Today on the Verdict with Pastor John Monroe. In Luke 15, there's a lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost boy, and as we read these parables, or perhaps one parable in three parts, however you choose to look at it, these parables are not so much about a lost sheep or a lost coin or a lost son. These parables are about the heart of God. They are about the celebration of amazing grace as the lost are found. Welcome to the Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe, Senior Pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Have you been running from God, or perhaps you feel as though you've strayed too far or messed up too badly? Today on the Verdict, it's a message of celebration as we come to the end of our series called "What Would You Ask God." Here's Pastor John Monroe with his message titled "The God of Amazing Grace." Isn't God's grace amazing? Have you personally experienced God's amazing grace in your life? I think it's very appropriate that we end our series on God and questions we would ask God by focusing on His amazing grace. We don't deserve it.
We don't merit it in any way. We are saved by pure grace, and it is by God's grace that we have the opportunity to know Him and live a life of purpose and hope. Last time we thought of the brilliant stories our Lord Jesus told to illustrate grace. In grace, our Savior searches and searches for the lost. Today we focus on our personal response.
God, in His grace, is reaching out to you. I pray you will receive His grace. Today we're going to learn three pictures. We're going to see three pictures, three pictures of what God is like, and we're going to see them from Luke chapter fifteen. If you have a Bible there, I'd like you to open it with me.
To the third gospel, the Gospel according to Luke, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and we're going to look at probably one of the better-known chapters of Luke, Luke fifteen. Jesus tells three stories, and in so doing, he reveals what God is really like. He reveals the heart of God. What is God really like? Verse three, he told them this parable, saying.
What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep, and does lose one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which 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 which was lost." I tell you. That in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. What is God really like?
God is like a shepherd seeking and finding a lost sheep and rejoicing when that lost sheep is found. That's what God is like. What is God really like? Verse eight, or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, doesn't light a lamp, and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it, and when she's found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost." In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. What is God really like?
God is like a woman searching for and finding a lost coin and rejoicing when she finds it. That's what God is like. What is God really like? Verse eleven, he said, a certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me." And he divided the wealth between them.
And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country. And there he squandered his estate with loose living.
Now, when he spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be in need. And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he was longing to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. And when he came to his senses, he said, "How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger." I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Make me as one of your hired men." And he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced and kissed him. And his son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight, I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his slaves, "Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet, and bring the fatted calf. Kill it and let us eat and be merry. For the son of mine was dead, and has come to life again.
He was lost and has been found." And they began to be merry.
Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things might be. And he said to him, "Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf because he's received him back safe and sound." And he became angry and was not willing to go in. And his father came out and began entreating him, and he answered and said to his father, "Look, for so many years I've been serving you, and I've never neglected a command of yours, and yet you've never given me a kid that I might be merry with my friends. But when the son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with harlots, you killed a fatted calf for him." And he said to him, "My child, you've always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
But we had to be merry and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead, and is alive, and was lost, and is found. What is God really like? God is like a father running to welcome home a son who once rebelled, but is now repentant. That's what God." Is like. These parables are not so much about a lost sheep or a lost coin or a lost son.
These parables are about the heart of God. They are about the celebration of amazing grace as the lost are found. I don't want to study all of the details of the parables. Interesting, although that would be, but rather painting with a broad brush. I want to sketch three pictures.
Three pictures which will help us to see what God is really like. Here's the first one. God, in His love, searches for the lost. What a beautiful picture! Do you think of God like that?
God, in His love, searches for the lost. As we read Luke chapter 15. We begin to understand that lost people matter to God. In Luke 15, there's a lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost boy. But even when they're lost, they continue to be of value to the shepherd, to the woman, and to the father.
I read from Luke chapter 15. If we looked over to Luke chapter 19, verse 10, we hear Jesus Himself saying, "For the Son of Man," reference to Himself, "For the Son of Man has come to seek." And to save the lost, and by telling these three stories in Luke chapter fifteen, Jesus is explaining his mission in coming to earth. His primary mission is to seek and to save the lost. Here is our first picture: God in His love searches for the lost. Here is the second picture: God in His love runs to you.
When you stop running from God and yourself, eventually the son stops running, and the son's economic and social life abruptly change. His money goes, his friends they disappear, and his difficulty even surviving. And then, when he's at the very bottom of his life, the very worst moment of his life.
Something wonderful happens. Verse seventeen, and when he came to his senses, Jesus says, "He came to his senses." He begins to realize that for far too long he'd been running away from himself and running away from his father. And he does something wonderful in verse eighteen. He acknowledges that he had sinned against God and his father. Verse eighteen: I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.' How wonderful!
