The Heart of a Godly Father | Adrian Rogers | Love Worth Finding

0:00 This is one big parable. It deals with the Father heart of God, the way that God looks at lost people, the way that God looks at sinners, and it is a parable of a lost sheep, lost silver, and a lost son. All of this makes one great big parable. And I want you to listen carefully, because it tells how God looks at you. HOW GOD FEELS TOWARD YOU, AND THEREFORE HOW YOU OUGHT TO FEEL TOWARD OTHERS, AND HOW YOU LOOK AT OTHERS. OUR MESSAGE TODAY, THE FATHER'S HEART. THERE'S NO PASSAGE IN ALL OF THE BIBLE THAT EXPLAINS THE HEART OF GOD THE FATHER, AND THEREFORE IS A HEART OF INSTRUCTION FOR EVERY FATHER, THEN LUKE CHAPTER 15.

0:55 LUKE CHAPTER 15, I READ THE FIRST THREE VERSES. LUKE 15, ONE THROUGH THREE, Then drew near unto him all the tax collectors and sinners to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them. And he spoke this parable unto them. Now let me give you the setting. Jesus Christ would eat and drink with unsaved people. He loved them. He kept company with them because he wanted to bring them to himself. He wanted them to receive forgiveness and redemption and salvation and freedom.

1:51 But the Pharisees hated Jesus for this. Now, you know who the Pharisees were. They were the religious crowd of that day, BUT THEY WERE SO SELF-RIGHTEOUS. AND IN THESE PHARISEES THE MILK OF HUMAN KINDNESS HAD CURDLED. AND SO THEY CRITICIZED THE LORD JESUS FOR RECEIVING SINNERS AND FOR EATING WITH SINNERS. AND BY THE WAY, IT DOESN'T TAKE MUCH SIZE TO CRITICIZE. THAT'S VERY EASY TO DO. AND EVERY CHURCH HAS ITS CRITICS. ONE LITTLE COUNTRY CHURCH, A PASTOR STOOD UP AND SAID, uh, Brother Jones, would you please lead us in a word of criticism? Uh, Brother Jones was known for that.

2:34 But Jesus is answering that criticism. Why does he keep company with sinners? And I want you to know before I even get into this message very deeply, I am so grateful that he does. So grateful that he does, because if he didn't, HE WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH ME. THANK GOD FOR A SAVIOR WHO RECEIVES SINNERS. NOW JESUS GAVE A PARABLE IN ANSWER TO THIS CRITICISM. SOMETIMES WE SAY THERE ARE THREE PARABLES, BECAUSE THERE'S THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP, THE LOST COIN, AND THE PRODIGAL SON. THEY'RE ALL IN THIS ONE CHAPTER. AND BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL IN THIS ONE CHAPTER, we say there are three parables. But if you'll look carefully, it doesn't say that Jesus spoke parables to them.

3:33 It says he spoke a parable to them. This is one big parable. It deals with the Father heart of God, the way that God looks at lost people, the way that God looks at sinners, and it is a parable of a lost sheep, SEEP, LOST SILVER, AND A LOST SUN. ALL OF THIS MAKES ONE GREAT BIG PARABLE. AND I WANT YOU TO LISTEN CAREFULLY, BECAUSE IT TELLS HOW GOD LOOKS AT YOU, HOW GOD FEELS TOWARD YOU, AND THEREFORE HOW YOU OUGHT TO FEEL TOWARD OTHERS, AND HOW YOU LOOK AT OTHERS. IN THE PARABLE WE SEE BASICALLY TWO THINGS. I WANT YOU TO GET IT. First of all, we see the sinful nature of man, and secondly, we see the saving nature of God. Do you have it?

4:29 Now, let's look as we look into this chapter and see, first of all, the story of the sinful nature of man. And first of all, he deals with the sheep. Look with me in verses four through seven. Jesus said, joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine righteous persons who need no repentance. When Jesus here is speaking of the sheep, he's teaching us that the chief characteristic of the sheep is weakness. Weakness. A sheep is weak and that illustrates a man without God. Now it's not MUCH OF A COMPLIMENT TO BE CALLED A SHEEP. HA, HA. WE HAVE SORT OF A OVERBLOWN IDEA OF SHEEP. BUT LET ME TELL YOU THREE THINGS ABOUT SHEEP. NUMBER ONE, A SHEEP IS STUPID.

