Participants:
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001402A
01:30 ♪[Theme music]♪
01:40 ♪[Theme music]♪ 01:48 >>John Bradshaw: This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 01:51 Thanks for joining me. 01:52 Mary Sawyer lived in Sterling, Massachusetts, 01:55 in Worcester County, Massachusetts, 01:57 about 12 miles from Worcester. 01:59 She attended the Red Stone School in Sudbury, 02:01 a little distance from her house. 02:03 Like many children, Mary enjoyed animals. 02:06 She had pets of her own. 02:08 Now, one day something unusual and unexpected happened. 02:13 One of her pets actually followed her to school. 02:16 As you can imagine, 02:18 the other children at that little school were delighted, 02:20 none more so than a young man named John 02:22 Ralston, who was visiting the school that day. 02:25 John was so tickled by what he saw 02:27 that he wrote a little poem about it, and it went like this. 02:30 He wrote, “Mary had a little lamb, 02:34 its fleece was white as snow. 02:36 And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go. 02:40 It followed her to school one day. 02:43 That was against the rules. 02:44 It made the children laugh and play, 02:46 to see a lamb at school. 02:48 That lamb is probably the most famous ovine in all of history. 02:52 And there are other famous sheep. 02:55 Dolly the sheep was the first mammal ever to be cloned. 02:58 Scientists in Scotland cloned her in 1996. 03:02 At the time it was a massive news story. 03:05 Now, for all of that, you sort of have to feel for sheep. 03:08 They're immensely useful animals, 03:10 but they're, well, they're sheep. 03:11 Can't ride them. 03:13 In terms of dollars and cents, 03:15 they're not really worth that much. 03:17 Not like other farm animals, like cows or, 03:19 or alpacas or ostriches. 03:22 Sheep are vulnerable. 03:23 Vulnerable to predators. 03:24 Now, they're as sweet as anything. 03:26 I had a pet lamb when I was a child. 03:28 Terrific at keeping the grass down in our big backyard, 03:31 even if they could be a little bit messy. 03:34 Now, our lamb, my lamb, Sweet Corn was his name, 03:38 disappeared one day. 03:39 Now, Dad said Sweet Corn was getting too big. 03:43 So we needed to get rid of him. 03:45 Dad said he gave him to a farmer. 03:48 I figured out what Dad meant a few weeks later when I noticed 03:52 that our freezer was suddenly full of mutton. 03:58 But go to the Bible, 04:00 and that's when sheep really come into focus. 04:02 Isaiah equated sheep with God's people. 04:04 He wrote in Isaiah 53, 04:06 “All we like sheep have gone astray.” 04:09 Jesus referred to himself as the Good Shepherd. 04:11 Ministers of the gospel are referred to as shepherds. 04:14 The word pastor, like a local church pastor, 04:17 means shepherd. 04:18 The Bible refers to the church as a flock. 04:22 Abraham and his family were keepers of sheep. 04:24 A ram caught by its horns in a thicket 04:26 was offered as a sacrifice when Isaac was spared. 04:29 Lambs were offered as the Passover sacrifice. 04:32 Lambs were offered as sacrifices throughout the Old Testament, 04:35 and they prefigured Jesus, 04:37 whom John the Baptist referred to as 04:39 “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” 04:42 The Book of Revelation refers to Jesus as 04:44 “the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” 04:48 Now, Jesus shared a significant story about sheep, 04:52 a parable, actually. 04:53 It's found in Luke 15, and it's the first of three parables 04:56 that deal with a similar subject or, you might say, 04:59 the same subject but from slightly different angles. 05:02 Now, here's the parable of the lost sheep. 05:05 You find it in Luke chapter 15, 05:07 and we'll pick it up starting in verse 1: 05:10 "Then all the tax collectors and sinners 05:13 drew near to Him to hear Him. 05:15 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, 05:17 'This Man receives sinners and eats with them.' 05:20 So He spoke this parable to them, saying: 05:23 'What man of you, having a hundred sheep, 05:25 if he loses one of them, 05:27 does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, 05:29 and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? 05:32 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, 05:35 rejoicing. 05:36 And when he comes home, 05:37 he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 05:39 "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!" 05:43 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven 05:46 over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine 05:50 just persons who need no repentance." 05:54 Now, notice the context. 