Luke chapter number 15. We've been preaching on the greatest stories ever told. We've come to the parable of Luke 15. Charles Dickens, the English author, said that this is the greatest short story ever written. Luke chapter number 15, and we're going to look at verse number 1. If you don't have a Bible, the text verses will be on the screen. The Bible says in Luke chapter 15 verse 1, then drew near. Well, that's what we ought to be doing this morning. We ought to be drawing near to God. Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, this man received the sinners and eateth with them. I just want to stop and say hallelujah. I'm glad he doesn't just tolerate us, he welcomes us. He doesn't just visit with us, He fellowships. Look at verse 3, And He spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he laith it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Bible scholars believe that Jesus spoke this parable in a town called Bethany. It's in the third year of His earthly ministry. It's His next to final visit to Judea and Jerusalem before He will come back for the last time to go to the cross. I notice that in my verse that the crowds have gathered. Do you see that in verse number 1, the crowds have gathered? The Bible said there's one particular group in that crowd that drew near. They came close. They were on the edge of their seats, so to speak. They were eager to hear every word that fell from the lips of the precious Son of God. They were the publicans and sinners. Did you see that verse 1? He said, then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners for to hear Him. Let's talk about that group just for a moment. First of all, there were publicans in that group, in that crowd. They were tax collectors. Nobody likes to pay taxes. If you do, I think there's something wrong with you. But anyway, tax collectors. But they weren't just unpopular, they were hated. They were despised in the eyes of their fellow Jews. They worked for the Roman government collecting imperial taxes for Rome and they exhorted them from the people with large amounts of corruption. And what I mean by that, the Roman government would tell the tax collector, this is how much we want, whatever you get over that you can keep for yourself. And they were robbing the people. They were seen as traitors. Whenever a publican would be on the street, a patriotic Jew would cross over to the other side. They wouldn't even greet them. Matter of fact, they would spit at them because they hated them so much. But then notice there's another group of people in this crowd. Not just the publicans, the tax collectors, but sinners. Now when you hear that word, you think of notorious sins like drunkards and prostitutes and fornicators and hardened criminals. It's a very interesting word. It literally means the people of the land. It's the common folk like you and me. Ordinary people. It's just the rank and file Jewish people. They were considered sinners. In the sense that the Pharisees and the scribes, another group looked down upon them and considered them social outcasts. If you weren't a Pharisee or a scribe or a Sadducee, you were a sinner. They were continually looking down on those that they felt were beneath them, not only socially, but also spiritually. You know, the sad fact is there's a little bit of Pharisee in all of us, isn't there? There probably ought to be less. And these Pharisees and scribes, we meet them in verse number 2. Here's the religious aristocracy of the Lord's day, the spiritual leaders of the nation of Israel, the Pharisees and the scribes. The Pharisees, the religious group there that were the leaders spiritually, the scribes, were doctors of the law, they were lawyers, they were experts in the law of Moses. They murmured. As these publicans and sinners began to draw near to Jesus, they began to mumble under their breath one to another, criticizing and complaining their dislike for Jesus and how He cared for and was interested in those that were the outcasts. I'm glad Jesus loves outcasts. Aren't you? Look at verse 2, what they said about him. This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. He doesn't just tolerate them, he welcomes them. He doesn't just visit with them, he fellowships, he rubs shoulders with them, he goes into their homes, he eats with them. They weren't just offended, they were infuriated by it, and they hated him. Because if he was who he claimed to be, he should know who these people are and not have anything to do with them. Matter of fact, in the minds of a Pharisee and a scribe, God didn't welcome such people as publicans and sinners. He burned them. That's what He did. A. W. Tozer in his classic work, The Knowledge of the Holy, makes this statement. I want to listen to it very carefully. What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Everyone in that crowd had a wrong view of God. The publicans and sinners didn't think God wanted anything to do with them. They were social outcasts. They were beneath the