5:54 THAT'S RIGHT. A SHEEP IS STUPID. A SHEEP IS DUMB. THAT'S THE REASON THE BIBLE SAYS IN ISAIAH CHAPTER 53, ALL WE LIKE SHEEP HAVE GONE ASTRAY. IF YOU'VE GONE TO THE CIRCUMST, KISS, YOU MAY HAVE SEEN A TRAINED ELEPHANT, TRAINED LIONS AND TIGERS, DOGS AND HORSES, BUT YOU'VE NEVER SEEN A TRAINED SHEEP. THINK ABOUT IT. DO YOU EVER SEE A SHEEP DOING TRICKS? HA, HA, AND YOU NEVER WILL. SHEEP ARE DUMB. AND THE BIBLE SAYS, ALL WE LIKE SHEEP HAVE GONE ASTRAY. A SHEEP IS SO EASILY HE'S EASILY LOST. THE HORSE WILL RETURN TO THE STALL. THE COWS WILL COME HOME.

6:50 THE DOG CAN FIND HIS WAY HOME. DID YOU EVER TRY TO GET RID OF A CAT? BUT A SHEEP, HE'LL NIBBLE HERE, HE'LL BROWSE THERE, HE'LL GO OVER HERE, AND HE JUST KEEPS GOING. BECAUSE A SHEEP IS DUMB, AND SO IS MAN WITHOUT GOD. NOW, I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE A PH.D. IT MATTERS NOT IF YOU ARE A ROCKET SCIENTIST, A philosopher, a scholar, the Bible says in Romans chapter 3 concerning spiritual things, there is none that understandeth. None that understandeth. Nicodemus was a very brilliant man. He was a master in Israel. He had his M.I. He had his master's degree, but he didn't have his B.A.

7:45 He wasn't born again. AND JESUS SAID TO HIM, ARN'T THOU A MASTER IN ISRAEL? AND UNDERSTANDEST NOT THESE THINGS? WHEN JESUS TALKED TO HIM ABOUT BEING BORN AGAIN. AND SO YOU MAY BE LISTENING TO ME TODAY. YOU MAY HAVE A HIGH I.Q. YOU MAY BE IN THE UPPER ECHELONS OF INTELLECTUAL SOCIETY, BUT LISTEN TO ME TODAY. YOU CANNOT THINK YOUR WAY TO GOD. YOU CANNOT THINK YOUR WAY TO GOD. THERE IS NONE THAT UNDERSTAND THAT THE BIBLE SAYS, NO, NOT ONE. AND THAT'S FOUND IN ROMANS CHAPTER THREE AND VERSE 11. SO FIRST OF ALL, A SHEEP IS DUMB. SECOND THING I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT A SHEEP, A SHEEP IS DEPENDENT. THAT'S THE REASON SHEEP NEED SHEPHERD. JESUS SAID He had compassion upon them because they were like a sheep without a shepherd.

8:45 A sheep without a shepherd, therefore, is going to be destroyed and devoured because he is so dependent. In his book, a shepherd looks at the sheep. Keller tells about a sheep and a condition that a sheep would get in that the English shepherds would call a cast, C-A-S-T, sheep. What would happen is this, that after the sheep would browse, the sheep would lie down, perhaps in a crevice or a hollow place there on the ground where there was a little depression. Maybe he would stretch his legs, and when he would, the center of gravity would shift a little bit, and he would roll slightly on his back. Trying to get up as he pawed, he would roll further on his back, And there the, the sheep would not be able to get his legs back on the ground because a sheep does not have that much agility.