05:55 Jesus is speaking with the publicans and sinners, 05:58 the bad crowd, the undesirables. 06:01 You know, it's worth noting that Jesus spent time with sinners, 06:05 with those on the fringes, 06:07 even beyond the fringes of religious society. 06:10 A lot of people who claim to be followers of God today 06:12 don't model this aspect of Jesus' behavior. 06:15 If the church is to reach the lost, 06:17 then the people in the church, by definition, 06:19 would need to interact with lost people. 06:22 Now, Jesus wasn't hanging out with the lost 06:24 so He could participate in their sins. 06:27 He did what He did in order to reach the unsaved 06:30 with the gospel. 06:31 If you're a follower of Jesus, a believer, 06:35 give this some thought. 06:36 If the orbit of your life doesn't bring you into contact 06:39 with people who don't know Jesus, 06:41 you might want to do something about that. 06:43 And then, if you're not a believer, 06:46 if you're not a church member, 06:47 if you're not walking with God, 06:48 I want you to notice what this points out. 06:50 This story shows you that God is, is interested in you. 06:53 It shows you that no matter what's going on in your life, 06:56 you are of value to God. 06:57 Jesus could have gone to the publicans and sinners 07:00 and excoriated them, 07:01 criticized them, 07:02 condemned them. 07:03 He could have just kept away from them. 07:05 But He didn't, because that's not what Jesus is all about. 07:09 Jesus lifts up people. 07:11 If you're willing to be lifted up, 07:13 if you sense a need for God in your life, 07:15 then you can know that the same Jesus 07:17 who hung out with the outsiders back then, 07:19 who encouraged people back then, 07:21 well, that's what Jesus still does today. 07:25 Now, verse 2 could keep us busy 07:27 for the rest of our time together. 07:28 Here's what the Bible says: 07:30 "And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, 07:33 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.'" 07:37 Yes, yes, He does. 07:39 Guilty as charged. 07:41 Now, again, this isn't Jesus saying it's okay. 07:44 This isn't Jesus saying that sin's just fine. 07:46 This is Jesus showing that God cares 07:49 and that God wants to receive sinners and save them. 07:53 So Jesus has been criticized by a bunch of self-righteous 07:57 hypocrites who don't feel a need to help 08:00 their fellow human beings come to know the blessings of God, 08:02 a group of people who couldn't be bothered 08:04 lifting a finger to help somebody find a better way. 08:07 Pious, religious snobs so caught up in their own selves 08:11 that they can't see the worth of a fellow human being. 08:13 So, He tells them a story. 08:15 Well, as a parable, it's more than a story. 08:18 It's a story with a point. 08:20 Not exactly an allegory, but a story designed to teach lessons. 08:25 So, verse 3: 08:26 "So he spoke this parable to them, saying: 08:29 'What man of you, having a hundred sheep, 08:31 if he loses one of them, 08:32 does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, 08:35 and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?'" 08:40 Jesus asked a rhetorical question. 08:43 He said, 08:44 "Which one of you wouldn't go and find a lost animal?" 08:47 Well, the answer is obvious. 08:48 They all would. 08:49 None of them would be so heartless 08:51 as to leave the animal in the wilderness someplace, 08:53 vulnerable to attack, exposed to the elements. 08:55 None of those men listening would have done so. 08:58 But a human being outside the fold of God, 09:01 a person made in the image of God but outside the will of God? 09:05 They couldn't care less about that person. 09:07 Jesus was hoping to help them understand His mission. 09:10 He was there to save the lost. 09:12 And He hoped that He could help them 09:14 to see their own true mission. 09:16 God has raised up the church for the purpose of reaching the lost 09:21 with the love of Jesus. 09:23 And yet we both know it's true: there are many churches, 09:26 many, that do nothing to reach the lost. 09:29 They don't allocate resources; they don't work a plan; 09:32 they're not losing any sleep over the fact that every day 09:35 there are people dying without ever having known Jesus. 09:38 If churches like that closed, 09:40 nobody would know the difference. 09:41 In fact, it's hard to imagine why they remain open. 09:45 Church isn't a social club; a church is a missionary center. 09:49 We don't go to be entertained or merely to see our friends. 09:52 We go so we can worship God, know God, 09:55 and those who know God 09:56 will love God and love those whom God loves. 09:59 God loves the lost. 10:02 So what's the sheep doing out there in the wilderness 10:04 and not with the other sheep in the sheep in the sheepfold? 