Well, I thought I was choosing a more familiar tune, at least. I thought it was for the beauty of the earth. But anyway, we can just think of it as continuing in the tradition that Sinclair has started by either using a hymn or a tune that we're unfamiliar with. So I wanted to make everybody feel as comfortable as if Sinclair were here as well. As David mentioned, we are continuing our studies in the parables and the theme that Sinclair has given this This series of studies is the sting in his tail, T.A.L.E. And when Sinclair was talking about the parables at the very beginning a couple of weeks ago, and he was introducing how Jesus tends to use the parables, he was talking about how Tiger Woods has this shot that he uses in the midst of a round that is plagued by heavy winds. And Tiger calls it the stinger. It's the shot that is a low driving shot that cuts through the winds to find its target and destination. And Jesus, oftentimes using the parables, does just that. He hits the stinger that cuts through the winds that are opposing the gospel right into the hearts of the hearers. That's what he does with these parables. Jesus is cutting through our resistance, the winds that we put up to oppose the gospel. And he's cutting right into the heart of the center. And he's revealing the heart to us. He's revealing who we really are, deep down inside. And he's titled this particular talk, Lost and Found. Now, sometimes Sinclair's titles that he gives, and he leaves town and he leaves you with this sort of vague title, or he has something specific in his head and creative. Oftentimes, he tells his secretary, Eve Huffman, When he's going over a particular series, he'll find a title of something that he titled a couple of weeks ago. That's a talk that's coming up in a couple of weeks. And I'll think to himself out loud to Eve, what in the world was I thinking with that title? Now, if he says that about his own titles, think about how we feel when we come to stand in his place to to talk about something that he's already entitled. But his title this morning is it's really crystal clear, lost and found. Our parable this morning comes from Luke chapter 15. You can find it printed in your in your order of service there, and you might know this chapter very well. Luke 15. It's it's the chapter where we find the prodigal son or, as I say, the two lost sons. And this is the beginning of that chapter where Dr. Luke conveys to us these three parables that Jesus tells. It's the parable of the lost sheep, which we'll look at today. followed by the parable of the lost coin, followed by the parable of the lost sons. So let's read from just the beginning of Luke, chapter 15, the lost sheep. Now, the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives centers and eats with them. So he told them this parable. What man of you having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it. And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me. For I have found my sheep that was lost, just so, or therefore, or because, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Last night, I played indoor soccer. It's something we started up here at the church. We play in the Family Life Center on Wednesday nights from 7 to 9. You all are welcome. But I was playing last night, and I'm 33 years old. Now, that doesn't seem old to most of you as I look around, but it's old to me. And I used to play soccer in high school. I played even in college in intramurals. But over the last 10 years, I've kind of put it on the back burner. I've kind of put all athletics, to be honest, on the back burner. But I was playing last night, and as I'm playing, I'm seeing moves that I ought to be making. I'm seeing holes that I ought to be taking the ball through and scoring. I'm seeing passes that I ought to be making. And my head conveys that to my body, but my body's about two and a half minutes behind my head. There's a disconnect there. Something's not connecting. My brain is telling me to move one direction, but my body is not reacting in the way it should. Jesus here is conveying what the kingdom is like, what Christians ought to be like, what the gospel of salvation of our Lord Jesus Christ is like, and there's a disconnect. The Pharisees don't get it. They fail to see it. The Pharisees ears are stopped up with their own self-righteousness and arrogance. And St. Clair has often told us that Jesus, before giving a parable, will oftentimes say, he who has ears, let him hear. It's actually what he says at the end of chapter 14 in Luke, right before he begins this parable and talking with the Pharisees. He who has ears, let him hear. Because Jesus recognizes that there's going to be a disconnect with some. with what he is saying and what people are perceiving or understanding. Jesus, again, is using this sting in his tail, T.A.L.E., to cut through the winds of opposition for those to hear, to hear. And Jesus not only wants the Pharisees to hear, but he wants Christians everywhere. In fact, he wants non-Christians as well. Hear what I'm saying to you. And what is it that Jesus