religious elite. They just didn't fit in. God wouldn't like people like them. He doesn't love me. The Pharisees and the scribes, on the other hand, knew God loved them and their minds. And they went on to think that God didn't want anything to do with anybody that wasn't like them. And Jesus tells a story to set the record straight. He's going to correct wrong thinking and maybe even correct some wrong thinking in our minds this morning. Verse number 3, He tells a parable. Look what the Bible says. And He spake this parable unto them, saying... This is not three parables, but one. It's one parable with three stories interwoven together that teach us and reveals to us the heart of God for a lost world. How God looks and views and thinks and emotionally feels toward every one of us. And He begins by telling a story of a lost sheep. It's the moving story of a shepherd that has a hundred sheep. He discovers that one of them, after coming back into the fold for the night, is missing. Out of his tender love and concern for that sheep, the shepherd will leave the ninety and nine in the fold and he'll earnestly set out in search for that one little lost sheep. And he doesn't just search for it a little while, he does so until he finds it. When he finds it, he doesn't scold it. He doesn't yell at it and fuss at it. No, He reaches down into where that little lamb, that little sheep has fallen, and He lifts it up and places it on His shoulders, and He carries it back safely to the fold. But He doesn't stop there because He's rejoicing in His heart, and He's so happy that He's found His sheep, that He calls all of His friends and His neighbors to celebrate with Him and rejoice with Him, for He has found His sheep that was lost. You say, preacher, what does Jesus want me to learn through that? He wants you to see the world through His eyes. He wants you to see the world as He sees it. That's exactly what He wants to do. And that's what we're going to do this morning as we look into this passage and learn some truths for our own lives to see the world. Maybe even for the very first time to see yourself as Jesus sees you. Let's pray together. Thank You for telling these stories. They're beautiful and wonderful. But Lord, You didn't tell a story just to be telling a story. You told a story because You were revealing Your heart to us. We get to look into the heart of the Savior, to look into the heart of God and understand what You see and how You view us and how Your heart yearns toward us. Your great love for each of us. I pray this morning, Lord, that that person that may feel like the outcast, that person who may feel like that nobody loves them, not even God, Lord, they may be a young person or a teenager, might be a young adult, it might be a person that's further on down the road in life, but Lord, you want them to know your heart for them. And Lord, you want to correct any wrong thinking in our minds about how you view other people. And we'll thank You for it. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. If we're going to see the world as Jesus sees it, number one, you're going to have to understand this, that Jesus values each of us individually. Could you get that? Jesus values each of us individually. Look again at verse number four, would you please? What man of you, having a hundred sheep, If he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it." Can I just stop and say this? You are valuable to God. You may not feel valuable. You may not think you're valuable. You may not value you. You may feel like nobody else values you. But I want you to leave this room this morning, this church this morning, knowing this, that Jesus Himself values you individually. When God looks down on this congregation this morning, He doesn't just see a crowd. And we have a wonderful congregation this morning. We have a church that's filled pretty much to capacity each and every Sunday morning. And there's room. There's room for folks. But yet we have a thankful church. And we have guests today. And I'm thankful that you're here. But God doesn't see a crowd. When Jesus looked at those that had gathered that day, He didn't see a mass of people. He saw each individual person in that crowd. That means God sees you and values you individually. You see, this parable teaches us the value of a human soul. Can I help you understand the majority of the world doesn't value their soul, but can I tell you God values your soul? You may not put much stock on your eternity, but God values your eternity. Notice, if you would, please, that in our story, the first story of the parable, there's a hundred sheep, a shepherd who has a hundred sheep, and he loses one of them. Isn't it enough? I mean, you have ninety-nine, Mr. Shepherd. Is that not enough for you? Oh, absolutely not. I'm missing one of my sheep, and I'm going to set out into the wilderness, and I'm going to search, and I'm going to find my sheep. One of a hundred. You come and there's going to be another story and it's about a