Really appreciate that. Please have a seat. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Len.
I have the privilege of Serving here at Lifeline Community as Director of Vocation and Pastoral Care. And it's my privilege to bring the Word of God this Thanksgiving Sunday morning. I want to welcome all of you who are present here. And those who are online. When I Entered Columbia Bible College, now Columbia International University, as a freshman.
back in the Dark Ages, 1966. We were without a president. During my time there Uh Columbia. Robertson McQuoken was called to serve as President. a position he held for 22 years.
In nineteen ninety, He resigned. He resigned to government. who was in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. His resignation speech was very brief. As I begin to share what the Lord has placed on my heart for our consideration this morning.
I would like to have us listen carefully to what President McClokin. Said. as he began to conclude his resignation speech. The decisions I've had to make is this one because circumstances dictated it. Muriel?
Now Uh in the last couple of months. Seems to be almost happy. When with me? and almost never happy.
Well not with me. In fact, She seems to feel trapped. becomes very fearful.
Sometimes almost terror. And when she can't get to me... There could be anger. She's in distress. But when I'm with her?
She's happy and contented. And so I must be with her at all times. You see, it's not only that I promised. in sickness and in health. Till death do us part.
And I'm a man of my word. But as I have said, I don't know with this group, but I've said publicly, it's the only fair thing. She sacrificed for me. For 40 years? To make my life possible.
So. If I cared for her. For 40 years. I'd still be in debt.
However, There's much more. It's not. that I have to So that I get to. I love her very dearly. And you can tell it's not easy to talk about.
She is a delight. It's a great honor to care for such a wonderful person. person. Yeah. Did you catch what he said?
Near the end of his Resignation speech. Caring for his wife, Muriel, was not something. He had to do. It was something. He got to do.
As we prepare to launch into this morning's message, I'd like to ask that we pray together, please. Our Father, we recognize Our absolute dependence. Upon your Holy Spirit. to teach us. We thank you that you have given us your Holy Spirit to teach us and to guide us into all truth.
We pray, Lord, that as We consider truths from your word this morning. That your Holy Spirit would apply them to our hearts as needed. And we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. As Christ followers, there are many things that we.
Have to do. There are many things that we get to do. We get to read and meditate. and memorize The Word of God. We get to converse with our Heavenly Father in prayer.
We get to meet and to fellowship and to worship with others. of our Lifeline community. We get to serve. We get to give. This Thanksgiving Sunday morning, I would like to have us very carefully and prayerfully consider together What we out of a grateful heart Out of a heart of gratitude.
Get to do. When meeting with Brian a few weeks ago, We were discussing the message. And he came up with a brilliant idea. He thought. You know?
The title for your message could be From gratitude. To Getitude. I thought that was brilliant.
Now the Their preliminary slide had already been prepared.
So I didn't ask the person who had prepared it for us to change that. But that's what we're going to consider together this morning. From gratitude To get a tude. Since returning from his sabbatical, Brian has been both challenging and reminding us. That there are a number of things that we, as Christ followers, Get.
to do. This morning. I'd like us to consider together how we out of a heart of gratitude Out of a grateful heart, Get to share Christ. We get to share him. with those who so desperately need him.
From gratitude To get a tude. If you ever have the privilege of visiting our nation's capital, You're likely to see the Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building. But there's this one little side trip. into northern Virginia. That may be the most humbling stop you'll ever make.
It's Arlington National Cemetery. A long Throughout the acres. of Arlington National Cemetery. We see white crosses one after the other reminding us as Americans of the high price. that has been paid.
for our freedom. And that price is is beautifully illustrated. In the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with the Changing of the Guard. Tomb Guard Sentinels are from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment.
and they are the elite of this old guard. Mm-hmm. These sentinels Are there regardless of the weather? It matters not what the weather is like. They are there.
The relief commander orders the relied sentinel Pass on. Your orders. The sentinel who is being relieved says. Post and orders Remain as directed. to which the newly posted sentinel replies Orders Acknowledged.
In other words, These orders remain unchanged. Since this duty began decades ago, the orders have not changed. They have always stayed The same. Two thousand years ago. Overlooking Jerusalem.
Jesus gave his final orders to eleven men. He was entrusting a mission that cost him his life. The Word of God records Jesus' words in Mark 16, 15, Go into all the world. And proclaim the gospel. to the whole creation.
