Celebrate When People Come To Jesus

Celebrate When People Come to Jesus (Luke 15:1-7, 11-13, 22-24, 28-32) People who are conscious of their sinfulness and need for forgiveness and redemption are drawn to Jesus (Luke 15:1, 17-19, 21; Zeph. 3:12; James 4:10), while the self-righteous see no need for Him (Luke 15:2) “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa. 53:6, see also Rom. 3:919) Astray ta`ah {taw-aw'}Heb. led astray, made to wander, misled, intoxicated Who leads people astray? At least some of the time its God! (Job 12:25) God will sometimes abandon us to bondage if it is the only way to bring us to repentance (Hos. 11:5-7, Isa. 5:5-6) Distress sometimes leads to humility and prayer, which in turn invite God’s grace (2 Chron. 33:12-13; Deut. 4:30-31; Jer. 31:18-20; Hosea 5:15; Luke 15:14-24; Ps. 86:5) Lost 'abad {aw-bad'}Heb. perishing, given up for dead apollumi {ap-ol'-loo-mee} Gk. rendered useless, perishing God is a tender, patient, loving father (Hos. 11:1 & 3-4) who diligently keeps reaching out to the lost (Luke 15: 4 & 8; 19:10; Matt. 18:11; Mark 2:17;Ezek. 34:1112, 16; Job 33:27-28; Isa. 49:15) We are His treasured possession (Ex. 19:5-5, 1 Pe. 2:9-10) When we fall, He reaches down to pick us up and hold us (Hos. 11:3-4, Deut. 1:31) baqash {baw-kash'} Heb. reach out for, seek to hold or touch (see also Rom. 10:21) He seeks all who are lost (Ezek. 18:23; 33:11;1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pe. 3:9; Isa. 30:17-18) In what sense does God seek us?

He already knows where we are (Zeph. 1:12) He offers His hand/arms to us Finder’s joy I read a recent article about people who use metal detectors on the beach and in parks, etc. and the article described how after many hours of finding pull-tabs or other trash, a finder who occasionally come across a valuable coin or ring. The joy of that find remained with them well past the time of the find and served as an encouragement for them to keep on searching. He finds joy in bringing home the lost (Luke 15:5) He invites us to rejoice with Him because He has recovered His lost (Luke 15:6 & 9; 23-24, 32) Once we are found and adopted as sons or daughters of the Father, our status as such is secure, based on His grace and not upon our works (Luke 15:31; John 10:28) Therefore none should boast There is no excuse for self-righteousness when our rightness is imputed through the blood of the Christ (Rom 2:1; Eph. 2:3-6; Titus 3:3-7; Isa. 53:11) We were bought for a price (Deut. 32:6, John 3:16) While what God chooses to do may not seem “fair” by human standards, what He does is always done as a function of His perfect, unfailing love. Hased (ha-sed), Heb. = steadfast love as in a covenant of marriage