He was beginning to repent. He doesn't blame his parents for his predicament. He doesn't say, "Well, I was brought up in a rather strict household." He doesn't make any excuses, no rationalizations, no finger pointing. No, he knows he has blown it big time. The biblical word for that is repentance.
This young man repented. Repentance is a change of mind, but not just a change of mind. A change of mind which results in a change of attitude and of direction. And he realizes, as we see in verse nineteen, that he did not deserve the privileges of sonship. Of course, he didn't.
He'd taken advantage of them. Give me now, Dad, what I deserve. I really don't want to be part of your family. All I want from you is my money, so I can live my own life and I'll set my own career. And goodbye to you.
He doesn't deserve to come back to the father's house. He doesn't deserve to be treated like a son. He got it right, and he comes home humbly. Prepared this time to work for his father, not to enjoy the privileges of sonship, but to work for his father as a servant. Not to live in the family home, but to live in the barn, as it were.
Not to eat at the family supper table, but just to get the leftovers, as the servants would. And with a changed heart and a humble spirit, he heads. For father and home, verse twelve tells us that leaving home, he had said, "Give me, give me." When he goes back, he says, "No, when I go back to my father, it's no longer give me. It is what verse nineteen: make me, make me. That was a wiser prayer.
As a foolish young man, he had asked." To his dad, give me. Going back with humility, it's no longer for what he can receive. No, it is make me, make me like one of your hired servants. Transform me. I realize I'm no longer the center of my world.
My future, dad, is in your hands.
Now make something of me. The only thing that I can think of. Is that I would be a higher servant, and if you do that for me, I will be so grateful because I don't even deserve that. Do you know that when you run away from God, you're also running away from yourself? You say, "How is that, John?" We've been learning in this series on God that God made us, and God made us for a purpose.
How can you know? How can you fulfill the point of your own existence? If you're running away from God, God has a purpose. God has a plan for you. How can you fulfill your existence if you're running away from that?
As you run away from that, you're running away from all that is good and all that is best. And so, in that sense, you're running away from yourself. And this young man finally stops running from God, stops running from himself. Stops running from his father, and today it's time for some of you to take a good look at yourself, spiritually speaking, to come to your senses, and to ask yourself, where am I heading in life? Isn't it time to stop running from God?
Isn't it time to stop running from yourself? Are you still running around trying to have a good time? Are you still the king of your own life, making your own plans in your own way, not too concerned about other people? Are you afraid to stop and to think and take a long, hard look at yourself? In the name of Christ, can I say to you today, stop running, stop running from God, stop running from yourself?
It's time to admit, isn't it, that you've blown it before God as well as before others? It's time to repent. It's time today to return to Father and home.
Now, notice what happens next in our picture. The father in his love runs to the boy. Jesus says, "Verse twenty.
Well, he was still a long way off. His father saw him. Isn't this beautiful? And felt anger towards the boy because he had been manipulated and used. No, says Jesus.
He felt compassion for him and ran and embraced him." Yes, the father is running. What an incredible picture! Do you see this father running to meet his boy? We're told that older men in the Middle East don't run. It was regarded as undignified, unsophisticated, lacking decorum.
Young men ran, but fathers didn't. If anyone was going to run, it would be the boy, not the father. But Jesus says no. When the father saw him, and the father. Saw him when he was a long way off.
The father saw him ever before. The son saw the father, and the father can't wait for the boy to come right to the home. And so the father, in his love and compassion and in his amazing grace, runs to meet his boy and welcomes him. And the son confesses that he sinned. Verse twenty-one, against heaven, against God, as well as against his father.
That's true repentance, isn't it? And hearing the son's confession, the father now extends grace and love and forgiveness and acceptance to his son. The son deserves to be treated like a servant, but now the father showers him with grace and God in His love. Jesus is teaching us in this wonderful parable. God and His love runs to you.
He longs to forgive you. What is God like? He's a God who runs to meet you when you turn from your sin, when you repent. Who is God? What is God like?
He's a God who stands with open arms and says, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest." You say, "John, I know I've lost. I'm like this young man. I know I've sinned. I've known I'm." I've blown it. I can't imagine.
Will God really forgive me, my dear friend? The question is not whether God will forgive you. Of course, He'll forgive you. The question is whether you will repent and humbly come to the Savior. Humbly come God's way for forgiveness.