is telling us in the midst of this parable, I think he's telling us four things, four things I want us to see from Luke chapter 15 today, the first of which is this. Jesus is compassionate in his person. Jesus is compassionate in his person. You see that the way it unfolds in the first two verses. of chapter 15, look there now, the tax collectors and sinners, the tax collectors, those those legally justified thieves. You'll remember who the tax collectors were, won't you? They're the Jewish people, the men who aligned with the Roman government to tax the Jewish people. And is it if that's not bad enough? that they are aligning themselves with the Romans, the ones who are oppressing the Jews themselves. If that's not bad enough, these tax collectors charge the people over and beyond what the Roman government requires. And the tax collectors, these legalized thieves, are stealing from their own people. These are the lowest on the rung of Jewish society. This is the dregs, even below prostitutes, people are the tax collectors. And here are the first people, the first verse of chapter 15, the people that are coming to Jesus, the tax collectors and then the centers, the ordinary run of the mill centers. Tax collectors, centers, and what are they doing? They're drawing near to Jesus to hear him. Now, where do I get the notion that Jesus is compassionate in the midst of that? Well, you notice what Jesus is not doing. It's very obvious he's not running off the tax collectors, he's not running off the sinners. In fact, the Pharisees accused Jesus of of eating with the tax collectors and the sinners. He's not running them off. He's not beating them with a stick. He's eating with them. He's compassionate in his person. Now, that doesn't mean Jesus, by doing that, is condoning their sin. It doesn't mean, as he's saying, sitting around the table, listen, you guys are all right. You're just fine. Stay the way you are. He challenges them, and you see that throughout the Gospels. You see the way he he takes the hearts of people and he reveals it. And he does that with the tax collectors and he does that with the sinners. But in going to them, he is compassionate. The very fact that Jesus, God with us, Emmanuel came to us to be with us. He didn't count equality with God, something to be grasped. But he he came to us. He condescended. He spoke in our language. He spoke clearly. He told us what was needed for salvation. He revealed himself. He even gave of himself completely and fully. He is compassionate simply by coming in, allowing the sinners to come to him. So for those who draw near to him, he is gentle in the way he approaches them. He recognizes that they recognize that they are sinners. The tax collectors recognize they were hated by all other Jews and the sinners would have been Completely demoralized and dehumanized by the Pharisees, those who kept themselves righteous by rules and regulations, by isolation, kept themselves in their minds righteous and acceptable. And Jesus is gentle with those sinners who recognize their need of him. But he's not just compassionate with the sinners. He's even compassionate in the way in which he deals with the Pharisees. After you read through the parables, you read through the Gospels rather, and the parables that you find there, Jesus is oftentimes attacking the Pharisees, challenging them on their self-righteousness. But think about if he didn't challenge them. Think about if he didn't tell the parables. Think about if he didn't concern himself with clarifying what the Pharisees have misunderstood. By Jesus telling these parables and and pushing in on the Pharisees hearts, he's even showing compassion in the midst of that for those who are drawn near to him. Yes, he shows compassion and he's gentle. But with those who stand off and isolate themselves and are self-righteous, he still is compassionate because he chases after them as well. And yet he's firm with them. That is not negate his compassion in telling them where they have it wrong. And isn't that oftentimes true with us? If we guard our hearts and hide our hearts, Jesus oftentimes, like a surgeon, has to cut to heal. And in that cutting, there is pain involved. But his ultimate purpose is to heal and it's compassionate. But he is wanting all of us to see him for who he is. And to see the grace of God found in him. Jesus is compassionate in his person. My question to you is, how do you approach people? How do you approach sinners? Do we oftentimes, as Christians, go to them and say, hey, listen up, buddy, let me tell you something. Here's your sin. Clean yourself up. Go and do something about it. Brush yourself off before you go to God. Or do we say, listen, brother, sister, I'm a sinner too. And I'm in desperate need of the grace of Jesus Christ, just as much as you are. Or do we find ourselves like the Pharisees, whether blatantly or recovering Pharisees, and find ourselves saying, listen, get away from me, that somehow I'll be tainted by your sin. Step away. I'm holy. I remember the story, I forgot the first time I heard it, it was about a church