Meeting Jesus - Celebrating Forgiveness

Today, we are going to look at the story Jesus told about a man who went out searching for one of his lost sheep. If you remember getting lost as a child, you probably remember being a bit scared. 

Once my family was camping in a state park and at night, I got lost. I had spent all day swimming in the lake…and I stayed too long in the water…I left after it had started to get dark, and I got disoriented because nothing looked the same. The lights, campfires, camper lights through me off. I wandered from site to site trying to find my family.  Eventually, one of the Park workers helped me find my way back to our site. 

I knew I was in the campground. 

I knew I was near the lake. 

I knew I was along the road…

but I still didn’t know where I was because nothing seemed familiar. Being LOST stinks.  It is a terrible feeling. Keep that feeling in mind as we look at this passage of scripture.

Luke 15:1-7 (NLT2) 

1  Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2  This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! 3  So Jesus told them this story: 4  “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? 5  And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6  When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7  In the same way, 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! 

Did you see WHY Jesus told this story to teachers of Religious Law?

Look at verse 1-3 again.

Luke 15:1-3 (NLT2) 

1  Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2  This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! 3  So Jesus told them this story: 

People with questionable character were the ones filling the “rows of chairs” around Jesus.  But rather than celebrating that these people with “faults” were listening to the words of Jesus, the Pharisees chose to complain and focus on their faults.

RELIGIOUS PEOPLE FOCUS ON FAULTS NOT FORGIVENESS 

Jesus told the story to respond to the complaints the religious people were making about the type of people Jesus spent time with. The PHARISEES felt as though they had “cornered the market” on what God wanted.  The Religious leaders believed that if more people were just like them, the Jewish world would be a far better place.

And – they had a slang phrase that they used to classify the types of people who lived among the Jews but did not seek to follow the religious law.  They called them, “People of the Land.”  It was a derogatory term similar to ones we often hear today.

They were earthly people. People with no spiritual thoughts. They were low, ungodly, people of the land. They did not trust these people with money, they would not accept his eye-witness testimony, they would not trust him with a secret, travel with them along the road, or allow them to be a foster parent and take care of orphans. The Pharisees did their very best to NEVER be associated with the PEOPLE OF THE LAND.  So Jesus told them the story of a man who owned 100 sheep.

The man in this story owned 100 sheep.

He fed them daily.  

He led them daily.  

He protected them from thieves.  From cliffs.  From bad weather…

He was a SHEPHERD and that is what SHEPHERDS DO.

In our world today, we have a variety of values that people have:

 We have different political views…

We have different views on mask mandates, Student Loans, Government, and immigration.

We have different types of families…

We have different worldviews…

We turn on the News and guests are yelling at one another, instead of listening to each other. We live in a world that highlights the FAULTS with one another, rather than focus on what we agree on. If you are a follower of Jesus, you understand how divisive the world can be…you understand how divisive Christianity can be…when we choose to focus on the faults of other’s rather than the forgiveness Jesus offers. There are followers of Jesus who have a different view on controversial topics. In a world that BLASTS social media videos about “Karen’s” we need followers of Jesus to CELEBRATE FORGIVENESS.

When the Apostle Paul was writing to followers of Jesus in the letter to the Colossians, he said: 

Colossians 3:13 (NLT2) 

13  Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

The easiest way to live with an attitude of grace and forgiveness to others…is to remember one simple truth:

ALL PEOPLE BELONG TO GOD, BUT WANDER

I am not saying that all people are followers of Jesus – I am saying that all people BELONG to God.  

All people are His Sheep:

The stubborn ones.  

The scared ones. 

The lonely ones.  

The white ones. 

The black ones.  

The brown ones.

The conservative ones.  

The liberal ones.  

The terrorists.

The murderers.

THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS ones. 

The people you agree with and the people you avoid.  We all belong to God.  All 7 billion people on the planet.  Every person who has ever lived, and ever will live belongs to God.  

So if we ALL belong to GOD – why is the world in such a mess?  

Why are children abused? 

Why do some marriages end in divorce?  

Why is there cancer, childhood diseases, sickness, and death?  

Why do we struggle with loneliness, isolation, hurt feelings, pride and sadness?  

Why do we have division in politics, churches, and families?

The answer is simple and it is found in this story.

