Bridge Builders pt 4
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There is a story told of a wealthy man… He wore a tailored European suit that fit perfectly in the large white stone house overlooking Lake Zurich....
He was an educated man… able to speak fluently in 3 languages… He was an executive with an international company headquartered in Switzerland… He loved his life… His wealth… His comfort… His prestige…
Today, He sat calmly discussing the unexpected fall in the market… Sure, it had cost him money… at least 6 figures… maybe 7… But what did that matter? He had more… and knew how to make even more.
When the conversation turned from finances to eternal riches, however… He turned cold. He had heard as much about God as he wanted … God had nothing to do with his status… God played no role in his world… Intelligence and quick action were all that mattered.
There is another story told of a woman in Kenya… her ragged mat spread in front of her two-room mud hut… She looked helplessly up at the strange white man standing in front of her… “Could he help her?” he wondered…
“Could he tell her about Jesus? Would she understand? But first… “Would he pray for her husband?” she asked...
He had gone from Kenya to Uganda to live with his other two wives… leaving her all alone… in a destitute situation…
But all she wanted him to pray for was that her husband would return and spend time with her.
What do these two people have in common?
— They are both lost!
— The Rich man was lost in the illusion of wealth, and refused to hear about God...
— The Poor Woman was lost, destitute, alone… and willing to hear what might change her life!
It is easy to get lost in our comfort… in our ease… in our own social standing…
It is easy for us to get lost in our own ideas about what success is… what Salvation is… what the Christian life is…
Worldly success is a dangerous thing…
The Bible Exposition Commentary (Chapter Fifteen: The Right and Wrong of Riches (Luke 16))
The Wall Street Journal quoted an anonymous wit who defined money as “an article which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven, and as a universal provider for everything except happiness.”
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
When wealth becomes our “ticket to heaven,” We lose!!!
Christ did not come to bring us material wealth… He came to give us the wealth of Heaven!
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
The wealth… the Hope… the Joy Christ gives us is eternal… it can never be lost!
Let me ask you — “Who did Christ minister to?”
Weirsbe tells us:
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Fifteen: The Right and Wrong of Riches (Luke 16)
He ministered to people who, for the most part, were poor and who thought that acquiring more wealth was the solution to all their problems.
Wealth cannot buy happiness and contentment… it only buys destruction!
Over and over, we are confronted by Jesus with one question:
“Am I Lost?”
That is the question we face today…
— We cannot become “Bridge Builders” until we recognize who we are!
That is Christ’s concern…
11 Then Jesus said, “There was a man who had two sons.
12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them.
13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and traveled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout that country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.
16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were eating; and no one gave him anything.
17 But when he came to himself he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!
18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired hands.” ’
20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.
21 Then the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly, bring out a robe—the best one—and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.
27 He replied, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound.’
28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and began to plead with him.
29 But he answered his father, ‘Listen! For all these years I have been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.
30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!’
31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
What is Christ’s point in this parable?
— Is it about the “lost” son?
— Is it about the “good” son?
— Is it about the father? About God?
— or Is it something else?
The answer lays in the 1st two parables…
Look at Luke 14:34-35 — Jesus has just finished talking about the “cost” of discipleship…
34 “Salt is good; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored?
35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; they throw it away. Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
We are supposed to be the “salt of the earth”… the “Bridge Builders”… the ambassadors of the Kingdom… leading people to the Kingdom…
— Yet… Look at the “Church’s” — the believer’s — reaction…
1 Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near to listen to him.
2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Once again, Jesus is prompted to tell the parables because of the actions of the Pharisees and scribes (the Church people)!
So, He tells them 2 parables: “the parable of the Lost Coin,” and “the Parable of the Lost Sheep”…
Both of these parables refer to “wayward” Christians…
1 was lost by foolishness
1 was lost by the carelessness of another
How scary is that? To know that people can be lost by OUR carelessness?!
But… Notice what happens when they are found:
7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
All of heaven rejoices over one sinner’s repentance and salvation!!!
Do you see what Jesus is telling them?