not unlike this one, traditional church, a church that had been established for some time, a well-to-do church, an affluent church. I remember the story of this young man, this young man in his early 20s who had piercings and tattoos and was dressed in a T-shirt and blue jeans when everybody else was in a suit. And the worship service had already started and the man walks down the center aisle. The young man sits down on the floor because all the other seats were filled. He sits down on the floor, Indian styles, legs crossed, just sitting there. And about two minutes later, this old man, well-dressed in his 80s, with a cane starts moving down the center aisle. My friend who told me this story, who was the pastor sitting up behind the pulpit, thought to himself, oh, no, what's going to happen? He's going to come down and nudge the guy with his cane and say, hey, buddy, take off. The old man makes his way down to the young man and he puts his cane down and he gently sits beside the young man. And he sits with him there the rest of the service. You see? You see? The old man knew that what's most important in this life is that sinners come to know Jesus. And we come in all different shapes and sizes, don't we? We come in all different backgrounds, with all different family histories. with various amounts of intelligence, with various amounts of upbringing. Some of us are pierced and tattooed. Some of us are in ties and suits. The important thing is, is we recognize that Jesus is compassionate in the way in which he draws people to himself. If we find ourselves claiming the name of Christ, we too ought to be concerned with compassion in our person. and showing the love and care of Jesus Christ. And that's what you see in those first two verses. The second thing I want us to see is that Jesus is relentless in his pursuit. Look in verses three through five and you'll see that he is relentless in the way in which he pursues people. Jesus tells this parable and in telling this parable, he's revealing something about himself. What man of you having a hundred sheep? Now, it's interesting here that he starts off in this trilogy of parables The lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost sons, he begins with talking about a shepherd and the Pharisees considered themselves shepherds. They were the religious leaders of the Jewish people. They were the ones for whom everybody else ought to be following. They considered themselves the shepherd in that sense. And Jesus uses this parable. It should be crystal clear to them. He's talking about what a good shepherd is like. And look what he says there. Verse four, what man of you having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety nine in the open country, better translated wilderness, and go after the one that is lost until he finds it. He is relentless in his pursuit until he finds it. It doesn't say that the shepherd went and if it was easy, he found the sheep. But if it got hard, he turned away and he went back to the ninety nine. It says he went and he found it. He looked until he found the sheep, until he finds it. He is relentless in that way and he's sacrificial in that way. This is the shepherd who goes out without the other sheep alone into the wilderness. It is sacrificial and the way in which he goes. That's not hard to understand as a Christian, as we understand the gospel, that Jesus is the one, again, who did not count equality with God, something to be grasped. But he came into our wilderness. He came here on Earth in the midst of a broken world in need of salvation. And he came to us. And he was relentless until he found us. He's relentless in his pursuit and it requires sacrifice, it requires something else. His pursuit is successful. It's successful. Look at the second half of verse four again until he finds it in verse five, and when he has found it. When he has found it. He goes. He's always successful. And bringing his sheep back. He's relentless. And it requires sacrifice, but he is always successful. But there's something else. Look at the end of verse five. And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders. You notice that the parable, the shepherd doesn't go to the sheep and say, OK, come on, give him a swift kick. He doesn't beat him all the way back to the 99. What does Jesus do? He picks the sheep up. He puts the sheep on his shoulder. And he carries it back. It's just a small part of this parable, but it screams that our salvation is not by our coming back to the Lord, cleaning ourselves off. It's not by flogging ourselves all the way back to the 99. It's by Jesus who takes the little helpless lamb and puts it on his shoulders Jesus does the work and what comes to you is grace and it is unmerited favor. And he carries it back to the fold. Jesus's relentless pursuit requires sacrifice, he is always successful and he provides salvation. I don't know how many of you have been watching the the Ken Burns documentary on the war. Ken Burns is the same man who did a documentary on the Civil War a couple of years ago and on baseball a couple of