10:07 And what does this tell us about Jesus? 10:10 And here's a question: He has 99; 10:13 what's one sheep? 10:15 They're not even worth much. 10:17 He could've easily replaced it, 10:19 or get by without it, without even noticing. 10:22 In a sense, it's not even practical to go after the sheep. 10:26 There's a really good chance 10:27 this whole sheep-hunting expedition is going to cost 10:29 the farmer a whole lot more than a sheep is worth. 10:33 So why? 10:35 More in just a moment. 10:37 ♪[Music]♪ 10:44 >>John: I'd love for you to receive today's free offer. 10:47 Join me on location as I walk with lions in Africa, 10:51 "The King of Beasts," 10:53 in which we'll discuss the greatest battle ever fought. 10:56 To receive "The King of Beasts," 10:58 just call 800-253-3000, 11:00 or visit us online, iiwoffer.com. 11:05 "The King of Beasts," today's free offer. 11:07 Receive it by calling 800-253-3000, 11:11 or visit it online at iiwoffer.com. 11:15 >>John: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 11:17 It was terrible. 11:19 You could imagine her heartbreak. 11:22 Thankfully, there were people nearby 11:24 who were willing to provide reassurance and confidence 11:27 in what could have been a nerve-wracking time. 11:30 Little Bo Peep had lost her sheep. 11:34 She doesn't know where to find them. 11:36 Leave them alone, and they'll come home, 11:40 wagging their tails behind them. 11:43 A nursery rhyme. 11:44 Now, these days, 11:45 losing a sheep can be a serious issue, for the sheep. 11:49 When Jesus told this story, 11:51 sheep then didn't produce wool in the same quantity 11:53 as they do today. 11:55 If a sheep today wanders on its own for too long, 11:57 it can produce an unsafe amount of wool. 12:00 Shrek was a Merino who spent six years on his own 12:04 in central Otago in New Zealand 12:06 before being caught and sheared. 12:08 While a typical Merino fleece weighs around 10 pounds, 12:12 Shrek's fleece weighed in at 60 pounds! 12:15 Jesus spoke about a lost sheep 12:18 whose situation was even more dire. 12:20 This lost sheep didn't just come home 12:23 like Little Bo Peep's lost sheep. 12:25 And Jesus teaches us in the parable of the lost sheep 12:27 that lost sheep must not be left alone 12:30 in the hope that they'll just somehow wander home. 12:33 Jesus teaches us that lost sheep 12:34 must be pursued and aided back to the sheepfold. 12:40 This is Ezekiel 34, verse 12, 12:42 speaking of the way God pursues lost sheep: 12:45 "As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day 12:48 that he is among his sheep that are scattered; 12:50 so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out 12:53 of all places where they've been scattered 12:55 in the cloudy and dark day." 12:56 If you read the book of Ezekiel, 12:58 you know that God was dealing with some profoundly wicked, 13:02 rebellious people. 13:04 And yet what does God say that He'll do? 13:07 He'll go out looking for His sheep 13:08 in an effort to bring them home. 13:12 In the parable, 13:13 the shepherd goes out to search for one sheep. 13:16 He goes out to search. 13:17 He has 99, and He goes looking for just one. 13:21 Do you know if there'd only been one lost soul, 13:23 Jesus would have died on the cross for that one? 13:26 Think about that. 13:29 If you were the only person who had ever sinned, 13:32 God would have emptied heaven for you. 13:34 He would have set in motion the plan of salvation for you. 13:39 A lost sheep cannot find its way back. 13:43 It would be forever lost if someone didn't go and find it. 13:46 That's how it is with sinners. 13:47 Sinners don't find their way back to God. 13:51 Everyone who comes to God or returns to God 13:54 does so because God seeks that lost one. 13:57 God goes after that one. 14:00 And keep in mind, a sheep isn't easy to find. 14:03 They don't bark loudly like a dog. 14:05 They're not big and easy to see like a cow. 14:07 Out on the hillsides of Israel, 14:09 where there weren't fences to keep the sheep 14:11 penned like large farms have today, 14:13 that sheep could easily have been anywhere. 14:17 Finding that lost sheep took some effort, 14:20 because to a compassionate farmer, 14:23 that sheep was important, 14:25 valuable. 14:26 And what does the shepherd do when he finds the lost sheep? 14:30 He didn't beat it. 14:32 Didn't yell at it, didn't berate it. 14:34 He didn't tell that poor sheep how much trouble it had been. 14:38 But what commonly happens when people fall, 14:40 fall into sin? 14:42 Now, I understand that there is such a thing 14:43 as church discipline. 