The Christian Atheist, part 2

Here is this past Sunday's message.

The Christian Atheist, part 2

When you believe in God, but don’t think He’s fair

Sunday, September 22^nd, 2013-MRWC

 

Show Video Clip- the storms of life

 

            We are in week two of our new sermon series called The Christian Atheist.

            Just to bring you up to speed; we said last week that a Christian Atheist is someone who believes in God, but lives as if He doesn’t exist.

            Author and Pastor Craig Groeschel said that: “The core problem for the Christian Atheist isn’t belief, its intimacy. The Christian Atheist doesn’t know God well.” (CA study guide. 17)

            The Christian Atheist may know about God, but they don’t know Him in their heart.

            God doesn’t want us just to have head knowledge about Him; He wants us to know Christ passionately and personally.

            David wrote in Psalm 63: “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.” (63:1, NLT2)

            David knew God completely and to avoid believing in God but living as if He doesn’t exist, we must make Him our own.

            This is a very brief recap of last week, and I hope that some of you are seeking to move from simply knowing about God to knowing Him personally and intimately, as David knew Him.

            It’s just as the video said: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, NIV)

            For the next 5 weeks, we are going to examine 5 issues that Christian Atheists struggle with—there are more than 5, but we are only looking at 5—and we’ll begin today by launching into today’s topic: When you believe in God, but don’t think He’s fair.  

PRAY

            Have you ever wrestled with this question: “Why does a good God allow bad things to happen?”

            Or perhaps you’ve tried to get your mind around this question: “Why do bad things happen to good people?” Anyone ever thought about this at least once in your life?

            At their core, these questions have to do with fairness--> more specifically: Is life fair?

ILLUSTRATION- At Life Group last Sunday night, David Moore told our group that he recently attended the funeral of his 2^nd cousin. Her finance found her dead on the floor.

            Life came to a screeching halt for this woman, who was 32 years old.

Is life fair?

ILLUSTRATION- How is it fair that Aaron Alexis could walk into the Navy Yard in Washington DC and shoot and kill 13 people?

Is life fair?

ILLUSTRATION- Is it fair that my father was diagnosed with a stage 4 brain tumour and 5 months later was dead?

        He will never see my children graduate from High school, or go off to college or even get married.

Is life fair?

ILLUSTRATION- Is it fair that thousands of Syrians died in a chemical attack, while the ruling government still argues about who was responsible for the attack?

            How is it fair that all of these things can occur?

            Just in case you think that life is hard today, let’s dig into the Word of God and look at several examples of people’s lives that were filled with pain and torment, and we’ll begin our look at the life of Job.

            Job was a man who lived in the Land of Uz- which was “probably east of the Jordan River in the Syrian or Arabian desert” (NNIBD, 1290)

            Job was also an upright man, who loved God and was the owner of large flocks and herds of sheep, camels, oxen and donkeys cared for by a large number of servants. (this illustrated that he was very wealthy)

            Job had a heart for God and when his children had wild parties—sometimes for days at a time—Job: “…would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” (Job 1:5, NLT2)

            Job’s main concern was God and making sure that he—and his family—lived for God.

            One day, an exchange took place between God and satan, as satan was patrolling the earth looking at everything that was going on.

            Then, God offers up Job has a person of outstanding character; someone who feared God and resisted evil.

            Very quickly, satan retorted: “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God.

         10 You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!

11 But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” (Job 1:10-11, NLT2)

In other words: ‘Of course he fears you God, you’ve protected Him; but remove Your hand of protection and see what happens to Him.’

So…God allows it, and satan wreaks job.

All Job’s farm animals are destroyed, his servants are killed, and his children die; everything he owned was gone in an instant.

To make matters even worse, satan comes back to God a second time and gets permission to wreak havoc on Job’s life, and for a second time, Job is brought to his knees.

All of these things happened to a righteous person- How are we supposed to deal with that? Is that fair?

How about some more examples, this time from the NT?

John the Baptist was a forerunner to Jesus. He went preaching that the Son of God was near, and that people should repent and be baptized.

Why, John the Baptist even baptized Jesus Himself, and what did John get out of the deal?

His head on a Christmas platter.  How’s that for fair?

How about the example of Jesus? The only Sinless Person to have ever stepped foot on our planet, was standing before Pilate in Matthew 27, and was accused of, among other things, being the King of the Jews.