years ago as well. But his most recent documentary, The War, is fascinating to me. It's about 12 or 15 hours. I'm not sure I have a DVR. I'm still trying to get through it all. But one of the amazing things in watching this documentary about World War Two, and if you if you can watch it back to back in a consecutive order, the thing that impresses me the most is the amount of resource and sacrifice and energy and time and money that was put in by the Allied forces and the people, the citizens of that those countries. To what ended up being saving the world, fighting against evil, You realize how much energy and time and money and lives were spent. Impressed upon me in the gospel. With sacrifice and time and energy and life is put in to resisting evil and saving souls. It's an enormous, enormous endeavor. In fact, it's so large it took the Trinity. It took all the resources of God to bring salvation to us. God the Father gave up His Son, the Son gave up His life, the Holy Spirit orchestrated all that was coming to pass. The whole Trinity, all of God, every aspect of His being is involved in bringing salvation to us. There is time and energy and life that is put into your salvation and my salvation. There is nothing less than God in His complete person bringing salvation to any one sinner. And it's always successful. And it brings us to an understanding about Jesus. And for the Christian, there's a question. There's a question that needs to be asked in the midst of that. Will you stand in the way of all of the resources of God? Would you say in your heart of hearts that person can't come in here? God, would you ever save that person? That person is filthy. Would you stand in the way of the God of the universe who has seen salvation is such an important aspect that he would give his whole being to bringing it about? Would you stand in the way of that? Would you in the deepest, darkest parts of your heart say not in here, not that person, not ever? Or will you say, God, you have gone to such great lengths and such depths to not only save me, but save others. How can I help? How can I help? How can I help be like my Jesus and being a good shepherd and going out and finding one lost sheep? To the non-Christian, if you are here and you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ, let me tell you, God has gone to such great lengths to bring you home. Won't you come home? Won't you allow Jesus to carry you home? Won't you allow him to put you on his shoulders, to bear all that you are, all of your sin, all of your rebellion, and carry you back to the throne room of grace to present you to the Father? Won't you come home? It is what Jesus has been about. It is what he is about. It's what he reveals to us, even in the midst of this parable. He is compassionate in his person. He is relentless in his pursuit. And he is and always will be rejoicing over his prize, rejoicing over his prize. You notice what takes place as the parable continues. Verse five, and when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders. And what does he do? Rejoicing, he rejoices. And what does he do? And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Two points in this notion that Jesus rejoices over his prize. One is that the joy is intended to be corporate. Corporate. He calls all the people together. And what does he say? Watch me while I rejoice. No, he says, listen, rejoice. He throws a party. And it's not only intended to be corporate, the joy, but the joy is intended to be contagious as well. Look in verse seven. Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one center of repentance than over ninety nine righteous persons who need no repentance. We get the picture here. Dr. Luke is painting the picture for us that we as Christians ought to rejoice when one center is brought back. When one center is saved, we ought to be rejoicing. And that doesn't mean, oh, that's great. Praise God. That means we we rejoicing with the heart of our savior. Who who brings together people and rejoices over the fact that one has been brought back and we get this picture in this this window into heaven. You know, and it's not like this rubber stamp kind of rejoicing. One center comes back and the angels go, OK, I'm doing something else. Great. Rejoice. We're done. It's a continual rejoicing as people are being brought back to the heavenly father. as they're coming into the family. There's rejoicing that's taking place. And it's not a half-hearted rejoicing. And it's not a rubber stamp rejoicing. There's a huge party taking place. Now, there's a small football game tonight. I don't know if you've heard about it. It's the University of South Carolina versus Kentucky. University of South Carolina, last time I looked, was ranked 11. That's a miracle in and of itself and proves God's compassion. And Kentucky is ranked, I think, eighth. Is that right? It's going to be a big game. Now, what's going to happen in the midst of that game? Somebody's going to score, right? Now, USC fans are hoping that it's South Carolina and more so than Kentucky. But what's going to