9:39 And the sheep would paw frantically in the air and sometimes bleat trying to get up. But he could not get his feet back on the ground. That was what they would call a cast sheep. After a while the gases would begin to build up in the abdominal cavity. AND CIRCULATION WOULD BE CUT OFF TO THE LEGS, AND THAT SHEEP LYING THERE WOULD BE AN EASY PREY FOR VULTURES AND FOR COYOTES OR FOR WHATEVER PREDATOR MAY COME ALONG AND THE SHEEP WOULD LIE THERE AND DIE AND BE DEVOURED UNLESS THE SHEPHERD WOULD COME, COUNT HIS SHEEP, SEE THAT ONE WAS MISSING, GO OUT AND FIND THAT SHEEP AND PUT IT BACK ON ITS FEET. AND SO IT IS WITH ME, AND SO IT IS WITH YOU.

10:34 SO MANY TIMES I'VE GOTTEN MYSELF INTO A POSITION WHERE I WAS TOTALLY HELPLESS, HAD NOT THE SHEPHERD COME AND PUT ME BACK ON MY FEET. ISN'T THAT RIGHT? YOU SEE, A SHEEP IS DUMB, AND A SHEEP IS DEPENDENT. Tell you a third thing about a sheep. Not only is a sheep dumb, and not only is a sheep dependent, but a sheep is defenseless, defenseless. The sheep does not have the mechanism of defense. A horse can run. The bear can crush. The tiger can slash. THE SKUNK. WE KNOW WHAT HE CAN DO. BUT WHAT CAN A SHEEP DO? A

11:32 SHEEP IS NOT BUILT FOR FIGHT NOR FLIGHT. IT CAN'T RUN FAST. IT CAN HARDLY SWIM. A SHEEP IS A DEFENSELESS ANIMAL. I READ I read sometime years ago of some tourists in the Scottish Highlands. They were up on a mountainside and one man had some binoculars and he was looking across the valley to another mountain. He said, look, he said to the guide, is that a sheep over there on that ledge? And the guide said, yes, it is. He said, how did he get there? He said, well, it's the nature of the sheep in this area. They come down the mountainside browsing and grazing and they see a little grass and they keep going down and they'll drop from one ledge to another. And then sometimes like this sheep, they'll get on a ledge too narrow for them to turn around. And they cannot make their way back up the mountain.

12:27 THE TOURIST SAID, WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THAT SHEEP? THE GUIDE SAID THE EAGLES WILL GET HIM. IF YOU'LL STAY AND WATCH, YOU'LL SEE. AND SO THEY WATCHED, AND AFTER A WHILE THERE CAME A FORMATION OF FIVE EAGLES FLYING TOGETHER WITH A LEAD EAGLES. AND THEY SPOTTED THAT SHEEP THERE, THAT HELPLESS SHEEP THERE ON THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. AND THE LEAD EAGLES FELL LIKE A ROCK A ROCK UPON THE HEAD OF THAT HELPLESS SHEEP. THE SHEEP WENT TO HIS KNEES AND STOOD UP. AGAIN THE EAGLE CIRCLED AND CAME DOWN LIKE A ROCK UPON THE HEAD OF THE HAPLESS SHEEP. THAT TIME THE SHEEP WAS SO FRIGHTENED AND SO FRUSTRATED, IT TURNED AND TRIED TO TURN AROUND AND SCRAMBLE UP THE MOUNTAIN SIDE. OF COURSE WHEN IT DID, IT FELL FROM THE NARROW LEDGE AND PLUMMETED TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT GORGE HUNDREDS OF FEET was crushed and five eagles swept down and feasted on the body of that sheep.

13:29 The sheep was defenseless. I want to say also that you and I are totally defenseless against Satan's eagles. Do we not have a shepherd? And had we not a shepherd, we would be like that poor sheep devoured by those eagles. And that's the reason the Lord Jesus said to these Pharisees, You want me to tell you why I keep company with these people? You have criticized me for eating and for drinking with sinners, but I'll tell you why I do it. They're like sheep without a shepherd. And Jesus here spoke of the weakness of man without God. And then he gave another story that tells not only of the weakness of man without God, but it tells us of the worthlessness of man without God. Look in the second story here in verse 8.

14:26 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle or a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the peace that was lost. Now here our Lord no longer is speaking of the lost sheep, but he's talking of the lost silver. Not only the weakness of man without God, but the worthlessness of man without God. What good is a piece of silver? What good is a piece of money? If it's lost, it can't be spent, and it cannot be treasured. IT HAS BECOME UNPROFITABLE.