Pilate could have released Him, because he couldn’t find grounds to condemn Him, but instead gave into public pressure and released a notorious murderer named Barabbas, and sentenced Jesus to death.

“The guilty man was set free. The innocent man was condemned to die” (Groeschel, 2010, 96)

How’s that fair?

Bear with me as I share one more example.

We’re told in John chapter 9 that as Jesus and His disciples were walking along: “…he saw a man who had been blind from birth.” (John 9:1, NLT2)

His disciples asked Him: “Rabbi…“why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” (John 9:2, NLT2)

It was a popular train of thought in Jesus’ day that said if you were sick it was because of a particular sin—or sins—in your life, or the lives of your parents; so the disciples wanted to know who had been sinful—the man himself, or his parents.

Jesus responded by saying: “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins….This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” (John 9:3, NLT2)

What happened to this young man wasn’t because of any particular sin; but he was born blind so God’s Glory might shine through.

I share these stories with you to bring home today’s key thought: Life isn’t fair; but God is faithful.

God demonstrated His power in this man who was born blind by giving him his sight back.

Life wasn’t fair; God was faithful to this young man.

God demonstrated His power over sin and death with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Life wasn’t fair to Jesus, but God was faithful.

God allowed Job to go through Hell to demonstrate His power and at the end of Job’s story; we read that God blessed Job with twice as much has he had before his ordeal began.

 Life wasn’t fair to Job, but God was faithful.

God will be faithful in your life as well. No matter what you are going through, no matter how difficult the pain, no matter how much heartache you may endure, God is with you.

Life isn't fair, but God is faithful.

Seeing as we’re all thinking it, let me go out on a limb and say that God is not fair. (Before you pick up that stone, hear me out)

Paul wrote in Romans 3 that: “No one is righteous—not even one. ¹¹ No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.

¹² All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” (Romans 8:10-13, NLT2)

Not a single person on the face of the universe is good; the truth is: we are awful!

Jeremiah reminded us that: “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9, NIV)

No person, anywhere, can be called good, because we’ve all sinned against God.

We’ve all done something that God has told us not to do, and because of that, we are sinners who deserve nothing but the pit of hell.

Paul said in Romans 6:23 that: “…the wages of sin is death…” (NIV)

Because we’ve sinned against God we deserve death and complete separation from Him, forever.

But because God’s not fair; He gives us what we don’t deserve.

The rest of Romans 6:23 says: “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NIV)

How is this possible? We deserve nothing but death, destruction and annihilation—but God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ?!

Phillip Yancey, in his book “What’s so amazing about grace” writes: “If I care to listen, I get a loud whisper from the gospel that I did not get what I deserved.”

“I deserved punishment and got forgiveness. I deserved wrath and got love. I deserved debtor’s prison and got instead a clean credit history.

I deserved stern lectures and crawl-on-your-knees repentance; I got a banquet…spread for me.” (CA study guide. Page 28)

The truth is God is not fair. But He is faithful. He gives us what we don’t deserve.

David wrote in Psalm 103: “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; 10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:10-12, NIV)

God has chosen in His infinite wisdom, not to treat us as we deserve, but to bless in ways that we simply don’t deserve.

I think we need to understand that God is not fair—He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, but even more than that, life’s not fair.

We live in a sinful world, and life will stink from time to time, so no matter what you are dealing with today, I want you to know that Life isn’t fair; but God is faithful.   

One verse that I haven’t been able to get away from all week as I was praying over and preparing for today’s message is 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says:

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (NIV)

The words in the middle of this verse ring out to me like church bells: “And God is faithful…” (1 Cor. 10:13, NIV) These 4 words should be imprinted on our brains.

We Christian Atheists would do well to remember that life isn't fair, but God is faithful.

And if you are dealing with something that doesn’t seem to make any sense to you whatsoever, remember that God sees the entire picture—we only see a fraction of a fraction; but God sees the entire thing, and He will be faithful to you and your situation.

ILLUSTRATION- To this day, I have no idea why my dad went through what he went through. I still shed tears when I think about my dad’s absence.

        I miss him, but I have come to the conclusion that God is faithful and He can be trusted.

            I pray the same for you. I pray that you will be able to move past your hurt—even for a moment—and begin to see God as the faithful God who stands beside you in the midst of your storms and trials and He is holding you up.