WE all BELONG TO GOD – but – we all wander. Even your sweet old grannie that read her bible every day, went to church, served in her community, and prayed for you daily – even she – wandered from God.

I grew up hearing stories of Mother Theresa.  She poured out her whole life feeding and taking care of the poor in Kolkata, India. 

Guess what she is? A Sinner. A Wanderer.

I grew up watching the evangelist, Billy Graham. He preached Jesus in over 185 countries and to over two hundred million people. 

Guess what he is? A sinner.  A Wanderer.

Joe Donahue? Sinner.

In fact, God described our WANDERING WAYS exactly like sheep in Isaiah 53:6 when he said 

6  All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.”

I gave my life to Jesus in 1991…but I did not stop sinning in 1991. I did not stop sinning when I accepted Jesus. I still have negative thoughts. I still have thoughts of lust. I sometimes say the right thing, the wrong way. I sometimes struggle to not say the things I want to say, and often fail to say the things the Spirit wants me to say.

A couple of years ago, Kristy and I were on an airplane flying back from Hawaii, I reclined my seat to rest.

So, I had my seat reclined the whole two inches, and I had my tablet out and I was going over the sermon that I was going to be preaching in a few hours, I was in my happy place. Nothing was wrong with my world.  I was going over the message – praying – experiencing the joy of God in my heart…with my seat reclined. After about an hour, a man seated behind me grabbed the top of my seat, pulled it back further and began yelling at me.  

Through his choice of vocabulary, He let me know that I was the rudest, meanest, most hateful person in the world.  He was repulsed that I had reclined my seat. He had his angry eyes on. You know how Mr. Potato Head has the ANGRY eyes you can pop in? That was him…along with his frowny face.  All I could think about was Mr. Potato Head. He had his angry face on, he was loud, and standing over me.

What I WANTED to say to Him and what I ACTUALLY said to him were two totally different things.  I won’t tell you what I wanted to say to him…but I will tell you what I said, “I am so sorry.  I wish you would have said something earlier.  My wife and I will raise our seats and we will not recline back any further.”

I could tell he was not expecting me to be kind.  It caught him off guard and he was still angry! He yelled another ten seconds or so, which felt like an eternity on the plane… and then he pointed at my tablet and the words on the screen and said, “And you’re reading that CHRISTIAN CRAP.”

I did not reply.  We raised our seats to straight up.  FOR.THE.NEXT.FOUR.HOURS.  and said nothing else to him. At the end of the flight, when I stood up, in a very meek voice the old man said, “Sir.  I am sorry for the way I spoke to you. I didn’t have to speak that way and I am sorry.”

I stuck out my hand, shook his, and said, “Don’t worry about it.  I forgive you.”

But what I wanted to say was – “Potato Head!” Then Ninja-poke him in the eye. I have not stopped sinning since I gave my life to Jesus – but I am forgiven.  My life has changed – I do GOOD works now.  I tell others about Jesus now. I try to sin less – but the reality is – I still sin.

If followers of Jesus were honest, we each would admit that we WANDER from God’s path as well.  Even if we consistently spend time with the Lord in the morning, we still wander away from Him during the day. There is a reason the old hymn contains the words, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it…”  Because we DO!

And IF followers of Jesus drift away from God’s paths – is it any wonder that the world is a messed up as it is? We are all colliding into one another like a wreck at NASCAR.  Some people get dinged, others get totaled.  

Sometimes, the church stops following Jesus in searching for the lost and begins to focus on petting the sheep.

BUT GOD NEVER STOPS SEARCHING FOR THE LOST! 

So…

LOWER THIRDS:

JOIN THE SEARCH PARTY TO CELEBRATE FORGIVENESS

This SHEPHERD represents GOD.  God loves PEOPLE. 

God loves the LOST.

God loves the BROKEN.

AND God puts his love into action and searches for PEOPLE to show his kindness to.  The reason Jesus often hung out with the outcasts of society is because he was searching for his LOST sheep. It was not to make a point; it was to make a difference and change lives. 

YOU and I must be intentional about joining God to search for lost people.  

Since followers of Jesus still sin, that even means sometimes we get evangelism and life-change wrong. We do not SHAME people to become a follower of Jesus. We do not try to CORRECT their rude behavior. That is the attitude that turns people away from the church and from God.  On that PLANE ride I could have jumped up and lectured the man behind me.  But the bible tells me to speak respectfully to older men as Fathers.