14:44 I understand that. 14:45 I understand churches have standards, 14:46 and they should have standards. 14:48 I understand that parents need to teach their children. 14:50 I understand accountability. 14:53 But it seems the shepherd in this story 14:56 didn't get into condemnation. 14:58 You don't have to go far to hear stories of young people 15:00 who make mistakes, 15:02 who are then pushed away from God 15:03 and pushed away from the church, by the church. 15:06 It's easy to love others when they're doing everything right. 15:09 But when somebody fails, sins, falls, 15:13 gets away from God, 15:15 how do you treat that person then? 15:16 Because that's when someone will see the real you. 15:20 You give them the wrong message, 15:21 they get the wrong picture of God. 15:24 What message about the character of God 15:27 do we send when we deal with people 15:29 who don't measure up to what we think are God's standards? 15:33 Now, for the purpose of this parable, 15:34 we're dealing with people who really have sinned, 15:36 not simply failed to measure up. 15:39 What does the church do with or about the lost? 15:44 Look what the shepherd does. 15:46 Luke 15, verses 5 and 6: 15:48 "And when he has found it, 15:50 he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 15:53 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends 15:55 and neighbors, saying to them, 15:57 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'" 16:03 Keep this in mind: 16:04 this is God being portrayed. 16:07 He doesn't yell at the sheep, doesn't try to lead it home. 16:11 He picks up the sheep and puts it on His shoulders. 16:14 He holds it close; He keeps it safe. 16:17 There's a bond there. 16:19 There is a caring there, a love there. 16:22 He isn't angry. 16:24 He's simply thrilled that he's got his lost sheep back. 16:28 And look what Jesus says in Luke 15, verse 7: 16:31 "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven 16:34 over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine 16:37 just persons who need no repentance." 16:39 Notice what this says about God. 16:41 God celebrates when a sinner repents, 16:44 when a lost sheep is found and brought back to the flock. 16:47 The rabbis back in Jesus' time, 16:49 they had a belief that there was rejoicing in heaven 16:52 when one who has sinned against God is destroyed. 16:56 Notice what Jesus is doing? 16:58 He's not only telling us the facts of how this process works; 17:02 he also wants us to see the character of God, 17:04 the God who says, 17:06 "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." 17:08 That's Ezekiel 33:11. 17:09 Second Peter 3, verse 9, says, 17:11 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, 17:13 as some count slackness, 17:14 but is longsuffering toward us, 17:17 not willing that any should perish but that all 17:20 should come to repentance." 17:22 Jesus said in Matthew 9 and verse 13 17:24 that His mission was to call sinners to repentance. 17:27 That's what God's about: reaching the lost, 17:29 finding the lost, seeking the lost, 17:31 and bringing them home. 17:34 And rejoicing. 17:36 In the parable of the lost sheep, 17:37 we see that salvation doesn't come through us seeking God, 17:41 but through God seeking after us. 17:44 We do not repent so that God can love us. 17:48 But God reveals His love to us so that we can repent. 17:52 Now, question for you. 17:54 Have you ever lost money, real money, 17:57 at a time when it really mattered? 17:59 I have. 18:01 More than I care to remember, 18:02 at just about the worst possible time. 18:06 I'll tell you more in just a moment. 18:07 ♪[Music]♪ 18:15 ♪[Theme music]♪ 18:17 >>Announcer: In Matthew 4:4, the Word of God says, 18:19 "It is Written, 18:20 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 18:22 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 18:26 "Every Word" is a one-minute, Bible -based daily devotional 18:29 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw, 18:31 and designed especially for busy people like you. 18:34 Look for Every Word on selected networks, 18:37 or watch it online every day on our website, 18:39 itiswritten.com. 18:42 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 18:44 Watch "Every Word." You'll be glad you did. 18:50 ♪[Music - crowd watching eclipse]♪ 19:00 ♪[Music - crowd watching eclipse]♪ 19:57 >>John: Thanks for joining me on It Is Written. 20:00 In Luke 15, Jesus shares three similar stories: 20:04 the lost young man, 20:05 the prodigal son; 20:06 the lost sheep; 20:08 and then a story about a woman who lost money. 20:11 Have you ever lost something valuable, 20:13 money, for example? 20:15 Imagine being the man in Boston 20:16 who left $187,000 dollars in a taxi. 20:21 Happened in 2016. 