            God, in Isaiah 41:10 says to us: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” (NLT2)

            So here’s how we’re going to end today. Beth is going to come and play and I’m going to pray, and if there is something going on in your life that you just can’t seem to understand, I want you to talk to God about it, and then I want you to come up and grab a card off the alter as a reminder that Life isn’t fair, but God is faithful.

           

The Christian Atheist

This message is the first in our new series.

The Christian Atheist, part 1

“When you believe in God but don’t really know Him”

Sunday, September 15^th, 2013

 

Show- That’s my King video-

 

            Well, I’m stoked to begin a brand new sermon series this week; especially after watching that video!

            I’ve been thinking and praying about this sermon series since 2010, and I’m glad that we are finally launching it; I believe that this is the right word at the right time for our church.

            We just concluded a 2 part series looking at “why we do what we do” where we focused on the mission and the vision of our church and why we must peruse both of them.

            (If you missed either message, go to my website, they can be found there)

            This series will help us as we seek to fulfill the mission of our church, which is “to know Christ and to make Him known”

            We’re launching the series called “The Christian Atheist”.

            Now before we get too far into this series, I think we need to have an understanding of some important terminology that will be used throughout this series. 

            The first word is: Atheist. An Atheist is someone who denies the existence of God.  (Kevin Bacon is atheist and so is James Cameron of Titanic fame)

            Here’s another term: Theism. This is the belief in the existence of one God. Wesleyans are Monotheists. We believe in One God, who is Three Persons.

            Some of you might know this term: Christian. A Christian is a person who believes in the teachings of Jesus Christ.

         Many people in this room refer to themselves as Christians.

            If we combine the word “Christian” and the word “Atheist”, we get a new word called Christian Atheist.

A Christian Atheist is someone who believes in God, but lives as if He doesn’t exist.

            When I first heard this definition, I starched my head. “Do I know any Christian Atheists” I wondered? Do Christian Atheists really exist?

            I didn’t have to think about it very long to find an example of a Christian Atheist.

ILLUSTRATION- The year was 2000 and I was living the dream.

I was in my 3^rd year of study at Kingswood University, I was engaged to Elizabeth, I was working on staff at Norton Wesleyan Church and I had a work study in the cafeteria as a cook’s helper.

If you were to look at me then, you’d say I had it all together.  I believed in God…..but I was living as if He didn’t exist.

While I'm not proud of this chapter in my life, I use it to illustrate my point: While I was engaged to Elizabeth, I was simultaneously dating other girls on the side.

            I did my best to cover it all up; but eventually my double life came out, and when it did, it wasn’t pretty.

            I came within inches of losing the love of my life; I was forced to resign my position at Norton Wesleyan, I was removed from the kitchen, and I was kicked out of school for two weeks.

            I believed in God, but I was living as if He didn’t exist. I was a Christian Atheist.

            I believed in God—I believed that He called me into the ministry in 1996, I believed that He loved me and I believed that He died for me; I even believed that He walked with me and talked with me, but believing isn’t the same as personal knowledge.

            And God doesn’t want us just to believe in Him up here, (head) He wants us to Know Him down here (heart)—personally and passionately.

         Let me try and illustrate what I mean.

ILLUSTRATION- Some of you may know that I am a Third Day fan.

         I’ve seen them in concert 5 times; I have their autograph on just about everything imaginable. I have all their albums—even some of the limited edition albums.

            I have photos of Third Day in my office and at home, I follow them on twitter; I’ve got several magazine articles that feature 3D; I’ve met with them 4 times and over half the songs on my iPhone are Third Day songs.  

            I know Third Day… sort of. I have no idea what they like to do when they are not on the road—although I know that Mac Powell shares my love for bacon!

            I don’t know their likes or dislikes; I don’t know the name of the street they live on in Atlanta.

            I don’t know how long the drummer has been married or the names the base player's kids.

            I may know a lot about Third Day, but I don’t really know them—I can’t pick up the phone and call Mac Powell and tell him I’m in need of something and I wonder if he can help me out.

            But I can pick up the phone and call my friend Bill and ask him anything in the world, and I know that he would do it, because he knows me and I know him.

            Don’t miss the difference. Some people know about God, but they don’t know Him intimately.

            Some people know about God, but they don’t know Him as David knew Him. Listen to how he described his relationship with God in Psalm 63:

            “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.