The orders Jesus gave to his first.
Soldiers were very clear. And they have been passed down to you. And me. The orders remain unchanged, even if the world we live in. is very changed, and it is.
We need to grasp that obeying these unchanging orders is not something. We have to do? It is something We get to do. Today, those of us who belong to Jesus are surrounded by battles, and we know this. Pornography, abortion.
family disintegration. Immorality in the media, crises of character, in the lives of religious leaders. crises of character in the lives of our political leaders. crises of character in our culture. In a word.
crises in our nation that has forgotten God. And that's just beginning. As believers, as Christ's followers, We need to understand that this is a time for action. It feels as if both armies, the armies of light, and the armies of darkness are fully mobilized. For what may be some of the last climactic battles for people's lives.
So Which battle shall we fight? And what weapons? Shall we use? I have been personally impacted. by the fact that our master's orders remain unchanged.
Go into all the world. and proclaim the gospel. to the whole creation. How did the first century believers do this? How did they do battle against the evils of their day?
People torn apart Buy Animals for Sunday afternoon entertainment Christians burned as torches in Nero's gardens. We find these first century believers totally committed. Totally focussed on. Presenting Jesus Christ. wherever they went.
And City after city. was rocked. by the impact of these believers who knew their orders. and understood what it says in Romans chapter one, verse sixteen. The Gospel Is the power of God for salvation.
Cultures are changed. When individuals are changed, By Jesus. from the inside out.
Now, we do need to be. Saw and light wherever God puts us. And we need to stand against what breaks God's heart. But we must never let our primary resources go to that which will at best. Bring about Only temporary change.
and leave people perhaps living better. But still headed for a hopeless Eternity separated from God. Our new only new creations will change. A dying culture.
So, as the orders have passed from Jesus to his first soldiers and eventually down to us through the centuries. Our master's orders. remain unchanged. And sharing the gospel, sharing Christ. is what we get to do.
out of a grateful heart. I invite you to please turn in your Bibles or on your devices to Luke chapter 15. If you do not have a Bible, You will find one on the chair in the row in front of you. You are welcome not only to use it. But to take it home.
It is our gift to you. And for those of you who would like. To follow along, outlines of this morning's message are located in the pockets of the chairs in the row in front of you. Have you ever been lost? On a previous occasion I shared with you how uh several years ago.
Our youngest daughter and I went to a basketball game, a high school basketball game. It was an away game. We had not been to that school before. When we came out of the game, we were in the midst of a typical upstate New York Blizzard. We didn't know How we were going to get home.
We didn't know the roads. We didn't have GPS. We didn't have MapQuest. We had a road atlas. And so we began to drive in a direction that we thought was correct.
We had to stop several times to look at streets if we could read or roads and try to read where we were. We prayed together more than once. We eventually found our way home as we traveled east to where we lived. But being lost can be very frightening. Many people with whom we come in contact, whether in our family, in our life, our work, or elsewhere.
are lost spiritually. We are surrounded by people. who are spiritually lost. During the COVID pandemic, I saw a commercial that really impacted me. This commercial stated that many people were quote unquote.
Listen to this. Afraid to live, Afraid to die. That was not only true of the time of the pandemic. It's still true today. We are surrounded by people.
Who are afraid to live. Afraid to die Our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ has left us orders. These orders remain unchanged. Even if The World We Live In is very changed. Why should we obey these unchanged orders?
Not only because we should. Or because we ought to or because we have to. But because we get to. Out of a grateful heart. Out of a heart of gratitude.
We get to share Christ. From gratitude To get it. and I give credit where credit is due. To Brian. or that expression.
Reasons To share Christ. Reason number one. Because lost people Matter. to God. Example number one.
The Lost Sheep. From Luke chapter 15. Verses one through seven.
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners 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? I tell you. There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. then over ninety nine righteous persons, Who need? No repentance.
What is lost? A sheep. How did it get lost? It wandered away. Over time, The sheep simply lost its way.
It now finds itself in a hopeless and helpless situation with no way of finding its way back. Without help. It will Die. This describes the condition. of many people.
in our personal world. What do we learn about the shepherd? First of all, we learn that he believes one sheep. is worth searching for. He considers no trouble.