20:23 The Boston Globe reported that a homeless man 20:25 had just cashed his inheritance and left a bag of money 20:28 in the back of a cab. 20:30 Fortunately, or providentially, the cabbie was an honest man, 20:34 took the money straight to the police, 20:36 and the man got his money back. 20:37 Can you imagine how happy he was? 20:42 Didn't work out that way for me. 20:45 I was on my honeymoon, with a lot of cash in my wallet, 20:50 and somewhere along the way, 20:54 I lost the wallet with all the honeymoon cash in it. 21:00 Oh, she wasn't impressed, 21:01 but thank the Lord she was so sweet about it, my new wife. 21:06 We prayed we'd get it back and...we didn't. 21:09 Not good. 21:12 If I had got it back, you think I'd be celebrating? 21:15 You know I'd be celebrating. 21:16 I wouldn't have been the only one who was celebrating. 21:19 It's good to find something valuable, 21:21 something that you've lost. 21:24 What if that something was a someone? 21:27 And my wife and I, we've never lost one of our children, 21:29 I mean, you know, 21:30 what sometimes happens in a supermarket or wherever. 21:33 You lose something precious, 21:35 something as precious as a child, 21:37 nothing else matters. 21:39 You want to get that precious thing back. 21:41 So imagine how God feels. 21:43 In the beginning He created a perfect world 21:44 with the intention that the people He created 21:46 would live forever. 21:47 He designed Adam and Eve; He made them, 21:50 and He wanted them and their descendents 21:52 to exist with Him for as long as time lasted. 21:56 But sin came, and sin separates people from God. 21:59 Sin causes selfishness, 22:01 the opposite of what God is trying to achieve in our hearts. 22:04 Imagine if you could see this world from God's perspective. 22:07 Billions and billions of people in the world, 22:09 the vast majority of them don't even profess to be close to God. 22:15 But sometimes lost people 22:17 are where you don't expect to find them. 22:19 If I asked you where all the lost people could be found, 22:21 you might say, oh, in the bars, 22:23 in the clubs, 22:24 the casinos and so forth. 22:25 And while, yeah, 22:26 there's undoubtedly some accuracy to that idea, 22:30 lost people can be where you would least expect them. 22:34 So let's look at Luke 15, verses 8-10: 22:38 "Or what woman, having ten silver coins, 22:41 if she loses one coin, 22:43 does not light a lamp, sweep the house, 22:45 and search carefully until she finds it? 22:47 And when she has found it, 22:48 she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 22:51 'Rejoice with me, 22:51 for I have found the piece which I lost!' 22:54 Likewise, I say to you, 22:55 there is joy in the presence of the angels of God 22:58 over one sinner who repents." 23:01 Again, something, someone, is lost. 23:04 It's ultimately found and God rejoices. 23:06 The angels rejoice. 23:07 But the wrinkle in this story is that the coin 23:10 in this case is lost inside the house. 23:13 It hasn't wandered off. 23:15 It didn't leave home. 23:17 It's still right there, and yet it's lost. 23:21 I wonder if you'd agree that there are a lot of lost coins 23:24 in the house, literally. 23:26 I'm not referring to coins you find when 23:27 you take up the cushions of the sofa. 23:30 At home, even in Christian homes, 23:32 there are lost people. 23:34 They interact with people in the family; 23:35 they are there but they are lost. 23:38 What are you doing for people who are lost and in your house? 23:43 Notice that Jesus said this woman searched carefully. 23:47 And you want to be careful 23:48 while you're searching for family members. 23:50 What do you do when your kids wander off? 23:53 You have to be careful. 23:55 You come on strong, you criticize, 23:57 you condemn, you've lost them forever. 24:00 It's important to be careful. 24:03 There are people in God's house, 24:05 in church, who are lost. 24:06 And you can't always tell, 24:09 because they know what to say at the right time. 24:10 They know how to act. 24:12 What do you do? 24:13 Well, you do something. 24:14 We think of missionaries as being people 24:16 who go to faraway countries, and while that's true, 24:20 it could be that God is wanting you to be a missionary 24:22 to people a whole lot closer to home. 24:24 I'll tell you about one man I know personally. 24:27 When he left high school, he left the church. 24:29 Never looked back. 24:31 His mother was gracious and tender and kind, 24:33 and she prayed for him. 24:36 For years. 24:37 In fact, she prayed for his conversion 24:40 until she was 99 years old. 24:44 And when she was 99, 24:47 her son came back to faith in Christ. 