15:18 AND NOT ONLY DOES THE BIBLE SAY THERE'S NONE THAT UNDERSTANDETH, THE BIBLE ALSO TELLS US IN ROMANS CHAPTER 3 AND VERSE 12 THAT WITHOUT GOD WE'RE UNPROFITABLE. LISTEN, THEY'RE ALL GONE OUT OF THE WAY, THAT'S THE LOST SHEEP. THEY'RE ALL TOGETHER BECOME UNPROFITABLE, THAT'S THE LOST SILVER. THEY'VE ALL GONE OUT OF THE WAY. THEY HAVE ALL TOGETHER BECOME UNPROFITABLE. THERE'S NONE THAT IS GOOD, NO, NOT ONE. Now, why did God make you? Why did God create you? What is your purpose? It is to spend and be spent for him or to be a treasure for him, but you are not to be lost. And if you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, you're like a coin that is lost out of circulation, not doing the thing that you were meant to do and no good to your master. Now, I want you to see how this coin was lost.

16:12 First of all, it was lost in the darkness. LOOK IN VERSE 8, IN ORDER TO FIND THE COIN THE WOMAN HAD TO DO WHAT? SHE HAD TO LIGHT A CANDLE. SHE HAD TO LIGHT A LAMP. AND EVERY MAN, EVERY WOMAN, EVERY BOY, EVERY GIRL WITHOUT JESUS CHRIST IS LOST IN THE DARKNESS. JOHN CHAPTER 3, VERSE 19, AND THIS IS THE CONDEMNATION THAT LIGHT IS COMING TO THE WORLD, BUT MEN LOVE DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT, BECAUSE THEIR DEEDS ARE EVIL. But not only was it lost in the darkness, it was lost in the dirtiness. Not only did she light a lamp, but she took a broom and she began to sweep the house. What filth must have been on the floor for a woman to take a broom and have to sweep in order to find a coin? What a sloppy housewife.

17:06 Here's a woman, here's a woman who has to sweep the floor IN ORDER TO FIND A LOST COIN. WHY? BECAUSE IT WAS LOST IN THE DARK AND IT WAS LOST IN THE DIRT. AND AGAIN, THAT'S A PICTURE OF THESE PEOPLE THAT JESUS WAS KEEPING COMPANY WITH. AND IT'S ALSO A PICTURE OF YOU. WHEN YOU SAY, NO, PASTOR ROGERS, I DON'T LIVE A DIRTY LIFE. OH? WELL, YOU SAY, YES, I'M A VERY FINE PERSON. I, UH, I'M ONE OF THE BEST, UH, PEOPLE IN OUR I'M A MEMBER OF THE GARDEN SOCIETY. I'M A MEMBER OF THIS CLUB OR THAT CLUB. I'M A MEMBER OF THE LODGE. I'M A MEMBER OF THE PTA. I, I, UH, PAY MY TAXES. I GIVE TO THE RED CROSS. I'M A VERY FINE PERSON. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT THOSE THINGS THAT YOU CALL FINE? THE BIBLE SAYS, YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS, IS WHAT?

18:05 FILTHY RAGS IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS I'm not talking about your unrighteousness. I'm talking about the things that you count for righteousness, are as filthy rags in the sight of God. And so you may think you're brilliant, but God says, spiritually, you're stupid. You may think that you are moral, but God says, spiritually, your righteousness is as filthy rags. This coin, lost in the dark, lost in the dirt, and it was lost in disgrace, in disgrace. Now, why did Jesus said, look at it again here in verse 8, if you will. What woman having ten pieces of silver if she lose one? Why did Jesus say ten pieces of silver? Ten in the Bible is what? The full number, the complete number. Seven, the perfect number, but ten, the complete number.

