Introduction

Please stand for the reading of God’s Word

Luke 17:11-19 ESV  On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.  (12)  And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance  (13)  and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”  (14)  When he saw them he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were cleansed.  (15)  Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice;  (16)  and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan.  (17)  Then Jesus answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine?  (18)  Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?”  (19)  And he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”

You may be seated

This morning I have three very important matters I want to talk about.I know that we all have a certain virus on our minds, and the whole world is wondering what will happen next.What do we do now?How should we respond?How should the church respond?Thus I think this sermon, today’s message, is very, very timely.The sermon today has three points, you might do well to write these points down now…

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Point One: The Importance of Social Distancing

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Point Two: Obeying Government Mandates

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Point Three: Only about Ten Percent of People Exposed Get It.That’s right folks… we are finally going to talk about it… would you bring up today’s title slide?

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We are finally going to talk about Luke 17:11-19… Today’s sermon is NOT about the Coranovirus! Let’s pray!

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Today we are going to talk about Christ’s interaction with these 10 lepers…And let me just recap the story in case you missed it…Jesus is walking into the city and these 10 horribly deceased people are standing together in a group, the have a decease called leprosy that makes your skin, and latter body parts, just fall off and decay.As Jesus is walking by these diseased people cry out “Lord have mercy on us” and Jesus tells them to see the priest.They do, and are healed.Then one of the ten, a Samaritan, a social enemy of the Jews, returns to Christ to thank Him.It’s a pretty simply story, but I think we can learn a lot from it this morning… let’s dive right into it with point one.

Point One – The Importance of Social Distancing

Luke 17:11-13 ESV  On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and Galilee.  (12)  And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance  (13)  and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”

Again, point one is the importance of Social Distancing…Look at verse 12, the end of it… the lepers STOOD AT A DISTANCE!They knew the state of their being, they knew their filth, they knew exactly how wretched they had become.And they knew that they had no right approaching the Lord Jesus Christ in their state.The question, church, that I have for you this morning is this: Do you know your state?Have you ever considered your filth, your disease, your repugnant smell?Of course I am not talking about leprosy, and obviously I am not talking about Coronavirus… I am talking about SIN.Dirty, filthy, stinky, ugly sin!I bet not a single person watching this could get into heaven if the requirements were to follow the 10 commandments.Commandment one, have no other Gods…Have you ever put anything in the place of God? That’s paganism, and I have been a pagan.Commandment two, bow down to no false idols…Have you ever had an idol, maybe an addiction, maybe a superstar, maybe a love interest? I certainly have.That’s Called Idolatry.Commandment three, don’t use God’s name in vein.Have you ever used God’s name as a swear word? That’s called blasphemy, I used to do it

Introduction

Please Stand For The Reading of God’s Word

Luke 16:19-31 ESV  “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.  (20)  And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,  (21)  who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.  (22)  The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried,  (23)  and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.  (24)  And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’  (25)  But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.  (26)  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’  (27)  And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house—  (28)  for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’  (29)  But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’  (30)  And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’  (31)  He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

You May Be Seated

So here we have the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man.One who went to heaven and one who went to hell.You have this rich man who lived a lush and lavish life, feasting every day…And then there is this poor man, Lazarus, who was starving, laying at the rich man’s gate, begging for food while dogs licked his sores.They both end up dying on the same day, the poor man Lazarus ends up in heaven and the rich man ends up in hell.I have heard this story preached many times before.I have talked in length about it with theology professors back when was in school.I have even partaken in debates about the deeper meanings of this passage.Debates about whether or not this is a parable, or if it literally happened.Debates about if Jesus is really talking about heaven and hell, or maybe some kind of purgatory.But what struck me, as I studied this afresh, was once again the power of CONTEXT.I never once have heard this story preached or taught with the context of the previous passages and chapter in mind.I have always seen it taught as a one off story. But it’s not, it’s part of a larger sermon that Jesus is preachingSo, if you have been a Christian for a long time you too may have heard a lot about this story, but today I want to talk about it in the context it was preached.

Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray

So, we have these long sermon Jesus is preaching, starting at the beginning of Luke 15.And the audience consists of two crowds… the Pharisees, a group of Jewish Scholars who think they are holier than everyone else because they put on an outward appearance of Godliness.And the disciples, IE, the true believers, who care about not just their outward appearance, but they care about their relationship with God, they care about what their heart condition is, they care about the outside and the INSIDE of their spiritual walk.And as Jesus talks to these two audiences He paints a grim picture for the Pharisees and an Encouraging picture for the Disciples

This whole sermon starts with the Pharisees, the false believers, grumbling and complaining that Jesus receives sinners.So Jesus gives the two parables comparing true believers and all of heaven to people who do everything they can to find a lost coin or a lost sheep, and who celebrate when they do.Then Je

Introduction

Please Stand for the Reading of God’s Word

Luke 16:14-18 ESV  The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him.  (15)  And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.  (16)  “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.  (17)  But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. (18) Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.“

You May be Seated

We have spent the last two weeks talking about Money… an uncomfortable subject to talk about, and a difficult subject to preach about, and probably just as difficult to listen to sermons about.But because we preach through Scripture, not skipping anything, when Scripture talks about money we talk about money.If it was important enough for Jesus to preach about then I think it ought to be important enough for us to preach about. Amen?!But now Jesus moves to the crux of the issue… the heart. Look at this line in verse 15, this is going to be our focus this morning…

Luke 16:15a ESV  And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts…

God knows your heart…GOD KNOWS YOUR HEART! That’s the crux of the issue, that’s what’s important… GOD KNOWS OUR HEARTS…So that is what we are going to preach about today.

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God Knows Your Heart, yes He does… let’s pray.

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Point One – God Knows Your Heart, and that’s Nothing to Boast About

Point one this morning… God knows your heart and that’s nothing to boast about…Yet I have heard so many people boast, brag, and proclaim their own righteousness by simply shouting “God knows my heart!”People caught in sin defend themselves “GOD KNOWS MY HEART!”People running from God and godliness will shout when confronted “GOD KNOWS MY HEART”People who actively chose to do wrong over and over again think they can excuse their sin by boasting “BUT GOD KNOWS MY HEART”.Well yes dear sinner, God does know your heart, and that is nothing to boast about.

Jeremiah 17:9-10 ESV  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?  (10)  “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

The heart is deceitful… it is a liar and a manipulator! Above everything else your heart is, it is deceitful!IT IS DESPERATLY SICK!The only one who can understand it is the Lord… and He will search it out and He will test it… and He will see how wicked and sick it is…Then He will give you according to the wickedness and deceit of your heart!You know out of context verse 10 there might be encouraging, you see God is judging my heart not my deeds, and He is going to repay me according to my heart… how nice…But in context, verse 10 is not a good thing, because verse 9 makes it clear what condition our hearts are in.Jesus says this regarding the heart:

Matthew 15:18-19 ESV  But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.  (19)  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

The truth is, our hearts… that is, our feelings or emotions, are LIARS!Our heart wants what feels good, what satisfies now, what gives the most comfort.And for the pharisees, whom Jesus was talking to in our key passage today, for the pharisees that was money.You see in todays society people act evil and hide behind the phrase “God knows my heart” or “Only God can judge me”.But for the pharisees, I.E. the people in the church who act like they are Godly but have no

Introduction

Please Stand for the Reading of God’s Word

Luke 16:10-13 ESV  “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.  (11)  If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?  (12)  And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?  (13)  No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

You may be seated

Amanda and I have been doing a lot of work with banks lately, you know, because the church is buying a building and all…And when loaning money the banks number one concern is this “Will you be faithful with our money”. Why do they want to know that? Because they want to make sure you pay it back!So they run the churches credit, they look at our finances, they check out our assets and attendance numbers.They even run credit checks on anyone who is signing for the loan!They are going to do all they can to be sure that we are going to be faithful with their money before they give us it.And if they check and find out the church has ever been late on bills, or defaulted on a loan, or had church possessions repossessed…And if they find out we have had those things happen then they will say “You have not been faithful in the past with others money, therefore I will not give you ours because we don’t trust you to be faithful with it.”Now that’s the bank, a worldly organization that is loaning out eternally worthless pieces of paper.How much more serious, then, is God with giving out eternally valuable treasures, riches, and blessings.Today I want to ask, and hopefully help you come to an honest answer for yourself, this question…

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Will you be faithful with true riches?