No sacrifice no suffering too great to find the lost sheep. And bring it back. What do we learn about the shepherd? He finds great joy. in its recovery.
He calls his friends and neighbors. to let them know. He is found. The sheep. That was lost.
Reasons to share Christ Because lost people Matter to God. Example number two. The Lost Coin Verses eight through ten. Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she finds it? and, when she has found it, She calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me.
where I have found the coin that I had lost. Just so. I tell you. There is joy before the angels of God. Over one sinner Who repents.
What is lost? A coin. This coin was of great value. to this woman. How did it get lost?
It took a series of wrong turns. It was most likely dropped accidentally. As it was accidentally dropped, it took one wrong turn after another after another until it was lost. It now finds itself totally helpless and hopeless, ever. to be found.
This describes the situation of many people. in our personal world. Sin will take us further than we ever intended to go. And keep us longer. than we ever intended.
to stay. What do we learn about the woman? We learn, first of all. That what was lost. Add value.
The issue to this woman was not how. the coin got lost, but that it was lost. and that it must be found. It was of great value. to her.
What else do we learn about the woman? A thorough search had to be made. She lights a lamp. She sweeps the house, She undoubtedly moves furniture. She searches carefully and diligently.
She does not give up. Until she finds it. What else do we learn about the woman? She finds great joy. in its recovery.
When she finds the coin, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me. for I have found the coin. that I had lost. Reasons to share Christ Because lost people Matter. to God.
Example number three. Beginning in verse 11. And he said, There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. and he divided his property between them.
Not many days later the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country. and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country. And he began to be in need, so he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country. who sent him into his fields, to feed pigs.
And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate. and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread? but I perish here with hunger. I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants. And he arose and came to his father, but while he was still a long way off, His father saw him and felt compassion and ran and embraced him. and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servants, Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost.
and is found. And they began to celebrate. We'll stop right there. What is lost? A son.
How did he get lost? By his own wilful choice. The son finds himself. in this situation because he determined to go his own way. He selfishly thought.
He knew what was best. and he finds himself in dire straits. This describes the circumstance of many people. in our personal world. What do we learn about the Father?
We learn. He waits. with an unexpected Response. For me, this passage is one of the most beautiful. in all the word of God.
And the first song we sang today speaks of this. Imagine with me. The Father We know from this passage. that he was looking for his son. Because when the sun returned He saw him.
So he had been looking for him. Undoubtedly, day after day after day, waiting for his son to come home. And one day He sees him. He doesn't sit down. outside his house and wait for his son to get there.
He runs out to him. He embraces him. He kisses him. He welcomes him. There have been times in my life where I have needed the father.
To be looking for me. And to run to me. and embrace me. Have you ever found yourself in that situation? We may be Any of us here today?
may be in a situation where we need to Come. To the Father. And these verses are telling us that he's looking for us. to come to him. And when we come to him, he will embrace us.
and love us And as it says in Isaiah, we are precious to him. And he will embrace us. Maybe there are some here or listening. That need to Return. to the Father.
We have walked away from him. And we need to return to him. Take heart from this These beautiful verses. The Father is looking for us. He is looking day after day after day.
And when he sees us. He will run to us. And embrace us. And hug us and chris and kiss us. Because We are precious.
to him. The son returned. Believing And rightly so. That he was not even worthy to be called. The Son of the Father.
He only wanted to be a slave. But the father responded with immediate and swift compassion and forgiveness. And that's how he receives us when we either come to him. Or return to him. What else do we learn about the Father?
His forgiveness is complete. The Son does not need to pay for his sin. He does not have to go through a period of probation. He does not have to be a slave. He is immediately and swiftly reinstated as a son.
The father extended full. and complete pardon to his son. What else do we learn about the Father? He finds great joy in his son's recovery.
So much so. Daddy Throws a Party. How should we respond? To what we have been considering together this morning. Understand.
That lost people should matter to me. Because lost people. Matter. to God. Reasons to share Christ.
Reason number one. Because lost people Matter. to God. Reason number two. Because of our Mandate.
Over the years, the first time we had a very good idea. I've had the privilege. I guess you could say it that way. of driving In the state of New Jersey. Or could be called a state of confusion.