Jesus says, "The one who comes to Me, I will certainly not cast out." So today, stop running, come home. And as you come, the Father runs. To forgive you, do you see God running? God and His love runs to you when you stop running from God and yourself. We've seen two pictures from Luke 15.
First picture: God and His love searches for the lost. Secondly, God and His love runs to you when you stop running from God and yourself. Here is the final picture, and it's a beautiful one. God in His love welcomes home the lost. And all of heaven rejoices.
God in His love welcomes home the lost, and all of heaven rejoices. What a welcome the son receives from this father! We read verse twenty: the son is embraced and kissed. He receives the best robe. A ring, sandals, and a tremendous party of celebrations thrown.
This boy is not going to be just a servant. He's not going to be thrown out of the house. The father calls him son. Verse twenty-four. This son of mine.
A son who was dead is now alive. A son who was lost is now found. His boy has come home, and he is welcome—not as a servant, but as a son. It's time to party. It's time to celebrate.
And Jesus is saying in the same way, all of heaven rejoices when the lost is found. Verse seven. I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Verse ten. In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over.
One sinner who repents—that's what God is like, welcoming home the lost, and all of heaven rejoicing. Not over a thousand sinners coming, but one sinner who repents. And did you notice, as we read of the shepherd, did you notice the tenderness of the shepherd when he finds a lost sheep? How would you treat a lost sheep? If you had ninety-nine sheep, safe in the field in the fold, and there is one lost sheep, you don't know where it is, and you get up at night and you search and and perhaps it's raining and you search and you search and finally you find that one wretched sheep.
What would you do with it? Probably say, "You silly sheep! I don't know why I bothered for you." You'd kick the thing home, wouldn't you?
Well, some of you would. You would be frustrated by it, possibly, but in the wonderful parable, as Jesus is revealing the heart of God, revealing His own heart, the good shepherd. What does He say when He finds the sheep? Verse five: He lays it on His shoulders, rejoicing. He doesn't berate the sheep.
He doesn't kick the sheep. He doesn't beat the sheep. He puts it on his shoulders and rejoices and calls together everyone to rejoice. That says Jesus is what happens when one lost boy, one lost girl, one lost man or woman repents. There is joy in the presence of the angels of God.
As a boy, we used to sing in tenderness. He sought me, weary and worn with sin, and on his shoulders brought me back to his fold again. While angels in his presence sang, until the courts of heaven rang. Oh, the love that sought me! Oh, the blood that bought me!
Oh, the grace that brought me to the fold! Wondrous grace, wondrous grace that brought me. To the fold, and when we get to heaven, we will sing for all of eternity that amazing truth of grace, grace, grace. That's what God is like. That's why our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, came.
What a welcome when the lost is found. We see the love and grace and compassion of this Father. Illustrating the heart of God in this incredible celebration of grace as He welcomes home His lost son. Here is the heart of God. What joy!
What a celebration of amazing grace! And there is joy in heaven, joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner repents. All of heaven celebrates. That's what God is like. He's a God.
Of amazing grace. What is God really like? God in His love is searching for the lost. What is God really like? God in His love runs to you when you stop running from Him and running from yourself.
What is God really like? God in His love welcomes home the lost, and all heaven rejoices in a tremendous celebration of amazing grace. That's what God is like, and today. It's time for us to respond. It's time for some of you to come home.
It's time for you humbly to repent and experience God's forgiveness today. Stop running today. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. And heaven will rejoice, and you will be welcomed into God's eternal family. The Father is calling.
And when you come, all of heaven will rejoice, and we, your brothers and sisters, will rejoice with you. Or you may be a believer in Jesus Christ, but today you're away from the Lord. You've taken a bad turn. You've done your own thing, and today, although you're in church and we're thankful that you're here, you are not right with God, and you know it. You've got off track.
You've been doing your own thing too long today. It's time to humble yourself. It's time to get right with God. It's time to be spiritually re-restored, and we will rejoice at the restoration of one lost son, one lost daughter. This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe.
There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. But to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled "Eternal Security: Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World." Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony along with a careful examination of Scripture to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org.
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Now, here is Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Have you been saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone? It is by grace that we're saved through faith, and this is not our own doing. It is a gift of God. Stop trying to earn God's acceptance.
The work of salvation has already been done by our Lord Jesus Christ. Rather begin the Christian life by receiving the free gift of God's grace.
Next time we resume our study in the Gospel of Matthew as we return to chapter twenty, where Jesus discusses treasure in heaven. Thanks for joining us today on the Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