18:58 Five and five, ten. Now, when a woman got married in this day, rather than a wedding ring, she was given a bandeau, a string of ten coins. Each one of those coins had her husband's name on it. And there was a ribbon that ran through the center of each coin because in each coin there was a hole. And those coins were strung to make a beautiful headpiece, a bandeau. It would be tied there. It would decorate her forehead. If you've seen pictures taken from ancient friezes and ancient art, you see pictures of women in the Middle East with ten coins across their forehead. That says that she is married, that she belongs to the one whose name was on those coins. But if she had been unfaithful, if she had become an adulteress, a coin would be taken out of the middle to show her faithlessness and she would live a life of disgrace.

19:58 Now you can understand why this woman having ten coins and she's lost one of them. She's searching diligently to find it because that would mean disgrace. And it is Satan's aim to make your life a disgrace to the God who created you, to the one who wants to be your husband spiritually. And here was a coin, lost in the dark, lost in the dirt, lost in disgrace. And Jesus said, these people that I keep company with, they're like that. I SEE THEIR WEAKNESS LIKE A LOST SHEEP. I SEE THEIR WORTHLESSNESS LIKE LOST SILVER. AND THAT'S WHY I KEEP COMPANY WITH THEM. THEN THE LORD JESUS WENT ON IN THIS STORY, AND HE SPEAKS ALSO NOT ONLY OF THEIR WEAKNESS AND THEIR WORTHLESSNESS, BUT HE SPEAKS OF THEIR WRETCHEDNESS.

20:58 LOOK, IF YOU WILL, IN VERSE 11. HE SAID, A CERTAIN MAN HAD TWO SONS, AND THE YOUNGER OF THEM SAID TO HIS FATHER, FATHER, GIVE ME THE PORTION OF GOODS THAT FALLETH TO ME. AND HE DIVIDED UNTO THEM HIS LIVING. NOW WHAT DID HE MEAN, GIVE ME THE PORTION OF GOODS THAT FALLETH TO ME? IN PLAIN ENGLISH, HE WAS SAYING, FATHER, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MY INHERITANCE NOW. WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO LEAVE ME WHEN YOU DIE, I'D LIKE TO HAVE IT NOW. IF YOU REALLY THINK THROUGH THAT, HE'S SAYING, I WISH YOU WERE DEAD. I wish you were dead. I don't want you. I want yours. He's like a lot of people today. They don't want God, but they want to breathe God's air. They want to eat God's food.

21:52 They want to walk on God's green earth. Some of them even want to live forever, but they don't want God. Give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. AND HE DIVIDED UNTO THEM HIS LIVING. THAT IS, HE SAID, ALL RIGHT, SON, HERE IT IS. AND HE GAVE HIM PREMATURELY HIS INHERITANCE. VERSE 13, AND NOT MANY DAYS AFTER THAT, THE YOUNGER SON GATHERED ALL TOGETHER AND TOOK HIS JOURNEY INTO A FAR COUNTRY. AND THERE WASTED HIS SUBSTANCE WITH RIOTOUS LIVING. WINE, WOMAN, AND SONG. HE, HE WAS HAVING A BIG TIME. on his father's money, on his premature inheritance. No God in his life, no father in his life. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land and he began to be in want.

22:46 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. Boys and girls, that's pigs, hogs. AND HE WOULD FAIN HAVE FILLED HIS BELLY WITH THE HUSKS THAT THE SWINE DID EAT. AND NO MAN GAVE UNTO HIM. AND WHEN HE CAME TO HIMSELF, HE SAID, HOW MANY OF MY FATHER'S HIRED SERVANTS HAVE BREAD ENOUGH AND TO SPARE, AND I PERISH WITH HUNGER. NOW OUR LORD IS SPEAKING NOT ONLY OF THE WEAKNESS OF THESE PEOPLE AND THE WORTHLESSNESS OF THESE PEOPLE, But he's speaking of the wretchedness of these people, and he's saying, this is why I keep company with them. Look at this boy, this boy now who's left his father's home. He's gone to the far country, some wicked city there where he can live his life high, wide, and handsome.