Jesus is saying: “Look… Even God - The Father - searches for lost sinners, AND He REJOICES with them when He finds them!!!!”
Do We?
Do we invest ourselves in searching for the Lost?
“The Church has nothing to do but to save souls… Therefore, spend and be spent in this work.” — John Wesley
Can I tell you this — If you are saved… if you have repented and received the forgiveness and grace of God… IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!!!!
Our responsibility as Christians — as those who hold the Grace of God in our hearts — is to be “Bridge Builders”…
We are to be about “SEEKING” out the Lost and building bridges for them to the Kingdom!!!
We have been given an awesome gift! We are meant to share it!!!!
— And here’s the best part… We have the privilege of celebrating their salvation with ALL OF HEAVEN!!!!
(expound)
— But… Do we don’t always do that, do we?
— There’s always that one… isn’t there?
— There’s always that one we don’t think deserves salvation… that one who doesn’t deserve the blessings and grace of God…
You know who they are…
— that rapist
— that murderer
— that child molester
— that man down the street who beats his wife
— that woman who won’t feed, clothe, and wash her kids
— that liar & cheat who mistreats so many people
— that drug addict… that alcoholic… that gambler… who neglects his family, and you have to watch them suffer
— and the list goes on....
Look at the parable:
The Younger Son…
luke 15:12
12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his property between them.
— the translation of the son’s words is: “I wish you were dead”
— He valued $ and material things over the relationship with his father and his family, and so… he missed the reality of the goodness of his father…
But, he is not the only one…
The Older Son
— The elder brother refused to go in; he stayed outside and pouted. He missed the joy of forgiving his brother and restoring the broken fellowship, the joy of pleasing his father and uniting the family again. — Weirsbe
He goes on to say:
— If we are out of fellowship with God, we cannot be in fellowship with our brothers and sisters and, conversely, if we harbor an unforgiving attitude toward others, we cannot be in communion with God…
20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen.
We talked about this last week… When people show true repentance, we MUST forgive them, and we MUST seek to restore them in grace and humility…
32 and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.
Look at:
1 My friends, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
3 For if those who are nothing think they are something, they deceive themselves.
4 All must test their own work; then that work, rather than their neighbor’s work, will become a cause for pride.
5 For all must carry their own loads.
There is one more character we need to see:
the Father
— What did he do when he saw his son? He RAN to him… He WELCOMED him back… He GRANTED him grace… and He celebrated his return!
— He rejoiced with the people!!!!
Look at verse 32:
32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.’ ”
We HAD to Celebrate!
— Is this our reaction when those “wayward” — Lost people return?
Literally everyone in this chapter experienced JOY … EXCEPT the older brother!!!
— the shepherd, the woman, and all their friends experienced the JOY of finding what was lost!
— the Younger Son experienced the JOY of Grace!
— the father experienced the JOY of a restored son!
— BUT… the Elder brother refused… and lost!
Is that us?!
Weirsbe tells:
The Bible Exposition Commentary (Chapter Fourteen: The Joys of Salvation (Luke 15))
In my years of preaching and pastoral ministry, I have met elder brothers (and sisters!) who have preferred nursing their anger to enjoying the fellowship of God and God’s people.
Because they will not forgive, they have alienated themselves from the church and even from their family; they are sure that everyone else is wrong and they alone are right.
They can talk loudly about the sins of others, but they are blind to their own sins.
Remember the words of Gen. Oglethorpe to John Wesley:
“I never forgive!”
To which Wesley replied:
“Then, sir, I hope you never sin.”
We are called to build bridges of celebration…
— It starts with celebrating our own salvation.
When we do, others see the JOY we have.... and that opens doors!
There is NOTHING more attractive … nothing more eye-capturing… nothing more curiosity creating… then a heart on fire for God BECAUSE of what He has done for you!
And here’s the best part.... It’s not about us! It is about them!
When we help to build that bridge… We get to celebrate with them!!!!!
The Pharisees and scribes — like the older brother — chose not to… they chose instead to stand outside and pout!
2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Don’t let that be you!
Don’t stand outside and pout!!!
Come on in and enjoy the feast!!!!