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Today what we are going to do is go through a spiritual loan application with the Bank of God’s treasures…Except what is special about this loan is that you don’t have to pay it back, so I guess you could call it a grant, whatever treasures you are approved for, they are yours to keep literally forever!But before we start the application we need to understand the terms of the agreement, and that brings us to point one.

Point One – Understanding the Difference between True Riches and Unrighteous Wealth

Luke 16:10-12 ESV  “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.  (11)  If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?  (12)  And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

See we need to understand some terms here… and if you watched last weeks sermon you will know some of this already, and honestly this message is really a natural part of last weeks, I probably should have called it a two part series…But nonetheless let’s talk about these terms.

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On one side we have these three terms:Very littleUnrighteous wealthAnd That which is another’sOn the other side we have these three terms:MuchTrue RichesThat which is your own.So what we are going to do, and this is going to be a heavy teaching point, but I want you to stay with me because understanding these terms is ESSENTIAL for understanding the life change that may need to take place for my next point… so what we are going to do is define each of these terms…Lets first talk about the term Very Little.First we need to understand that all of these terms are realitive… do you know what I mean by realitive?Look, if I go to taco bell and get my daughter a taco for lunch she might look at it and go “But dad that is so much! I can’t eat it all”But if I ask you to pick me

Introduction

Please Stand for the Reading of God’s Word

Luke

16:1-9 ESV  He

also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and

charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions.

 (2)  And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear

about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be

manager.’  (3)  And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do,

since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough

to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.  (4)  I have decided what to do, so

that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their

houses.’  (5)  So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he said

to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’  (6)  He said, ‘A

hundred measures of oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly

and write fifty.’  (7)  Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you

owe?’ He said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill,

and write eighty.’  (8)  The master commended the dishonest manager

for his shrewdness. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in dealing with

their own generation than the sons of light.  (9)  And I tell you,

make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it

fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

This, for me, was the hardest parable to

swallow, because at first glance it seems that this parable is suggesting that

God commends unrighteousness.It

seems that God is happy with the unrighteous and blatantly sinful act of the

dishonest manager.But

as we look deeper we see that isn’t the case… so let’s take a look and see what

I am talking about.Up until this point, if you remember, Jesus was

talking to  and gently rebuking the

Pharisees.He

was instructing the Pharisees about how much God loves repentant sinners, even

the gentile repentant sinner (If you don’t know what Gentile means let me

tell you, it simply means someone who is not Jewish).But now Jesus is turning His attention to His

disciples, this teaching was for them… for the Christian.And Jesus tells this story, the one we just

read, of a dishonest manager…Let

me recap it for you…There

was a very rich man who hired a manager to manage his money and possessions.The

manager was stealing money from the rich man who hired him.When

the rich man found out he fired the manager…But

before everything was finalized the manager made a plan…You

see the manager was old, lazy, and proud…He

wasn’t about to go work in a field… and he was way to proud to beg for money…So

he decided the best thing he could do was make some very rich and very powerful

friends as quickly as possible…So,

he went out to the people who owed his master lots of money, and he was so sly…He was

like “Let me help you out, because I like you, because we are friends… how

about you just pay half of what you owe and we will call it good”.Well hey! That’s a good deal, they must have

thought, this guy is awesome!And

so, the dishonest manager made some very powerful and rich friends very

quickly, so much so that his old boss was even impressed with his craftiness!Now,

