel to us,
but it's actually the shepherd
00:23:04.45\00:23:09.62
protecting the sheep
from its tendency to stray,
00:23:09.65\00:23:13.86
because the shepherd know--oh,
I feel my health coming-
00:23:13.89\00:23:16.96
-he knows the dangers of
the wilderness. And once the
00:23:16.99\00:23:21.96
sheep's legs would heal,
the sheep has now learned,
00:23:22.00\00:23:26.84
stay close to the shepherd so
that you'll never stray again.
00:23:26.87\00:23:31.54
Sometimes, when we're lost;
sometimes, when we're out and
00:23:31.57\00:23:40.48
God finds us, God has to break
our legs. God has to put us
00:23:40.52\00:23:48.12
on our--oh, yes, yeah--God
has to put us on our backs.
00:23:48.16\00:23:53.29
God has to allow us to go
through affliction, even after
00:23:53.33\00:23:59.90
He's found us, to get us to
learn that we've got to depend
00:23:59.93\00:24:06.14
on Him. He knows the dangers
of the wilderness, so He has to
00:24:06.17\00:24:10.65
break us in order that He might
carry us. And in this process,
00:24:10.68\00:24:19.05
our legs, they mend and heal,
and so we will now stay close
00:24:19.09\00:24:25.89
to the Shepherd, so we
will never stray again. [Aud.
00:24:25.93\00:24:32.90
reaction] PB:  So God, if
You have to break me, break me.
00:24:32.93\00:24:38.51
God, if You have to
chastise me, chastise me.
00:24:38.54\00:24:43.91
God, if You have to
rebuke me, rebuke me.
00:24:43.95\00:24:48.38
Because any way, any
way, any way You bless me,
00:24:48.42\00:24:53.79
I'll be satisfied. Any
way You have to save me,
00:24:53.82\00:24:58.19
I'll be satisfied. Any
way You have to rescue me,
00:24:58.23\00:25:02.66
I'll be sat--oh, the Lord
is my light, my salvation.
00:25:02.70\00:25:07.67
Whom shall I fear? The
Lord is the strength of my life,
00:25:07.70\00:25:11.84
of whom shall I be afraid? The
Lord's my rock, in Him we hide,
00:25:11.87\00:25:16.98
a shelter in the time of
storm. The Lord is my Shepherd,
00:25:17.01\00:25:21.42
I shall not want. He maketh me
to lie down in green pastures.
00:25:21.45\00:25:25.35
He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restoreth my soul.
00:25:25.39\00:25:28.89
He leadeth me in the path
of righteousness for His name's
00:25:28.92\00:25:32.36
sake. Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of
00:25:32.39\00:25:34.40
death, I will fear no evil. For
Thou art with me. Thy rod, Thy
00:25:34.46\00:25:37.37
staff, they comfort me. Thou
preparest a table before me in
00:25:37.40\00:25:40.20
the presence of mine enemies.
Thou anointeth my head with oil.
00:25:40.24\00:25:44.24
My cup-- Aud.:  Hallelujah!  PB:
 --But surely, I said surely,
00:25:44.27\00:25:53.48
surely, surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me all the
00:25:53.52\00:25:57.12
days of my life and I will
dwell in the house of the Lord
00:25:57.15\00:26:02.86
forever. [Aud. reaction]  PB: 
Before Jesus found the publicans
00:26:02.89\00:26:14.80
and sinners, the harsh
legalistic teaching of the
00:26:14.84\00:26:19.67
Pharisees and scribes
had driven those lost sheep
00:26:19.71\00:26:23.01
further from God. But
the text says that Jesus'
00:26:23.04\00:26:29.18
preaching drew them to
Him. So the gospel that Jesus
00:26:29.22\00:26:36.83
preached announced that
every sinner could be forgiven,
00:26:36.86\00:26:41.20
that if they repented and
if they started anew and turned
00:26:41.23\00:26:44.77
in faith into Jesus,
they were not lost causes.
00:26:44.80\00:26:48.37
They were just lost
sheep. Lost sheep that had been
00:26:48.40\00:26:52.71
found by the true Shepherd.
Lost sheep that had been
00:26:52.74\00:26:56.04
washed of their sin.
Lost sheep that were now new
00:26:56.08\00:26:59.25
creatures in Jesus
Christ. We too are lost sheep,
00:26:59.28\00:27:05.39
that Jesus came to find.
We too are lost sheep that
00:27:05.42\00:27:12.09
Jesus died for on the
cross. And the Bible closes by
00:27:12.13\00:27:17.30
saying there is joy in heaven
over one sinner that repenteth.
00:27:17.33\00:27:25.14
Luke 15 is God's lost and
found department. Lost sheep,
00:27:25.17\00:27:31.05
lost coin, lost son, lost
brother. Today, who are the
00:27:31.08\00:27:40.52
lost? Who are the lost in this
church? Who are the lost in this
00:27:40.56\00:27:47.13
city? Who are the lost in this
country? When we think about the
00:27:47.20\00:27:52.83
lost, we ought to think about
those people whose lives have
00:27:52.87\00:27:54.97
been messed up by some
addiction, some habit, or some
00:27:55.00\00:27:58.17
stronghold, or we think of
tho--those people who are
suffering from some
00:27:58.21\00:28:00.98
mental illness or
deranged emotional condition.
00:28:01.01\00:28:04.35
>:  Thank you very much
for tuning in to this week's
00:28:04.38\00:28:06.75
Breath of Life broadcast.
We hope and pray that you've
00:28:06.78\00:28:09.55
been blessed by Dr.
Byrd's inspirational message.
00:28:09.58\00:28:12.92
If you would like to hear
the sermon in its entirety,
00:28:12.95\00:28:15.39
please feel free to visit
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00:28:15.42\00:28:20.90
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00:28:20.93\00:28:28.10
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00:28:28.14\00:28:43.15