It is the HOLY SPIRIT that convicts lost people of sin.  When Jesus was speaking to his disciples about the job of HOLY SPIRIT after Jesus left, he said:

John 16:7-11 (NLT2) 

And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 

The HOLY SPIRIT convicts the world of sin.  

Not preachers.

Not Pastors.

Not followers of Jesus.

We don’t grab picket signs and shame people because of their behavior. 

It is our mission here at Beach Church to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

Be KIND. Show Grace and JOY.

FORGIVE quickly.

ACCEPT ALL.

You can accept others without compromising what you believe.  God accepted you and I and we were the worst of sinners! We must build relationships with those who have never received forgiveness for sins.  We laugh with them. We cry with them.  We hang out with them…so that we can LOVE them to Jesus, not to convict them of their sin.  

Join the search party as we celebrate the forgiveness of sins through our relationship with Jesus. 

Meeting Jesus - The Most Important Person In The Room

In 1998, I was in my final year and a half of school at Austin Peay State University.

During my college days, I was involved in multiple ministries. I was involved with FCA, the Navigators, and the Baptist Student Center. I was a volunteer at the church where I had surrendered my life to Jesus. I was leading the student ministry on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings. Back on the college campus, I was investing and discipling other younger men to help them to follow Jesus.

On top of all of this, I was still a college student and at one point I was working three jobs. The Baptist Student Center invited me to run for President of the Baptist Student Center. Since I was already involved in many ways on our campus I thought, “Why not? The title “President” would look good on a future resume. During my interview with the Campus Pastor and the other “officers” of the BSC. 

The Campus Pastor asked me, “Would you be willing to serve in a lower position if you were not selected to be President?” 

I stuttered for a moment and said “No.”  

The moment I said “No” I knew I was wrong. I knew it did not reflect the words that Jesus taught on leadership. But I refused to backtrack. I wanted the title of “President” because I wanted to be the most important person in the room. I was already ready serving in a variety of way on campus, and in my mind, the title of President would somehow give validation to what I had been doing and could impress other people in the future.

The rest of the story: I was not selected to be President.

For many followers of Jesus, we need to learn to tame the beast within us that growls, grumbles, and yearns for recognition. In today’s passage, Jesus tells us exactly who the most important person in the room always is and how we need to treat them to keep our relationship with him strong. Let’s read Luke 14.

Luke 14:7-14 (NLT2) 

7  When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 8  “When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? 9  The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! 10  “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11  For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” 12  Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13  Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14  Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.” 

The very first lesson I want us to draw out from this passage is extremely practical when it comes to our relationship with God and with people. Remember, Jesus communicated the two greatest things we could ever do is to Love the Lord with all of our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves. And one of the ways we can love our neighbor as ourselves “in life” is:

JOYFULLY GIVE OTHERS YOUR FAVORITE SEAT

This passage begins with a very comical scene.  A Pharisee threw a party and invited other religious leaders to attend. The chairs around the banquet table indicated how important the person was. The nearer you sat to the Head of the Table, the more prestigious and important you were.  The seats further away lost their significance. Each of the religious leaders wanted to get the most important seats near the head of the table. As I read it, I imagine all the guests are behaving like the three-stooges fighting over a chair. Poking others in the eyes, bonking others on the head, shoving one another…

It wasn’t just a few of these Pharisees who were fighting for the seats of honor look at verse 7…it was ALL the guests! Everybody wanted the best seat in the house. They all wanted to be “the most important person in the room.”

So, Jesus gave them some simple advice that we would do well to practice in life. Joyfully give others your favorite seat. In church, in life, at the movie theaters, in the grocery lines, in traffic, at sporting events…choose to allow others the “best seats” in the house.

If you have ever been a victim of a seat-bully in church, I am sorry. A seat-bully walks over to somebody and says, “You can’t sit there. That’s my seat.” I know I don’t have to say it about Beach Church, but I will.  Its okay to sit in another seat.  Our purpose is to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.  Everybody is always welcome to sit wherever they would like.

Joyfully, let other people sit in your seat. In life, that means:

Hold the door open for other people.

Spontaneously, volunteer to help carry heavy loads for others.

Wash the dishes.

Fold the laundry.

Fill the car up with gas.

Joyfully give up your time, your preferences, and your schedule for other people.