make no mistake, what the manager did was FRAUD. It was theft. He was a thief

when he worked for his boss, and he was a thief as he was fired.And

if you know the 10 commandments then you know that the 8th

commandment is  “Thou shall not steal”…

so what he did was sinful.Now here is where the confusion came in for me,

as a Christian reading this parable…First,

I thought this parable was about the thieving ways of a manager… but it’s not…

the focus is not on his fraud… but on his cleverness… this parable is about the

cleverness of a dishonest manager.But

second, and this is where I got trapped for a long time in my thinking…I

thought this parable was supposed to some how be about the kingdom of God.Most

of the other parables have phrases in them like “so it is in heaven when one

sinner repents” or “The kingdom of

Introduction

If you joined us on Friday then you know the

first part of this story. We read through Chapters 22 and 23.We learned about Judas Iscariot’s wicked plot to

betray Jesus.We saw as Jesus cried out to the Father before

He was betrayed.We read how He was arrested, tried, and mocked

by both soldier and citizen alike.We read as he we lead up the hill of Calvary to

be crucified between two thieves.We read about the nails being driven into His

hands and Feet.We read about a thief who repented on the Cross

and Jesus forgave and welcomed to heaven.Then we read about Jesus breathing His last

breath.Finally, we read about Jesus being wrapped in

burial clothes and being laid in a stone tomb.And while the disciples thought that this was

the end of the story, we know better today.There is more to the story, because today we

celebrate the RESURECTION OF CHRIST!HALLELUJAH!!!!!Let’s finish the story out, shall we?

Please Stand for the Reading of God’s Word

Luke 24:1-7 ESV  But on the first day of the

week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.  (2)  And they

found the stone rolled away from the tomb,  (3)  but when they went

in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  (4)  While they

were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel.

 (5)  And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the

ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?

 (6)  He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while

he was still in Galilee,  (7)  that the Son of Man must be delivered

into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

You may be seated.

Today I want to talk about “What He Said When

He Rose From the Dead”

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TITLE SLIDE

WHAT HE SAID WHEN HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD…Now

I don’t mean what He physically spoke, because He did continue to speak and

teach…But

rather, I mean, what did the ACT of Rising From the Dead say to us believers…What

does the act of Him leaving the tomb mean for us even today?Now of course we know that He rose from the

dead, there is no question.We

know because there were witnesses, like the women who found the tomb empty… or

Thomas who put his finger through the holes in Jesus’ hands and side…There

are witnesses like the two Disciples on the road to EmmausEight

days after His resurrection he appeared to all 11 disciples…At

one occasion he even appeared to over 500 Christians.So

we know because of the witnesses… but we also know because He is alive today.You know that old song “In the garden”?It

has the words “And He WALKS with me and He TALKS with me”.I

mean it y’all, Jesus walks with me and talks with me, I hope He does to you

too!But the question today is this… Why is it so

important that we serve a God who has risen from the dead… what does that mean…

what did Jesus say by rising from the Dead?Well,

I am glad you asked!

When He Rose From the Dead, He said that Death is not the end!

You see the Jews had a long-lasting heated

argument… is there life after death? Is there a resurrection that happens?When Jesus rose from the dead He put that

argument to an end!Yes there is life after death.Yes we were made to be eternal!No death is NOT the end.No death does not need to be feared.In fact the whole idea of death as a whole was

flipped on it’s head!Y’all listen, this is obvious to us now, but it

wasn’t then…He flipped the whole idea of death on it’s head

by proving that death is not the end… I will explain that with the next two

things Jesus said by raising from the dead…

When He Rose From the Dead, He said that Heaven is real.

If you are a believer you know heaven is real…Even if you are not a believer this morning…

even if you are just here because it’s Easter but you are not sure about this

whole after life thing… you WANT heaven to be real, don’t you… Scripture says

all people long for eternity.

Ecclesiastes

3:11 ESV  He

has made everything beautiful in its

Introduction

Please stand for the reading of God’s word

Luke

15:25-32 ESV 

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house,

he heard music and dancing.  (26)  And he called one of the servants

and asked what these things meant.  (27)  And he said to him, ‘Your

brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has

received him back safe and sound.’  (28)  But he was angry and

refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him,  (29)  but

he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never

disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might

celebrate with my friends.  (30)  But when this son of yours came,

who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf

for him!’  (31)  And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me,

and all that is mine is yours.  (32)  It was fitting to celebrate and

be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Acts

10:34 ESV  So

Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no

partiality,

You may be seated

I added Acts 10:34 as a key verse to

todays sermon because understanding it is vital to understanding the parable of

the prodigal son.