² I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory. ³ Your unfailing love is better than life itself; how I praise you!

⁴ I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer.

⁵ You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy.

⁶ I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.

⁷ Because you are my helper, I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. ⁸ I cling to you; your strong right hand holds me securely.” (Psalm 63:1-8, NLT2)

This sounds like someone who believed in God and lived as if He existed!

It also sounds like someone who knew God intimately.

God was his God, not someone else’s; his body longed for God as much as a person would long for water in the dry desert.

The unfailing love of God was better than life itself, and he committed to praising God for as long as he lived.

David had an experience with God that transformed his entire world. David believed in God, lived as if He existed and knew Him personally.

How about you? Do you know God as I know Third Day; partially and incomplete? OR do you know God as you know your spouse or close friend or relative?

Do you know God personally and passionately?  

Let’s look at what Jesus had to say on this issue, before we fully answer those questions.

Jesus told us to: “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.

¹⁶ You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.

¹⁹ So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:15-20, NLT2)

You can tell a lot about a person by their actions, Jesus said, just as you can tell a tree by its fruit.

People who know God personally, will produce fruit that prove they really know Him. (Paul desribes this kind of fruit in Galatians 5)

Jesus then goes on to say: “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

²² On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’

²³ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.” (Matthew 7:21-23, NLT2)

Jesus tells us that only the people who know Him will enter heaven. More specifically: “Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.”  (Matthew 7:21, NLT2)

We prove that we know Jesus by obeying His Word.

John picks up the same thought in 1 John chapter 2: “We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.

4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:3-4, NIV)

Do you really know God? The best way to answer that question is by answering this question: Do you obey His commands?

It’s not enough for us just to believe in God, we must know Him. And we prove that we know Him by obeying His word.

So here’s the acid test to see if you really know God; or if you are living as if He doesn’t exist.

David wrote in Psalm 9:10: “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.” (NLT2)

Ø Do you know the Name of the One who provides for you?

Ø Do you know the Name of the One who will stand by your side?

Ø Do you know the One who wants you to call Him Father?

Ø Can you, as David wrote in Psalm 63, say that God is your God?

Do you believe in God but live as if He doesn’t exist; or do you truly know Him?

ILLUSTRATION- For far too long in my life, I believed in God, but I lived as if He didn’t exist; I knew about God, but didn’t make Him my own. He wasn’t a priority in my life.

            But now that I know Him—in my heart—He is the most important relationship in my life, I talk to Him constantly, I think about Him always and I want to live my life in a way that pleases Him.

            "Has God transformed you? Are you different because of Him?" (Groeschel, 2010, 43)   

            If you know God, but aren’t any different, perhaps you are a Christian Atheist; you believe in God but are living as if He doesn’t exist.

            The Good News is that you can be different! Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, and the new has come!" (NIV)

        We can be different because of Jesus Christ!

            If you don’t know God at all, you can by calling out to Him and asking Him to save you!

        Paul wrote: Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13,NIV)

            If you don’t know God personally and passionately, you can today! Simply call out to Him and ask Him to save you.

            If you knew God at one time—but you have drifted away from Him—you can return.

            God, in Jeremiah 29:13 said: “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” (NLT2)

            If you make knowing God a priority; if you chose to obey His commands, He will begin changing you from who you are into the person He wants you to be.

            We are not called to be Christian Atheists; we’re not called to know God and live as if He doesn’t exist.

We are called: “to Know Christ” and if God has been tugging at your heart, either because your relationship with Him is not what—or where—it should be, I want you to know that God is ready for you to turn back to Him.

            As the band comes to lead us in a time of reflection, I’d like for you to ask God to perform an honest check-up of your soul.

            Do you know Him; or do you live as if He doesn’t exist?

            Remember what Jesus said? You identify people by their actions, and if your actions don’t line up to what God has said, there’s a good chance that you might be a Christian Atheist.

            But friend, we serve a God of second chances, and this morning He is inviting you to come to Him because He wants to change you from what you are into what you should be, so if you need to come to the front to talk to God, please feel the freedom to do so today.

     

Why we do what we do, part 2

here is the vision of our church. Enjoy!

Why we do what we do, Part 2

Unpacking the Mission and the Vision of MRWC

Sunday, September 8^th, 2013

 

 

            Have you ever lost something? Chances are that if you have owned something for a significant amount of time, it has been lost at least once, if not twice. 