I've had the privilege of driving in the city of Barcelona. In Spain. And just By way of understanding a little bit. When we lived there, between seventy six and eighty seven. There were ten thousand more cars than parking spots.
in the city of Barcelona. You can only imagine what that was like at night. I tell people I never knew how to drive. until we went to Spain. Then I had the privilege of driving in New York State, upstate New York, in the country.
And now You know. I've there. Privilege of driving in Utah.
Now I learned something in Utah that I did not know before. When the light turns yellow. It means gun it. And try to beat the red light. Or if you don't, just go through it.
Last week. I was with a friend. We are driving here. I was the passenger. And We came upon A red light.
He gunned it. Went right on through. I said, man. You're gonna kill us. Don't do that.
Ah, my brother does it all the time. We continued, came upon another red light. Same thing. He gunned it. Went right on through.
I said, man, don't do that. He said, it's okay. My brother does it all the time. We came to a green light. And he slammed on the brakes.
I thought we were going to get rear-ended. I said, what are you doing? He said, my brother might be coming from the other direction.
Now, for those of you who don't know me too well, that's a joke, okay?
Now Traffic laws. Are not Optional suggestions. They are not recommendations. that we can choose to obey or ignore. They are required.
mandates. Our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. Gave A mandate. This mandate is repeated in all four Gospels and in the book of Acts. It is not open for debate.
It's not something that we can take as a suggestion or a recommendation. It is something that we are to obey. And we need to get beyond The thinking that We ought to obey this. We should obey this. We get.
to obey it. We get to share Jesus Christ. Out of a heart of gratitude. Out of a grateful heart. From gratitude To get itude.
Reasons to share Christ. Because lost people matter to God and Because of our mandate. In Matthew chapter twenty-eight, verses sixteen through twenty, Jesus declares. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore.
And make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always. To the end. of the age.
In Mark 16, 15, we read that He, Jesus, said to them his disciples Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel. to the whole creation. Luke 24, verses 45 through 49 read. He, Jesus, opened their minds, that is, the minds of His disciples. to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead.
and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name. to all nations. In John 20. twenty one. Jesus said to them His disciples again Peace be with you.
as the Father has sent me, even so. I am sending you. In Acts chapter 1, verse 8, Jesus declared to his followers. It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed. By his own authority?
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. and you will be my witnesses. To the ends of the earth. These words that are repeated. five different times.
Tell us how important This mandate is. They are expressed in different words. And recorded differently in the four Gospels and in the book of Acts. But in essence they are saying this which can be summarized in five words. Go.
Make disciples. Baptize Teach. How should we respond to what we have been considering together this morning? Make certain. Make certain.
Our life counts. Make certain. We are equipped. to impact others. Make certain We impact our world.
Christ. Make certain. We reach people. For Christ. By way of making it personal.
We must understand that lost people should matter. To me? Because lost people matter. to God. In the past, I have shared with you how I have been personally impacted by.
What could be called The three open prayer. Lord Open a door. Lord, open their heart. Lord Open my mouth. And as God answers this prayer, a prayer that He delights to answer.
We get to share. Our story Or as it used to be called, our testimony. Our story of our life before Christ. Shared appropriately. The turning point where we were saved by the grace and mercy of God, And then my life.
After Christ. Entered. My life. A few weeks ago, Brian shared how They were returning from Jordan. And he was kinda tired.
Got on the airplane and he would Would love to have just sat there. Put the earbuds in, fall asleep. But God Just kept pricking his heart, wouldn't let him do that. And he ended up in conversation, I believe he said, with a with a young lady. Hope and I recently went to Virginia for a counseling conference.
And Uh I always let Hope sit by the window so she can see out because chances are I'm going to fall asleep anyway.
So she was by the window and I was in the middle seat. A gentleman about my age, Cain? and asked if the seat was occupied, and I said no. And inside I'm thinking, oh great. I'm gonna have to talk to this guy.
uh earphones and so on and I thought, Oh, good. Hmm. He's let me know he doesn't want to talk.
Well, after a while He took his earphones off. And I'm thinking. Lord Open a door. Lord, open his heart. Lord Open my mouth.
But if you don't want to answer that prayer, that's okay.
Well We began to talk together. And I was able to share my story. And we had a really nice conversation together. about Jesus. Last week.
Got a letter. From Dave Email. He said, thank you so much. He was a very articulate man. Thank you so much for the delightful conversation.