You see the subject of this parable is not

actually the younger son… this parable, at the end of the day, is not actually

about the prodigal son.

Really what this parable is about is the

older son and his response to the return of the prodigal.

We know this because of the context of this

parable.

Everyone say context.

Look to your neighbor and say “Context”

Look at your computer screen and say

“Context”.

Jesus was not telling this parable in a

vacuum… He was telling it as part of a sermon he was preaching… and that sermon

had a point.

And not only did that sermon have a point,

but it had an audience.

The audience of this sermon is found in the

first few verses of the chapter…

Luke

15:1-3 ESV 

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.  (2) 

And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners

and eats with them.”  (3)  So he told them this parable:

The audience was the pharisees, grumbling

about Jesus receiving sinners,.

And the point of this sermon was to rebuke

the pharisees for their ungodly and loving thinking.

Therefore when we look at this parable, we

ought to look at it through those eyes… that it is a parable meant to rebuke

the unloving and holier than thou crowds.

Sure there is much truth to be found in the

early parts of the parable of the prodigal son, we preached three sermons on

those parts… but today we get down to the brass tacks…

Today we get to the point of the sermon,

and that point is this “God is not a respecter of persons, God does not show partiality”.

That’s why Acts 10:34 is so important. Let’s

read it again, first in the ESV then in the King James because I love the way

the KJV puts it…

Acts

10:34 ESV  So

Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no

partiality,

Acts

10:34 KJV  Then

Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no

respecter of persons:

Thus the title of today’s sermon is “Grace in all

respects”

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TITLE SLIDE

Grace in all respects… when God shows

Grace does not consider a persons age, or race, or wealth, or poverty. He does

not consider past sins or past acts of righteousness… instead he looks and sees

someone who has come to His house, and to all people in God’s house He gives

grace upon grace upon grace.

Grace in all respects… let’s pray

Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray

Point One – Don’t be a Respecter of Grace

Point one this morning, “Don’t be a

respecter of Grace”

Don’t be a respecter of Grace.

Does that mean you should not show grace

respect, no of course not.

It means simply this… don’t look at God’s

grace and judge it based

Introduction:

Luke

15:20-24 ESV 

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.

 (21)  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.’  (22) 

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.  (23)  And

bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.  (24) 

For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And

they began to celebrate.

Today it is my absolute joy to preach one of the

most miraculous, powerful, beautiful, blessing packed truths of Christianity.A truth so beautiful that the very essence of

the Gospel hangs upon it.A truth, when realized and lived out, radically

changes a believers life.A truth that means provision, and protection,

and healing, and joy.Peace, love, grace, mercy, provision… all

overflowing.This is probably the most encouraging message

that can be preached to the believer and to the unbeliever, especially when

paired with the Gospel.But be warned… this truth, that we are going to

talk about today, is only true if the truths of last weeks message are followed.The blessings and the beauty of this truth only

come through when you are living a life of repentance.And unfortunately some preachers have fixated on

this truth, today, and ignored the truth of repentance.That have taken this truth out of context, and

lead many people astray.So please, understand everything we are going to

talk about today is all on the heals of repentance.So, what is this beautiful, life changing, all

sustaining truth?The Father Comes to Us.

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THE FATHER COMES TO US!GOD COMES TO US! HE COMES TO US.In our filth, in our weakness, in our pitiful

state… GOD COMES TO US.See last week we talked about the prodigal

son, covered in the filth of his decisions and life choices…Smelling

of swine, which represents our sin.Starving

to death.We saw this pitiful son decide to repent and

turn back to His Father.And today we see what happens when the son

actually comes to the Father. AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL AND POWERFUL INDEED.

Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray

Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray Pray

Point One: The Father Runs to Us

Luke

15:20-21 ESV 

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.

 (21)  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.’

Point one: the Father RUNS to us….The Father RUNS to us!Do you see that, do you get that… the character

of God is that He RUNS to us!