23:49 But soon his pleasure turns to poverty. And what is the mark of a man without God? First of all, it's a life of depression. He spent all, he spent all. What is Jesus telling us? Listen to me. Young people, listen to me. College students, listen to me. Businessmen, listen to me. The most costly thing in the world is sin. Is sin. When he had spent all, sin cost character. It cost influence. It cost reputation. IT COST TIME, IT COST HEALTH, IT COST LOVE, HOME, MONEY, IT WILL COST YOU YOUR SOUL. IT COST TO SERVE SATAN. IT COST EVERY DAY. IT COST EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. IT WAS A LIFE OF DEPRESSION. IT WAS A LIFE OF DEGRADATION. LOOK, IF YOU WILL, IN VERSE 15. THE BIBLE SAYS, AND WHEN HE'D SPENT ALL, HE JOINED HIMSELF TO A CITIZEN OF THAT COUNTRY, AND HE SENT HIM INTO HIS FIELDS TO FEED SWINE.

24:59 Ha, ha. Now, his friends were with him when he had plenty of money, but now his friends have deserted him. He has nowhere to go, and he gets a job now taking care of pigs. Jesus had a Jewish audience. In the Bible, a swine is an unclean animal. And I believe all of us would do better if we never ate any more pork, very frankly. I'll hear from the pork dealers.

25:27 The swine is an unclean animal. And a good, self-respecting Jew would never touch a pig, not with a ten-foot pole. And here is a Jewish boy, now down there not only feeding swine, but hungry enough to eat what the swine themselves fed on. In this day, if a man gets low, we say he's gone to the dogs. And that day, he's gone to the hogs. Here's a life of depression and a life of degradation. He's as low as he can get, it seems. But now it goes on also, a life not only of depression and degradation, but a life of dissatisfaction. The Bible says in verse 16 that he's hungry. He's hungry.

26:22 And what he thought would satisfy him has not satisfied him. And now he would fain fill his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. And what is our Lord talking about? Oh, friend, if you can only see it. Jesus is talking about the emptiness, THE EMPTINESS OF A LIFE WITHOUT GOD. NOW, PHYSICALLY, YOU MAY GO HOME TODAY TO A FATHER'S DAY LUNCH OF FILET Mignon, BUT IF YOU DON'T KNOW GOD, THERE'S A PART OF YOU THAT'S JUST LIKE THAT BOY DOWN THERE FEEDING ON THE HUSKS THAT THE SWINE DID EAT. THERE IS A HUNGER THAT CAN ONLY BE SATISFIED BY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. FRIENDS ALL AROUND ME ARE TRYING TO FIND. what the heart yearns for by sin undermine. I have the secret, I know which is found, only true pleasures in Jesus abound.

27:21 And so our Lord is saying what? Our Lord is saying, you want me to tell you why I keep company with sinners? They're weak, like a lost sheep. They're worthless, like a lost coin. They are wretched like a lost son. That is the sinful nature of man. And now turn it over. And I want you to see the saving nature of God. Because not only in this parable is man revealed away from God, but God is revealed. The Lord Jesus is teaching all of us what God is like. HOW GOD LOOKS UPON FALLEN, WRECKED, RUINED HUMANITY. AND YOU SEE GOD PICTURED NUMBER ONE AS A SHEPHERD LOOKING FOR SHEEP. YOU SEE GOD PICTURED NUMBER TWO AS A WOMAN SEEKING FOR A LOST COIN.

28:22 AND YOU SEE GOD PICTURED NUMBER THREE AS A FATHER SEEKING A LOST SON. NOW IN THE STORY OF THE LOST SHEEP, YOU SEE THE RESCUING NATURE OF THE SON. JESUS IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD. YOU REMEMBER WHAT JESUS SAID IN LUKE 19 VERSE 10, THE SON OF MAN IS COME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH IS LOST. THAT'S WHY JESUS CAME. JESUS SAID, I'M THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Why did Jesus leave the glories of heaven and come to the agonies of earth to seek the lost? Why did Jesus leave the golden streets of glory and walk the dusty streets of Galilee to save the lost?