And so on and so forth. I replied. He and I are now in communication with each other. I don't know where that's going to go. But you know, fully identify and perhaps you can fully identify with me.
Man, I am out of my comfort zone. When God opens a door. and trusts me to open my mouth. And as Brian mentioned coming back. his trip coming back from Jordan That was not something.
He had to do. And I've come to realize as I was on that airplane. That was not something I had to do. It was something I got to do. Numbers I'm about to share are provided by the United Nations world population.
And they correspond to the year 2018. These statistics are Approximations. Approximately 323 people die every hour. During the time that we have been together here this morning. Approximately three hundred and twenty three people.
have gone into eternity. Perhaps many of them. To an eternity separated from God. Approximately 7,755 people die every day. Tomorrow morning, when we head out the door to go to school or to work or to breakfast or Any other location?
Approximately 7,755 people. will have entered into Eternity. Many of them. Separated from God. Approximately two million.
Eight hundred and thirty thousand six hundred and eighty eight people die. Every year. When this present year concludes and the next year begins. Many of approximately 2,830,688 people. Wove entered.
A criseless. Eternity. At the tomb of the unknown soldier. With the changing of the guard every hour on the hour, The Relief Commander and the Relieving Sentinel meet. The Retiring Sentinel Guard.
The relief commander orders the relieved sentinel. Pass on your orders. The sentinel who is being relieved says post and orders remain as directed. To which the newly Posted Sentinel replies Orders acknowledged. In other words.
Orders remain unchanged. Since this duty began decades ago, the orders have not changed. They've always stayed the same. Two thousand years ago. Overlooking Jerusalem.
Jesus gave his final orders. 2-11 men. He was entrusting the mission. to them. The mission had cost him his life.
and many of them their lives. The orders to Jesus' first soldiers and by application to us, his present-day soldiers, were and are very clear. We are to pour our lives into getting the good news about Jesus. to as many people as possible. God sovereignly places people In your life, He sovereignly places people in my life.
It is our privilege. to share Jesus. with them. We get. to share Christ.
Out of a grateful heart with a heart of gratitude, and we do so because. Lost people matter to God. And because lost people matter to God, they should matter. to us. And we do so.
Because of our mandate. Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel. to all creation. In the Old Testament book, Um Second Kings Chapters six and seven. We read how Ben-Hadad king of Syria, besieged the city of Samaria.
There was a great famine. And many people were dying of starvation. Four leprous men We're outside the city limits. Being banished from any local contact because of their leprosy, they too were dying. They decide to take a chance.
and go to the camp of the Syrian army. to see if perhaps the enemy might throw them some food. When they approached the Syrian encampment, they found it deserted. The Lord had made the army of the Assyrians hear the sound of a great army, so in fear. They fled and abandoned their camp.
and everything in it. Including livestock. silver, gold, clothing. and an abundance of food. The four lepers gorged themselves with the food.
Took o' the spoil and hit it. Then we read these words in 2 Kings 7, verses 9 and 10, which I'm going to paraphrase. They said to each other. What we are doing is not right. This is a day of good news, and we're not telling anyone about it.
We are keeping it to ourselves. Let's go. and tell this good news.
So they went. and shared. This great news My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a day. Of good news. Out of a heart of gratitude.
We get. To share Christ. And out of a grateful heart, out of a heart of gratitude, we get to share the good news, we get to proclaim it. We get to share and proclaim Christ. May we embrace this truth.
this privilege that is ours. and moved from gratitude Together to it. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank you for Your Grace and mercy. in kindness and goodness to us.
We thank you for the day that you Lovingly. Reached into our lives. And brought us to yourself. Lord, I pray for any of us this morning. Who may be in the situation of the prodigal son?
Perhaps we have never come to you. And yet you are looking. You are searching. Your desiring to come after us, pursue us, to. Hug us, to kiss us, to love us, embrace us.
And welcome us. I pray for anyone here listening or online listening. Who has never come to you? That today would be the day. And for any of us who Need to return.
Impress upon our hearts, I ask. That you love us. You welcome us. You seek us. You're looking for us.
And when we return. You will embrace us. And welcome us and forgive and restored. Lord May we understand our privilege. The privilege we have.
How we get To share Jesus. May we understand that we have this privilege. We get to do this. And we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.