Luke

15:20 ESV  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.

(Leave this verse up, I will reference it a bunch in this point)

So much of God’s character can be seen in this

verse… so much of who God the Father is can be seen in this beautiful verse.

First we see that the eyes of the Father are eyes of

mercy.

The scripture here says that the father SAW him

while he was still a long way off.As

if the Father is on top of some high tower looking out for His long-lost son.And as He looks and longs for His son we can

almost feel the joy of the Father as He spots still a long way off, His son

returning home.Do

you understand how much God desires sinners to repent and come back to Him…He

is literally up in heaven, patiently waiting… will one more come, will these

long lost sons and daughters of mine come home?I

believe God is looking into the depth of every soul… looking and waiting for that

soul to turn back to Him.And the second that soul has the slightest

inclination to return to God, God sees it.And when God sees t

Introduction

Please Stand for the Reading of God’s Word

Matthew

8:23-27 ESV 

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him.  (24)  And

behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being

swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.  (25)  And they went and

woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.”  (26)  And he

said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and

rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.  (27)  And

the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea

obey him?”

You May be Seated

“And behold there was a great storm on the

sea”.The

word in Greek here for storm is “Seismos” it means a terrible tempest, a sudden

and deadly storm… it is also the word used for earthquakes… to give you a scale

of the suddenness and terror this storm was causing, it was to them as bad as

an earthquake.That’s

why they used the word Seismos… they could have used a different word. They

could have used the word “Vrochi” which means rain storm.They

could have used the word “Anemos” which means wind storm.But

they used the word Seismos, a great and extreme and horrible and loud, life

threatening tempest.It came out of nowhere and is destroying

everything, much like an earthquake.So the disciples are on a boat with Jesus, they

have left everything to follow Him, and now they are convinced they are going

to die.So they go and find Jesus, He is sleeping, so

they wake Him… and what does He do? He rebukes them with this question followed

by a just judgment.

Matthew

8:26a ESV  And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you

of little faith?”…

There is the question: What are you afraid of?And then there is the just judgment “You have

little faith”.It seems harsh, but it’s not.In fact it is incredibly logical, it makes

perfect sense.It’s not harsh… extreme, sure, but we shouldn’t

be surprised that a life of following the creator of the universe is a life of

extremes.Now, we know that there is a Seismos happening

in the world right now, there is widespread global panic over Covid-19, the

Coranavirus.And because of that I am taking a break from

Luke and the prodigal son this morning to talk about Christianity and Pandemics.I feel that in this time of crises and panic

that it is important that you have a calm, collected, and biblical

understanding of what’s going on, and I feel that I would be doing the church a

disservice to ignore this issue from the pulpit.

Show

Title Slide – 1 Leave up until title slide 2

I want to give the church a Christian Response

to Pandemics.I want to give everyone watching a simple 2 step

process to handle any national or global crises from a Godly worldview.If you want to know how you should respond as a

Christian to the Coronavirus then this message is for you.Now I have a second Title Slide, one that I

didn’t want to put on Facebook because I was afraid it would make people mad…

like pretty much everything else on Facebook. But this is the honest Title of

todays message.

Show

Title Slide 2

A Christian Response to Pandemics. Why are

You Afraid?Why are you afraid? Have you ever asked yourself

that?If you are afraid of the Coronavirus or anything

else the first question you need to ask yourself is “Why am I afraid?”Now in today’s message I won’t be reading any

statistics.I won’t be comparing the coronavirus to the flu,

or to measles, or sars or anything else.I won’t be talking about survival rates, who is

at risk and who isn’t, and I certainly won’t be giving you travel advise.I will not be trying to make this virus seem

worse than it is.And I will not be trying to make lite of this

virus.The truth is I don’t know who to believe.Some say this is going to devastate the world.

Maybe it will.Others say it will blow over in a month. Maybe

so.Some say it is a hoax, a conspiracy, a

population control tactic.Others say it is nothing more than a common

pneumonia or stand of the flu. The truth is, guy

We apologize, we do not have notes available for this sermon.