woman and she has ten coins. She loses one. I mean, she already has ten. Ma'am, isn't that enough for you? I mean, it's just a coin. I know you probably lost it and it rolled in a corner and you really don't know where it's at, but I mean, you've got nine coins left. I mean, what's the big deal about one coin? But oh no! Oh no! She values that coin. We're going to see that in the next story. And she begins to grab a broom and she sweeps her house diligently in search of that coin until she finds it. And when she does, she rejoices. There's one out of ten. Oh, but you're going to come to the third story that we'll see in our parable. And now we're a father that has two sons and one of them leaves home. He loses a son. He's out in the wilderness. He's gone into what we understand and will see as the far country. Oh, he had one still at home. Is that not enough? Absolutely not. The heart of that father is yearning for that one son who's lost. He's wayward. He's strayed. and He's longing and waiting and looking for that Son to come home. You see, what God is wanting us to understand today is it doesn't matter how big the crowd, it doesn't matter how big the world, every person in the world is valuable to God. You notice the value goes up? You got one out of a hundred. A hundred sheep, one lost. That's one out of a hundred. Then you come and you've got ten coins. One's lost. Did you catch that? The value's going up. Ten coins are more valuable than a hundred sheep. And then you're going to this woman, and then you're going to find two, and then loss of one. Oh my goodness. Think about it. A son is far more valuable than a coin or a sheep. And what Jesus is doing is He's bringing the audience along. They're following Him. Every one of them that understands the heart of a shepherd toward a sheep, every woman in that crowd understood the value of that coin to her. And every father in that group and parent knew the value of a child. And God said, I want you to know that I value more than a shepherd does his sheep and a woman than a coin and a parent their child. Public and sinners probably didn't feel very valuable. They've been looked down on and scorned their whole existence. They were tolerated by the religious aristocracy of that day. No doubt there was in that crowd somebody saying, I don't know how God could value me. Maybe there was a drunkard in the crowd. Maybe there was a woman that had used her body and sold her body to make money in an immoral way. Maybe there were adulterers. Maybe there were people in that crowd that day. But you know what Jesus was saying to them? Hey listen, you may not value you, the world may not value you, but I value You. Let me just go on record and say if God values them, church we ought to value them. Jesus will later say in II Peter 2 and verse number 9 through the Holy Spirit, it will come to us through the Apostle Peter, the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness. God's not delaying His coming out of just the fact that He's reluctant to come. No, He's long-suffering to us. Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God doesn't limit the cross. He doesn't limit His forgiveness. He doesn't limit His salvation. He said, I value everybody. I want everybody to come to repentance. I want everybody. I don't want one person to perish. Can I tell you, hell was not created for men. The Bible is very clear. It was created for the devil and his angels. When a person persists in their rebellion against God and they reject the mercy and the grace of God, they have no other... God has no other recourse but to give them their choice and their desire. Which is an eternity apart from Him. But that wasn't His intent. If you think God just loves a few, friend, you don't understand God. And you don't understand the heart of Jesus. Church, we just came out of a World Emphasis Sunday, World Missions Emphasis Sunday. We talked about the world. When Dr. Edwards mentioned 8 billion people, I don't know about you, but I can't wrap my arms around that. Can you wrap your arms around that? I mean, I went to Mexico City, the largest city at that time in the world. It and New Delhi, they sort of go back and forth as the largest cities in the world. I remember going up into this sphere, this tall building, and we were on the top of it, and we were looking out over the city, and there were millions, multiplied millions of people in that city. And I just can't comprehend that. I can't wrap my arms around it. And we say to ourselves, I don't know what to do with the one. Jesus has told me to reach the world, but I don't know how to do that. Can I help you understand that? You do it by loving the one. Tonight, we're going to launch our Friend Day Outreach. Oh, you may not be able to reach everybody in your community. You may not be able to reach everybody on your job. You may not be able to bring twenty people, ten people, five people, but you can bring one. I've already got my one. I told myself I wasn't going to take no for an