29:22 Why did Jesus leave his scepter of righteousness and come and take a wilted reed in his hand as they mocked him? To seek the lost. Why did the Lord Jesus Christ leave his diadem of glory and wear a crown of thorns? The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. Why did Jesus settle Calvary's dust with his blood? the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. The Lord Jesus is seeking you today. If you're listening by television, Jesus is seeking you. If you're here as a guest today and you just thought you were coming to a worship service, God put this message on my lips and in my heart as a message to you that Jesus Christ today is the good shepherd.

30:16 You're the lost sheep and Jesus Christ today is seeking you. The lost sheep and the good shepherd pictures God the Son. But the lost coin and the woman pictures God the Holy Spirit. Because you also here have a picture of the Holy Spirit of God. Notice, if you will, in verse 8 of this wonderful, wonderful story. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she find it. What is the job of the Savior? To seek the lost. But what is the job and the duty and the ministry of the Holy Spirit? Twofold.

31:05 First of all, there is a ministry of enlightenment. This woman lights the light. You see, before I, before I preach today, I got down on my knees and I prayed, oh God, help them to understand. Why? Why? Because I can preach truth, but only the Holy Spirit can impart truth. He's the light. He is the light. The woman lights a lamp. and then not only does she light a lamp, she takes a broom and begins to sweep. You see, that's the ministry of the Holy Spirit, enlightenment and disturbance. To stir it up, to stir up your heart that you might come to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.

32:04 So many people who are lost come to church on Sunday morning. BUT THEY NEVER STIRRED, THEY NEVER MOVED. AND I'LL TELL YOU WHY, IT'S BECAUSE THOSE OF US WHO KNOW GOD AND UNDERSTAND GOD DON'T PRAY FOR THAT DIVINE DISTURBANCE. EVERYBODY WITHOUT JESUS OUGHT TO LEAVE A SERVICE DISTURBED. ISN'T THAT RIGHT? OR ELSE GET SAVED, GET SAVED. THAT'S THE JOB, THAT'S THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, ENLIGHTENMENT AND DISTURBANCE. SHE LIGHTED A LAMP, SHE TOOK A BROOM. You see, in this, in this parable, you have a picture of God the Son seeking. You have a picture of God the Holy Spirit enlightening, disturbing. But thank God, you also have a picture of God the Father receiving. There's the rescuing nature of the Son. There is the revealing nature of the Spirit.

32:59 And there's the receiving nature of the Father. There's the receiving nature of the Father. Now here's the picture. THIS BOY HAS GONE OFF. I MEAN, HE IS AWAY. HE'S AWAY FROM THE FATHER. THE FATHER'S SITTING THERE. I CAN SEE HIM ON THE VERANDA, THE FRONT POACH OF THE OLD HOUSE. AND, UH, AND HERE THERE'S NO, HE GOES TO CHECK THE MAILBOX AGAIN. HE HADN'T HEARD FROM THE BOY. OH, MA, WHERE DO YOU THINK OUR BOY IS? DO YOU THINK HE'S SAFE, MOTHER? OH, I WISH HE'D COME HOME. I WISH WE COULD HEAR FROM OUR BOY. He's been gone so long. I don't know whether it was one, two, three, five years. I don't know. But here's the prodigal now. He's down in the hog pen. He begins to think. He says, even the hired servants of my father are better off than I am. I perish with hunger and they're well fed.

33:56 Then he made a decision. Oh, how I pray God you'll make it today. Do you know what he said? He said, I will arise and go to my father. I WILL ARISE AND GO TO MY FATHER." NOW WILL GOD THE FATHER RECEIVE HIM? I WANT YOU TO SEE THE PICTURE. HE BEGINS, HE POINTS HIS HEART TOWARD HOME. THERE'S THE FATHER SITTING ON THE FRONT PORCH OF THE HOUSE. HE'S LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD A LONG WAY. BUT THE BIBLE SAYS WHEN HE WAS YET A GREAT WAY OFF, HIS FATHER SAW HIM AND HAD COMPASSION ON HIM AND RAN TO MEET HIM. HIS FATHER SAW HIM. THAT MEANS HIS FATHER WAS LOOKING FOR HIM. HAD COMPASSION. THAT MEANS HIS FATHER LOVED HIM. HA, HA. AND IT SAYS THAT HE RAN TO MEET HIM. DO YOU KNOW IN THE BIBLE YOU NEVER SEE GOD IN A HURRY?