take place? Rejoicing. Now, if we can rejoice over a little football carried or caught by a little man that crosses over a thin white line Why is it that we are so reserved and are rejoicing over a center coming home? And you think about the football analogy as well. Thousands of people in the stands going crazy, absolutely nuts. And there'll be thousands of people watching it on TV going absolutely nuts. And all the time that people spend and energy and money to find parking spaces and food and tickets and time and shirts and pom poms and everything else. You see. As Christians, what are we spending our energy on our time, our money? Jesus is about bringing sheep home. Christian, what are you about? Are you rejoicing when it happens? Are you seeking to make it happen as well? Those are the first three points. He's compassionate in his person. He's relentless in his pursuit. He rejoices over his prize. There's one last point in this very quickly. He is razor sharp in his point. He is razor sharp in his point. At what point is he making? He's making this point. Pharisee, what you fail to realize is that every sinner is in the same boat and in need of the same thing. I remember being in St. Louis and I was going downtown. I had a meeting in a rather large building. And I'm allergic to physical activity for most of the time. And my appointment was on the eighth floor. So I decided to take the elevator. So I'm the first one on the elevator. I'm standing there. And of course, I find the corner like any sensible person. The next person on is this woman in her late 70s, early 80s, well-dressed. It's cold outside. She had a fur coat on. She had her pocketbook in hand, immaculately dressed. prim and proper. The next person on is a bike messenger. Earphones on, sweating. Quite frankly, didn't smell that nice. Stands right next to her. I'm watching the scene unfold. Next on is this woman with her two young children. There's an office building on the third floor of this building, an office on the third floor of this building that was for public services. She was heading to that office. And the doors closed and I'm watching this woman and what's going on in her head is manifested physically. She's pulling in and she's drawing in and she's scooting back and she's scooting over. Don't touch me. Don't get near me. The elevator stops in between the second and third floor. And for an hour and 15 minutes, we're stuck in this elevator. And this woman is standing off by herself, doesn't say a word, closed off with which just manifesting what's going on in her own mind. You see, the fire department came in from the third floor, they opened up the doors and reached down and pulled each of us out. The lady with her children. The bike messenger, myself. And the woman. We're all. in the same boat with the same needs. We all have rebelled against God. It doesn't matter whether you're the prostitute, the drug addict, the homosexual, the doctor, the lawyer, the prim and proper 80 year old woman who's gone to church her whole life. We all are in need of the gospel of grace. It comes to you not by any merit of your own, And Jesus underlines that point. He's razor sharp when he says at the end of this section about the lost sheep and verse seven, when he says this, there will be more joy in heaven. Over one center who repents. Been over ninety nine righteous persons who need no repentance. The question is, is there anybody who needs no repentance? The answer to the rhetorical question is a resounding no. We all are in need of the grace of God, and if you have a thin view of your sin, you will have a thin view of the grace of God. My friends, you must realize we are all sinners stuck in the same elevator of life, in the same condition, all in need of saving which cannot come from ourselves. but can come only outside of ourselves in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Won't you, as a Christian, open up your arms to sinners, seeking to bring them home on the shoulders of Jesus Christ? And if you are a non-Christian again, won't you come home? Won't you let Jesus carry you to the Father? A prayer is that for the Christian you will, and for the non-Christian, You will see and trust Jesus. Pray with me. Father in heaven, what an amazing thing it is that you have saved any of us. That you have shown us your grace through your son, Jesus Christ, that you have brought us home. Father, fill our hearts with rejoicing, not just because you have brought us home, but because you bring sinners home. They are your trophies of grace. and help us to align ourselves with the heart of Christ himself, to rejoice when sinners are brought home, to be as our good shepherd is, to draw other lost sheep to the shepherd, the one who is good and faithful, Jesus Christ himself. Father, forgive us for our own pharisaical hearts, where we find ourselves resisting your gospel of grace given to others. Forgive us, continue to work on us, continue to rehab us, continue to point us towards Christ. May we rest on him and him alone. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.