answer. I was playing. I said, I'm coming. I can't wait. I said, and I'll bring your family with you. Okay. I'm excited. I want that one to come. Well, who's your one? You say, well, they won't come. I've asked them before. You don't know. Just keep trying. Just keep asking because God values the one. Never forget, every person that walks through that door, church, is valued by God. Valued by God. We ought to value them the way God values them. We ought to express that through how we greet them, how we welcome them, how we minister to them, how we love them. How they see the heart of Jesus is going to be reflected by every one of us. If we're frustrated because they have our seat. Or parked in our parking space. Or maybe we just think there was too many people here that day. Maybe we're more like the Pharisee and not enough like Jesus. I'm just saying. I just want to say to you this morning, God values you individually. Number two, I want you to get this very quickly. Not only does Jesus value each of us individually, Jesus loves each of us in spite of our sin and failure. That's what I learned in this parable. I see that. He loves each of us in spite of our sin and failure. Look again at verse number four. The Bible said He'd lose one of them. Did you see that? Now, let me just help us understand. God doesn't love our sin, but He sure loves us. The man in our parable, the shepherd, is the Lord Jesus. The shepherd ministry of Jesus is seen throughout the Scriptures. Remember Psalm 23 verse 1, the Lord is my shepherd. Aren't you glad He's your shepherd today? You're saved. John 10 verse number 11, Jesus gave this parable probably months earlier. And He said, I am the Good Shepherd, the Good Shepherd given this life for the sheep. He's setting the stage for Him going to the cross and dying for every lost sinner like you and me. The lost sheep in our story pictures us without God. We're like a lost sheep out in the wilderness. We're away from God. And we need to be saved. That's what He's saying. Friend, listen, can I help you understand today? You're here and you're not sure you're saved. God loves you and He wants you to be saved. We're like a little lost sheep. We're directionless. We're defenseless. We're helpless. We're hopeless. Can I help us understand what the shepherd's fault the sheep got was lost? It's not God's fault that we're lost. It's ours. The shepherd never strayed from the sheep. It was the sheep who strayed from the shepherd. It went its own way rather than the shepherd's way. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way. The picture here is a cast sheep. It's an old English... shepherd's turn for a sheep that's rolled over on its back and can't get up. The sheep would wander and step into a crevice or maybe a hole or maybe the ground uneven. Whatever reason, the sheep turns over on its back and they've got little spindly legs and they can't get back up on their own. And in that situation, the gases begin to build up in the body of that sheep and it'll die. It's also even more helpless. You ever notice sheep don't have really good horns, and they don't have sharp teeth, and they don't have claws? They can't really defend themselves. And that sheep would be out, even if it wasn't cast, would be in danger of predators that would feed on that lost sheep, or if it rolled over, it would bleed out, it would cry out for help because it can't get up, and it feels it's dying. That shepherd could have said, you know what, I'm tired of running after that cantankerous sheep. I'm tired of that sheep running off. I'm tired of it straying. I mean, I give it this. It's got good grass, wonderful water. I love it. I care for it. A fold at night. It's got other sheep for friends. I mean, what in the world is that sheep thinking? Let me just say something. What in the world are we thinking when we go away from God, Christian? Why in the world would any Christian want to go back out into the world? A young person sitting here this morning thinking somehow that what's going on out there is better than what's going on in here. You've been deceived. It is not true that once you go out there you are helpless and defenseless and Satan can bring destruction to your life in a moment. And that's true of every one of us, by the way. You don't have to be a young person for Satan to destroy your life out in the world. There's many of an adult that slipped out into the world and strayed from the shepherd and their lives devastated. Serves it right, wandering off like that. Oh no, no, no. Shepherd comes and, I'm missing a sheep. Oh my! I wonder what's happened to it. I wonder if it's okay. I wonder where it's at. I wonder if it's cast. It's rolled over on its back. I wonder if a predator's got it. I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to leave the ninety and nine safe in the fold and I'm going to go out into the wilderness and I'm going to find my sheep that was lost. I want to help you understand something this morning. You need a shepherd. Sheep can't survive without a shepherd. And friend, you can't survive without Jesus. Out of a heart of love, Jesus left heaven and embarked on the greatest search and rescue mission this world has ever known. Men are sinners. We're lost. We're helpless. We're defenseless. Friend, can I tell you, the Bible says, for the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost. He does not want us to die in our sins. He does not want us to perish. He doesn't want us to spend eternity in a burning hell. You're not willing that any should. God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son. Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He went to the cross. He died for our sins. He invites the world to come to Him. You're valuable to God and He loves you in spite of your sin and your failure. And He wants you to come to Him. I want you to look how thorough this is. Would you follow with me quickly because I want to give you the last point. By the way, if I was the only one, He'd still come. And if you were the only one, He'd still come. He had 99. Only one was lost. He said, I'm not going to abide that. I'm going after my sheep. Look what he did. He loved it. How do you know that? Because he left the ninety and nine for the one. He loved it. If you lose one, he looked for it. Look at verse 4. "...does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost." He's searching. He's listening for the bleeding of the sheep, the cry of... of distress. He is, can I tell you, all around us are cast ashe, they're people whose lives are hopeless and they're helpless. Oh, it may look good on the outside, but there is a bleeding on the inside, a crying out because of the emptiness and the dissatisfaction that's in their hearts. Some, devastated by sin, Jesus loves them. He looked for it. And I want you to know how long He looked until He found it. He didn't know what He would find. He didn't know if He would find a sheep that was well and okay, or if He would find just what was left after the predators got it, or the sheep that had been cast and swelled up. He didn't know what He was going to find, but He was going to search until He found. Can I tell you, Jesus will never give up on you. Don't ever give up on that lost son or daughter. mom or dad, family worker, co-worker, friend. Don't ever give up. I probably preached this before, but I'm going to preach it again. I remember being in a meeting as a young preacher, and I didn't know much still. I don't know a whole lot. But I remember a lady came forward in a revival meeting. She was at the altar weeping and crying. Didn't think she could be saved. All these preachers just, you know, telling her all the reasons of what was going on in her life. And I thought, why don't somebody just open the Bible and show her how to be saved? She thought that somehow that she had sinned away her day of grace. Can I tell you, if you're worried about sinning away your day of grace, you have it. Because if you had, you wouldn't even worry about it. There's hope. As long as a person is drawing breath on planet Earth, there's hope. Jesus doesn't give up on us. And then He doesn't stop there. He didn't put a little rope around its neck and drag it to the house. No, He picks it up. Look what the Bible says, verse number 5, And when he hath found it, he laith it on his shoulders rejoicing. Now you know what? Sheep are smelly little creatures. I know that personally. Not because I have sheep, but because I've stayed with a pastor in his home that did have sheep, and where I was at was downwind. And they stink. How many have been to Santaland up in Maggie Valley? Anybody ever been there? Oh, I've probably got ten people. You don't even know what good stuff is. Took our kids there. It was smelly on that hot day. You get to see all the little goats and sheep and all that kind of stuff. We were walking from event to event gagging. But we was having the time of our life. Couldn't wait to take our kids to Santa Ana. How many times did you go back preacher? Never. I'm not saying you shouldn't experience it. Sheep are smelly. We're smelly. We've got the world all over us. Sin. And He reaches down. And He picks us up. And He puts us on His shoulder. And He carries us home. All safe in the arms of Jesus. Friend, I'm glad I'm in His arms today. You can be too. If you're here without Christ this morning, you're not sure you're saved. Can I tell you what that shepherd did for that little lost sheep is what Jesus wants to do for you. All you need to do is recognize yourself a lost sinner. What does that mean preacher? That you can't save yourself. that you're separated from God, that you wouldn't spend eternity in heaven, you'd go to a place called hell, and you're willing to put your faith in Jesus Christ and Him alone for salvation, I can promise you He's loving you right now. He's looking for you. Friend, the night I saved, I wasn't looking for the Lord. He was looking for me. I didn't find God. He found me. And He's looking for you this morning. And