34:52 GOD IN THE BIBLE, NEVER AHEAD OF TIME, NEVER LATE, HE MOVES WITH DELIBERATE MAJESTY. BUT THIS IS ONE TIME YOU SEE GOD IN A HURRY. I want you to see the old man as he gathers up his robe. And it's the old man running down the road to meet this son. And the Bible says, and when he saw him, he fell on his neck and kissed him and said to his servants, PUT A RING ON HIS HAND, PUT SHOES ON HIS FEET, PUT A ROBE ON HIS

35:27 BACK, AND KILL THE FATTED CALF. WE'RE GONNA HAVE A PARTY. THIS, MY SON WAS DEAD AND IS ALIVE AGAIN. HE WAS LOST, HE'S FOUND! AND THEY BEGAN TO BE MARRIED. WHAT'S JESUS TALKING ABOUT? JESUS SAID, YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU WHY I KEEP COMPANY WITH SINNERS? THEY'RE WEAK LIKE A LOST SHEEP. THEY'RE WORTHLESS LIKE A LOST COIN. THEY'RE WRETCHED LIKE A LOST SON. BUT LET ME TELL YOU WHAT GOD IS LIKE. THERE'S THE RESCUING NATURE OF GOD THE SON. THERE'S THE REVEALING NATURE OF GOD THE SPIRIT. AND THERE'S THE RECEIVING NATURE OF GOD THE FATHER. AND I WANT TO SAY ON ON THIS FATHER'S DAY, THERE IS A HEAVENLY FATHER WHOSE ARMS ARE WIDE OPEN TO ANYBODY WHO WANTS HIM, ANYBODY WHO SEES THEIR NEED OF HIM, ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO BE SAVED. GOD WILL SAVE YOU, I PROMISE. I MAY BE SPEAKING THIS MORNING TO SOMEONE WHO THINKS THAT YOU'VE GONE TOO FAR, BUT I WANT TO TELL YOU, YOU HAVE NOT.

36:44 YOU SHOW ME ANYTIME, ANYPLACE, ANYWHERE WHERE ANYBODY COMES TO GOD AND HE DOESN'T SAVE THEM, I'LL CLOSE MY BIBLE AND NEVER PREACH AGAIN. FOR THE BIBLE SAYS, WHOSOEVER WILL MAY COME. AND JESUS SAYS, HIM THAT COMETH UNTO ME, I'LL IN NOWISE CAST OUT. ISN'T THAT A WONDERFUL STORY? A WONDERFUL STORY. AND GOD BROUGHT YOU HERE TODAY TO HEAR IT. BOW YOUR HEADS IN PRAYER. HEADS ARE BOWED AND EYES ARE CLOSED. I WONDER HOW MANY TODAY COULD SAY, PASTOR ROGERS, I KNOW THAT I'M SAVED AND I KNOW THAT I KNOW IF I DIED TODAY I'D GO STRAIGHT TO HEAVEN. WOULD YOU LIFT UP YOUR HAND? THANK YOU FOR THAT. TAKE IT DOWN. NOW IF YOU DON'T KNOW IT FOR CERTAIN, TODAY IS THE DAY, IF YOU WOULD PRAY A PRAYER LIKE THIS, GOD, I'M A SINNER AND I'M LOST AND I NEED TO BE SAVED. JESUS, YOU DIED TO SAVE ME. YOU'RE THE GOOD SHEPHERD. YOU GAVE YOUR LIFE FOR THIS LOST SHEEP. I BELIEVE YOU DIED FOR ME AND I BELIEVE IF I'LL TRUST YOU TODAY, YOU'LL SAVE ME. IF YOU'LL TRUST HIM, HE WILL SAVE YOU. THE BIBLE SAYS, BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED. FATHER, I PRAY THAT TODAY MANY, MANY, MANY WILL SAY YES TO CHRIST. HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD, DO YOUR WORK TO ENLIGHTEN AND TO DISTURB AND TO APPOINT PEOPLE TO GOD THE FATHER. IN JESUS' NAME.