Wherever you go, develop the attitude that other people are always more important than you are. You don’t mind serving and sacrificing for others, because they are always more important than you are. Now, I am not talking about having a “low view” of yourself.  I am not talking about having a poor self-image or a low self-esteem.

If you are a follower of a Jesus, meaning you have come to a moment in which have a surrendered your life to Jesus because you believed that he died on the cross to pay the price for your sins, that he rose from the dead, and one day he will return, then you know who you really are.

You know you have been created by God.

You know you have been chosen by God.

You know you have been adopted into the family of God.

You know God has given you a gift to use to strengthen God’s family.

You know you are protected by God and the evil one cannot touch you.

You know you are blessed and highly favored.

You know God promises to provide for your every need…

And since your value and worth is not derived from what other people say to you or think about you…since you find your value through what God’s Word says about you. Then you know you can give up your “favorite seats” in life, because you do not need fame, recognition, or notoriety because you… have got JESUS!

This banquet was a party thrown by a religious leader and the invited guests were religious leaders.  This was a leadership event and they were all scrambling to get the best seats. If you are recognized as a leader in our community – please don’t lead like these Pharisees did.

THE BEST LEADERS EAT LAST

Not only did those closer to the head of the table receive honor and recognition, they also were the first people served food first and ate first. A few years ago, a leadership book hit the New York Times best sellers list and the title of the book was, “Leader’s Eat Last.”  The author described that in the military at mealtime, the higher your rank, the later you ate. And the commanding officers always ate last to make sure the people under their command were taken care of.

In verse 10, when Jesus said: 

“…take the lowest place at the foot of the table.”

He flipped the script on what the religious leaders perceived a leader to be.

• The religious leaders believed the best leaders took the best seats in the synagogues and at banquets. 

• The religious leaders believed the best leaders received recognition and greetings when they were in a crowd.

• The religious leaders believed that wherever they went, they were the most important person in the room. 

They would be served before anybody else. They would eat before anybody else would eat. They would be greeted first. So, Jesus used this banquet to teach them what real leadership looked like. Taking from others is not leadership. Leadership is measured by how you make people feel. Do you make people feel like they are the most important person in the room by the way you treat them?

Since you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you, let the fruit of the Spirit flow out of you:

Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT2) 

22  … the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23  gentleness, and self-control…

Lead others with love.

Lead others with peace.

Lead others with patience.

Lead others with kindness.

Lead others with goodness.

Lead others with gentleness.

Lead others with self-control.

Like many of you, our family has been under a great deal of stress. We have a lot of changes, a lot of madness we call life…and I blew it in some higher moments of stress.  Rather than responding with love, peace, gentleness, and kindness…I acted more like a selfish brat that didn’t get my way. And, I had to apologize.

Hey dads, remember that as you eat last and lead your family, you are going to blow it at times.  Show yourself grace and lead by apologizing.

We have talked about joyfully giving others your favorite seat, the best leaders eat last, and finally as followers of Jesus…Remember to:

BLESS THOSE WHO CANNOT BLESS BACK

Luke 14:12-14 (NLT2) 

12  Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13  Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14  Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”

Not only did Jesus challenge the religious leaders to view leadership differently, Jesus challenged them to party differently as well. If you were invited to a banquet, and you attended the banquet, it was expected that one day in the future you would reciprocate, throw a party, and invite the person that invited you. Now, the entire community – including the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind could attend as well.  If they showed up, they wouldn’t be turned away, but they were never invited.

Jesus now tells the leaders; stop only inviting people who can pay you back. Intentionally invite people who could never pay you back in a million years. If you want to receive reward from God, show kindness to those who can’t show it back.

A few years ago I received a call from a person in my family that was having a difficult time making ends meet and their electricity was going to be cut off.  I gladly got them caught up on their bill, and I set up auto-pay to pay their electric bill every month until they were able to take care of it themselves.

But I had one caveat.

I said, “I do not want to be paid back. This is not a loan. If you insist on paying me back, I am not going to do it.  I never want the expectation of being paid back to grow into a divisive wedge. So, that agreement lasted over six months until one day they called and said, “We are okay now. Thanks for being a blessing to us.”

As you follow Jesus, follow Jesus’ teaching in your life about kindness. 

Bless those who cannot bless you back.

Joyfully give others your favorite seat.

And remember, the best leaders eat last.