He wants to come into your heart and save you. Christian, don't you ever lose sight of what God's done for you. We're going to talk about that tonight. Don't ever lose sight of that. If you do, you'll stray. Let me give you the last thing and I'm done. Not only does Jesus value each of us individually, not only does He love each of us in spite of our sin and failure, but lastly, Jesus celebrates the salvation of every sinner that believes on Him. Can you believe that? I do. He celebrates the salvation of every sinner that believes on Him. How do you know that preacher? Well, look at verse number 5. The Bible said, last part of it, He layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. He wasn't scolding. He wasn't fussing at that little sheep. He wasn't saying, listen, I'm going to pick you up and carry you home, but you better not do that again, I can tell you that. I'll just leave you out there in the wilderness. No, He was rejoicing. There was a joy in his heart, spring in his step. I found my sheep, which was lost. It delights the heart of the Savior every time a person gets saved, a sinner comes to Him. The Bible says in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2, you can jot it down, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. disregarded the shame. And he sat down with the finished work. What joy, preacher! The joy of sinners like you and me being saved. Jesus was willing to allow wicked men to nail His hands and feet to an old rugged cross. He was willing for wicked men to lift Him up and suspend Him between heaven and earth there for six grueling hours and then to bear the guilt and the shame of our sin and the wrath of God for our sin that He might save us from our sins and deliver us from hell. I just want to tell you, when He was on the cross, you were on His mind. Jesus never gets tired of saving people. Never gets tired of forgiving people. Never gets tired of making people a part of the family of God. He said, Other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I must bring. Didn't say I could. He said, I must bring them. He wants you to be saved today. Jesus rejoices and celebrates the salvation of every sinner that believes on Him. And by the way, church, He invites us to rejoice with Him. Look if you would, verse 6. And when He cometh home, He called together His friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. Rejoice. Church, I want to tell you something. Never lose the thrill of seeing men, women, boys, and girls come to Christ. Don't ever get over that. Don't ever get used to it. Never get used to seeing people in our baptistry that are following the Lord in believer's baptism. Baptism doesn't save anybody. It won't wash your sins away, but it sure is a testimony that you are saved. If you're saved today, you ought to follow the Lord in baptism. If you're not saved, baptism won't save you. You need to come to Christ and believe on Him and receive Him. But we'll never get used to it. I started hearing criticism early, early in my ministry. I remember in Bible college I was around people and we would talk of somebody being saved and there would always be a Pharisee. Well, I wonder if it was real. I mean, where does that mess come from? Well, it might have just been emotional. Every person I get saved has some emotion. Wouldn't you agree? I mean, the jailer that got saved during the prison shake-up when Paul and Silas... I mean, he came in trembling. I'd say that's pretty much emotion. Wouldn't you? Well, we'll see if it lasts. I can tell you this, if Jesus saved them, it lasts. Let's quit being Pharisees. Let's quit being critics like the Pharisees and Sadducees at what God wants to do. I think God's tired of critics. Well, I remember when you'd have a revival meeting and 40 people get saved. We don't see, but sometimes two or three get saved. Why don't we celebrate everybody that gets saved? You know why churches are circling the wagons today? Because they're living back 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago rather than seeing and celebrating what God's doing today. What we need to do is rejoice in what He's doing today in our world. We're not seeing people saved like we used to. Can I tell you that's not God's fault? It might be ours. Maybe we're not inviting. Maybe we're not seeking. Maybe we're not looking. Maybe we're not sharing. Maybe we're not loving. I think we ought to celebrate no matter the age. I don't care. Listen, I don't care if every person that we baptize in the remainder of this year isn't past ten years old. Did you see how many of those missionaries testified they were saved at four and five? Did you see that? I get around people and I get so tired of this. That's why I don't go to a lot of preachers' meetings. I tell you what, little old five-year-olds making a little old Bible school profession, I bet I've got some really good Christians out here. You were saved at Bible school. Put you on the bat. I'm thankful for every person who gets saved in Bible