ILLUSTRATION- I am a pen collector. If I see a nice pen, I’ll inquire about it. If it’s free, I’ll take it; if it’s not free, but reasonability priced, I’ll purchase it.

            I have pens from all across Canada, and places well into the United States.

            If you have a nice pen, you’d better keep a close eye on it, because if like it, I might take it!

            In 1999, I received a pen from the Atlantic District of the Wesleyan Church.

At that time, I was going to school at Kingswood university, and I was also working at Norton Wesleyan Church as their youth pastor, and I was invited to attend the District Ministerial at Beulah.  (It’s a pastor’s conference)

            When I arrived at Beulah, I was given a beautiful blue and gold-trimed pen. It was a nice weight and was wonderful to write with.

        (Believe it or not, but the pen actually came before the iPad....I know, it’s hard to imagine)

            I took this pen everywhere. I used it to take notes, and I took extra special care of this pen.

I remember that it even came with a box, so at the end of the day I put the pen in the little box, and placed it on my desk eagerly anticipating using it the next day.

            One day, I went to take my pen out of my pocket, and to my surprise—and shock!—it was nowhere to be found!

            Almost immediately, panic set in. Did someone steal it from me? I wondered.

            I then remembered what you are supposed to do when you lose something, so I retraced my steps and went to the last place I thought I used the pen, but no luck; it was still MIA.

            After searching for my pen far and wide, I couldn’t find it anywhere. I even asked some of my friends if they had seen my pen, but they hadn’t seen it either.

            I took the unusual step of emailing the DS at the time, H.C. Wilson and asked him if there were any more of the pens left, and if so, could I have one.

            He retuned my email by telling me that the pens were a onetime deal and there weren’t any leftover’s. 

            Again, I was devastated. How could I continue to work without my favorite pen?

        I didn’t know what else to do, so I left it in the Lord’s hands and kept hoping it would show up.

            Not too long after that, I was in chapel one day and as the preacher was preaching, I noticed that my friend was taking notes with what looked to be like a real nice pen!

            I whispered to him and asked if I could see his pen for a moment, and upon closer inspection, I noticed that it was my lost pen!

            I almost shouted! I said: “Ben, that’s my pen! Where did you find it?”

            Ben told me that he found it on the ground, and he had been using it ever since.

            “Well”, I said, “I’d like to have it back.”

            He told me that he would give it back to me after chapel was over.

            I couldn’t wait for the closing prayer to come… I wanted that pen back immediately.

            After chapel was over, Ben gave me the pen back, and it has been with me ever since. (Although I have since retired it from service)

            I was delighted to find what was lost.

            Now, before you think I’m certifiably insane, I want to remind you that Jesus shared a similar story, in fact He told 3 stories about finding something that was lost.

            The story is found for us in Luke 15, and we’ll seek to unpack this truth.

       We're told that: “Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach.” (Luke 15:1, NLT2)

            Tax collectors in Jesus’ day weren’t the most popular people.

         In fact they were usually despised by their fellow man because: “they were considered traitors and because they were often extortioners” (NIV Com. Page 148)

            No matter where Jesus went, it seemed that lost people would come from all over to hear him teach.

            “This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!” (Luke 15:2, NLT2) 

            The Pharisees and the teachers of religious law taught that truly righteous people would have nothing to do with the kinds of people that Jesus was hanging out with; if you were righteous, you wouldn’t go near lost people!

            Jesus explained why He did what He did with the following story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do?

Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4, NLT2)

            Remember, this was in the days before Walmart; if you lost something you couldn’t run out and get a new one, you actually had to go looking for it; so the shepherd left the 99 in the open field and went looking for the one lost sheep.

            When the lost sheep had been found, the shepherd tweeted about a party that he was having, because the lost had been found!

            Jesus explained this story by telling His hearers that: “There is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away.” (Luke 15:7, NLT2)

            This is our first glimpse into today’s take away: “God is concerned about lost people.”

            Jesus continues on by saying: “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one…” (Luke 15:8a, NLT2)

            The one lost coin Jesus referred to here, represented a full day’s wage that had been lost.

ILLUSTRATION- When 5 dollars goes missing in our account, my wife is on the hunt to find it.

So when 10% of this woman’s income goes missing, it’s a big deal!