24:51 Her prayers were answered, not long before she died. 24:55 She took the lamp, got the broom, 24:58 and swept, and swept, and swept, 25:02 and eventually she found her precious lost coin. 25:05 God rejoices when one of His lost children is found. 25:09 In two short parables in a row 25:11 we read that there is joy in heaven when the lost is found. 25:14 Who's going after the lost sheep? 25:16 Who's going after the lost coin or coins? 25:19 Who's going after the one who's wandered away, 25:21 the one who is lost in the home, or in the church? 25:25 The encouraging thing is that the lost sheep 25:28 was found and brought home. 25:30 The lost coin, likewise, was found. 25:34 People who love God will search for those who are far from God, 25:39 and by the grace of God, 25:41 will find them and bring them home. 25:44 And if you're far from God, 25:46 you know that God is that good shepherd 25:49 who goes in search of the lost and brings them home, 25:53 carries them home. 25:55 You know that God loves the lost. 25:57 He does not look on you with condemnation 25:59 or with harsh judgment if you're outside the will of God. 26:03 God knows that sheep wander off. 26:04 He knows that coins fall to the floor. 26:08 He's interested in finding them 26:10 and getting them to be where they need to be. 26:13 It might be that God is talking to you today, 26:16 that God is looking for you today, 26:19 that God's wanting to bring you back. 26:21 Will you let Him do that for you? 26:24 Are you willing to let God carry you, 26:27 find you, bring you home? 26:28 I hope you are. 26:30 You'll cause rejoicing in heaven, 26:33 rejoicing in God's heart, 26:36 by allowing God to reach you and bring you back to Him. 26:40 Sheep didn't clean itself up; neither did the coin. 26:43 God does that. 26:44 You let God do that for you. 26:46 Notice in the beginning of this passage in Luke 15, 26:48 the scribes and Pharisees complained and they said, 26:51 "This man receives sinners, and He eats with them." 26:54 Yes, He does. 26:55 That's precisely what God does. 26:58 He receives sinners. 27:01 And if you'll let Him do so, He'll receive you right now. 27:06 ♪[Music]♪ 27:14 >>John: I'd love for you to receive today's free offer. 27:16 Join me on location as I walk with lions in Africa, 27:20 "The King of Beasts," 27:22 in which we'll discuss the greatest battle ever fought. 27:25 To receive "The King of Beasts," 27:27 just call 800-253-3000, 27:29 or visit us online, iiwoffer.com. 27:34 "The King of Beasts," today's free offer. 27:36 Receive it by calling 800-253-3000, 27:40 or visit it online at iiwoffer.com. 27:44 >>John: Thank you for remembering that It Is Written 27:46 is a faith-based ministry, 27:48 and it's your support that makes it possible for us 27:51 to share God's good news with the entire world. 27:55 Your tax-deductible gift can be sent 27:56 to the address on your screen, 27:58 or through our website, itiswritten.com. 28:02 Thank you for your continued prayerful support. 28:05 Our toll-free number is 800-253-3000. 28:08 800-253-3000. 28:11 Our web address is itiswritten.com. 28:14 >>John: Let's pray together now, shall we? 28:15 Our Father in heaven, 28:17 thank you that you're such a good shepherd 28:20 you'd go off in search of the lost sheep, 28:22 that you'd take the light and the broom 28:24 and you sweep and search the house 28:25 until you find the lost coin. 28:26 I pray that you'd put in the hearts of those 28:30 who are your followers to be just like that. 28:33 To go outside of themselves, 28:35 to go to some trouble if need be, 28:36 to reach the lost, to seek the lost, 28:39 to gently carry them, to bring them home, 28:41 to find them and bring them to the foot of the cross. 28:45 Dear Lord, I pray right now for that one who is that lost sheep 28:49 or that lost coin. 28:50 Friend, is that you? 28:52 If so, it's time for you to say, 28:54 "Lord, take my heart, bring me home, carry me back; 28:58 I can't make it myself. 28:59 I need your help." 29:01 And if that's your desire, 29:02 know that God accepts you; 29:04 He's found you; 29:05 He takes your heart; 29:07 you are a found sheep, not a lost sheep. 29:10 You are God's possession, God's purchase. 29:14 Know now that you are God's child. 29:18 Lord, we thank you for your goodness and your grace, 29:21 and we pray in Jesus' name, 29:24 Amen. 29:26 >>John: Thank you so much for joining me. 29:27 I'm looking forward to seeing you again next time. 29:29 Until then, remember: 29:30 "It is written: 29:32 'Man shall not live by bread alone, 29:34 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'" 29:37 ♪[Theme music]♪ |
Revised 2018-02-08