school. We ought to rejoice and celebrate no matter the ethnicity. Doesn't matter what color they are, what nationality they are. Doesn't matter their station in life. Doesn't matter. Matter of fact, can I tell you, Jesus gets excited about somebody whose life is broken in sin in a prison cell and gets saved as much as he does a doctor or a lawyer that gets saved. Matter of fact, we'll see more of them saved than doctors and lawyers because they're like the Pharisees and scribes a lot of times. They don't think they need it. But don't forget, he saves rich people too. Amen? You're going to find in 1 Corinthians, it didn't say not any wise and mighty and noble, it just said not many. One lady said she got saved by one letter, the letter M. Because God said, not many wise are noble. She was a lady of nobility. She said, I'm glad it sure didn't say not any. Aren't you glad He loves everybody? I listened to it this morning. It was recorded in 1898. Can you believe they recorded stuff in 1898? I enjoyed listening to it. It reminded me of my granddaddy's voice. Even though I was listening to Ira Sankey. Can I just say something? I know I'm preaching and I probably need to bring it to a close. I throw names out there. And many of you, you don't have a clue who I'm talking about. You need to. Don't lose sight of some of these great Christians of the past. Ira Sankey was a song leader for D.L. Moody. I know D.L. Moody wasn't a Baptist, but he sure loved souls. I understand that. Preached the same gospel I preach. I appreciate D.L. Moody's ministry. I'm thankful for it. Shook two continents for Christ. Preached for a Baptist preacher by the name of C.H. Spurgeon. Ira Sankey. They were in Scotland doing a meeting. Ira Sankey got on the plane, on the train, sorry. Wasn't any planes in 1876. He got on a train. He was tired. He was heading from Glasgow to Edinburgh for another meeting. He thought, I don't want anybody to bother me. I don't want to talk to anybody. I don't want to hear. I want to sit down in my seat, read the paper, and I want to rest. That's what I want to do. Well, it didn't work out quite that way, but he did finally get to his paper, opened it up. He was scanning through the paper. He was a little bit frustrated and perturbed and all of this and tired. And he looked down and happened to see a poem. that was in that paper. He did. He thought, wow, I like that poem. Showed it to D.L. Moody. He wasn't real interested in it. He said, I'm going to clip that out. Clipped it out, stuck it in his briefcase. Didn't think anything else about it. He thought, boy, I tell you what, it might make a good song one day. got to the meeting in Edinburgh, and that day there was a group of men preaching. Dale Moody preached, Horatius Bonar preached, a lot of great, great, mighty men of God preached, and it was a moving moment. Dale Moody looked at Ira Sankey, he said, Ira, I want you to go to Oregon, and he said, I want you to sing a song. Why don't you do the 23rd Psalm? And they sang that over there in Metre. He thought, man, we've sung that and sung that, we've worn it out, I want something fresh. Lord, give me something. And God reminded him of that little poem. That little poem. He slipped it out of his Bible, laid it on the organ, struck the first note on the organ, and went and put a tune to a poem called The Lost Sheep. That tune's never been changed. If you've never heard it, you need to listen to it. We know it today as the 90 and 9. One of my favorite songs because my granddaddy would sing it when I was a little boy in church. There were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of the fold. But one was out on the hills away, far off from the gates of gold, away on the mountains wild and bare, away from the tender shepherd's care. Lord, thou hast thou here thy ninety and nine. Are they not enough for thee? But the shepherd made answer, This of mine has wandered away from me. And although the road be rough and steep, I go to the desert to find my sheep. Oh, but none of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed, nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through, ere He found His sheep that was lost. Out in the desert He heard its cry, sick and helpless and ready to die. I lift my hand up. Sick and helpless in sin. but had died and spent eternity apart from God. Lord, whence are those blood drops all the way that mark out the mountain's track? Oh, they were shed for the one who had gone astray, ere the shepherd could bring him back. Lord, whence are thy hands so rent and torn? Oh, the answer came back, they are pierced tonight by many a thorn. And all through the mountains thunder riven, and up from the rocky steep there arose a glad cry from the gates of heaven, Rejoice! I have found my sheep. And the angels echoed around the throne, Rejoice! For the Lord brings back His own. Oh, what a Savior and what a Shepherd that values you, loves you, and will celebrate, rejoice if you'll but come to Him. That's by our heads in prayer.