So much so that she turns on all the lights, gets out her Swiffer and begins searching the entire house; “And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.” (Luke 15:9, NLT2)

Another party takes place when the lost item—this time a lost coin; representing a full day’s wage—is found.

Jesus reminds us again that God is concerned for lost people, by telling us in verse 10 that: “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” (Luke 15:10, NLT2)

            Just to make sure Jesus’ hearers pick up the point He’s trying to make, He told them the story of a Father and his two sons.

            The younger son wanted his share of the inheritance, so Pops divided up his wealth between his sons, and the younger son—we’ll call him Ernie—cashes in his coins and heads off to the far country.

            When he finally arrives in Vegas, he is mesmerized by the glitz and glamour; so much so that he blows through his inheritance on sex, drugs and probably rock and roll.

            After his current reality is made known to him, a famine invades Vegas and everything dries up; including his stomach.

            Sensing that Ernie needs to survive, he looks for Guido who owns a pig farm and gets hired on as a pig feeder.

         Even though he is surrounded by all that bacon, he has nothing to eat..

            Realizing that he is missing out, he comes to his senses, and admits that his servants at home have more than enough to eat, so he picks up what little he has, and heads for home, all the while rehearsing the: “Dad, I’ve sinned royally, and I’m not worthy to be called your son, take me back as your servant” speech. 

            As Ernie is making his way home, something—more specifically Someone--- was out looking for him.

            “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming.” (Luke 15:20, NLT2)

This leads me to believe that The Father was out looking for his lost son on a regular basis, and when he finally found him, he was:

“Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20, NLT2)

            After receiving the love from his Father, Ernie began his speech: “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.” (Luke 15:21, NLT2)

            The father cut Ernie off and wouldn’t let him finish, but called out for the servant to bring his son the robe, some slippers and even a ring—signifying not a servant but someone very important.

            He also instructed the servant to kill the fat calf because they were going to celebrate that the lost had been found.

            Again, the obvious teaching jumps off the page: God is concerned about lost people.

            God is so concerned about lost people that He sent His Son into the world to bring us back to Himself:

        “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17, NIV)

Our God is a God who is concerned about lost people.

In what could be described as His reason for coming to planet earth, Jesus said: “the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10, NIV)

Jesus has come into this world to find lost people. And at one time, we were like my pen: completely lost.

But because of God’s amazing grace, we have been found and beacuse we have been found, we are called to GO and find lost people.

Just before He left this earth for heaven, Jesus said to His disciples, which includes you and me: “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” (Mark 16:15, NLT2)

If God is concerned about lost people—and He is because He sent Jesus into this world to find us—then shouldn’t we be concerned with lost people?

We’re told in Luke 15 that as Pops was celebrating Ernie’s “found-ness” his elder brother was out working in the field.

As he made his way home from work, he—we’ll call him Bert—heard a noise coming from the house and asked his servants what was going on.

Bert was told: “Your brother is back…and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’” (Luke 15:27, NLT2)

At this news, Bert became angry. He was bitter that his brother had blown his share of the inheritance on prostitutes and was still allowed to come back home again, and to make matters worse, a party was given in his honor!

Bert had been by his father’s side the entire time and not once was he allowed to have an animal for his party….

The father gently reminded Bert that he had always had access to his father’s resources and the need to party was great because the lost been found.

My friends, this is what God’s grace is all about. Grace found us when we were lost, and grace compels us to go find others who are lost.

God is concerned about lost people and He wants us to partner with Him to find lost people.

What can you do?

You can 1) Pray for God to give you a burden for lost people. They don’t have to be on the other side of the world; they simply have to be in your backyard.

2) You can share your story of life change with the people in your backyard.

This doesn’t have to be a huge theological explanation, it just needs to be: “I went from what I was to what I am only by the grace of God”

3) You can partner with your church leadership as we seek to wrestle with the “what can we do to reach people for Jesus” question.

Jesus called us to go into the world and rescue the perishing. And as His church, this is  what we will try and do.

Why seek to become a church unchurched people want to attend? (The vision)

Because God is concerned about lost people and the church that bears His Name exists “To Know Christ and to Make Him known” (The mission)

The band is going to come back, and we’re going to sing and then pray, and as we’re singing, let’s pray for a passion for God and for our community as we focus on Him and on finding lost people.