https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/TheThrillOfSalvation.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Luke 15:1-10<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. Luke 15:10 – When someone responds to God’s message, there is excitement that reaches\nall the way to heaven!\n A. Each and every person, no matter how high or low stationed in life is important to\nGod.\n B. Ezekiel 33:11 – God doesn’t look forward to punishing the wicked. He will do so,\nbut he would rather that each person turn to him, but he leaving the choice to the\nindividual.\n
C. II Peter 3:9 – God would like everyone to turn to him<\/p>\n
II. Rescuing the lost takes more effort and brings more excitement than keeping the save.<\/p>\n A. Matthew 18:11-14 – God doesn’t want anyone to perish, so a rescue is a cause for\ncelebration. \n B. But to some, it seems to be unfair. You spend your whole life dedicated to God,\nbut a newcomer gets all the hoopla.\n
C. Mark 2:16-17 – Aid needs to be given to those who need it the most.<\/p>\n D. The Jews had this problem – Luke 15:1-2, which Jesus answers with three\nparables to explain why this is true\n
1. Luke 15:4-7 – The lost sheep<\/p>\n a. How much effort is one willing to give to bring just one animal\nback?\n
b. Jesus left his throne of glory to seek and save the lost – Luke 19:10<\/p>\n
2. Luke 15:8-10 – The lost coin<\/p>\n a. This parable emphasis the effort a person is willing to give to find\nsomething lost.\n b. How many of you have torn up your whole house just to find an\nitem that could have been replace in less time than it took you to\ntear up the house?\n
3. Luke 15:11-32 – The lost son<\/p>\n
a. Here the emphasis switches from the seeker to the lost.<\/p>\n b. We learn that the lost are in that state by their own choice. They\nreturn also by their own choice.\n c. The joy of return remains the same, but notice the reaction of the\nelder brother who did not stray.\n
III. It is so easy to become self-righteous<\/p>\n
A. We stay on the straight and narrow. We know that what we do is pleasing to God.<\/p>\n B. When we see how the lost are ruining themselves, it is easy to fall in the snare of\npride.\n 1. Our focus becomes what I want, what I need, instead of looking out for the\nneeds of others – Philippians 2:3-4\n
C. The disciples fell into this trap – Luke 9:51-56<\/p>\n
D. This is the trap Jonah fell in<\/p>\n
1. Jonah did not want to teach in Nineveh – Jonah 1:1-3<\/p>\n
a. Nineveh was the enemy of Israel.<\/p>\n b. Jonah was not interested in their salvation, he wanted to see them\ndestroyed.\n 2. When Jonah was forced to go, he taught that they only had 40 days – Jonah\n3:1-4\n a. I’m sure Jonah did not mind that those who heard his message\nwould soon be dead.\n
b. I’m sure the reaction was not what Jonah was expecting.<\/p>\n
c. The people from the lowest to the greatest, turned! – Jonah 3:5-9<\/p>\n
3. So God changed his mind – Jonah 3:10<\/p>\n
4. Jonah was furious! <\/p>\n a. God would not have mercy on him! He made Jonah go and preach\nto his enemies – Jonah 4:1-3\n (1) How soon he forgot his rescue from the whale! Was that\nnot mercy?\n (2) See how he applies mercy to himself, but not to his\nenemies?\n
5. God teaches Jonah a lesson – Jonah 4:4-11<\/p>\n
a. Jonah cared more for the plant than a city full of people!<\/p>\n
b. Jonah had done nothing for the plant, but he did teach a whole city.<\/p>\n c. 120,000 people turned because of one man’s teaching! Should\nGod not have pity on such people?\n
IV. We need to keep our focus.<\/p>\n A. There are precious souls to snatch away from the true enemy. Each one is a\ntremendous victory for our Savior.\n
B. II Timothy 2:24-26 – See how the emphasis is on the lost, and not the saved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 15:1-10 I. Luke 15:10 – When someone responds to God’s message, there is excitement that reaches all the way to heaven! A. Each and every person, no matter how high or low stationed in life is important to God. B. Ezekiel 33:11 – God doesn’t look forward to punishing the wicked.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[47,1363],"class_list":["post-5759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-salvation","tag-selfishness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":63637,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-value-of-souls\/","url_meta":{"origin":5759,"position":0},"title":"The Value of Souls","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 15:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is far too easy to lose sight of the goal \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We look at the sin in the world around us, knowing that we are not to get caught up in it - Romans 6:1-2 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We don\u2019t want to be influenced by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":46614,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-faith-has-made-you-well\/","url_meta":{"origin":5759,"position":1},"title":"Your Faith Has Made You Well","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 18:35-43 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0While looking at some of the miracles of Jesus in order to answer a question, I noticed something that I had not seen before \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If you look at the various miracles, you soon realize that faith on the part of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49192,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-expect-us-to-do-our-part\/","url_meta":{"origin":5759,"position":2},"title":"Does God expect us to do our part?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When Simon helps carries Jesus' cross in Mark 15:21, does it have any special meaning? I remember a pastor talking about how Jesus told Christians to deny ourselves and take up our own cross (such as in Luke 9:23), but He could not carry His own cross. Simon had\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2415,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-saves-a-person\/","url_meta":{"origin":5759,"position":3},"title":"What Saves a Person?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Since, \"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance\" (II Peter 3:9), it would be sensible to understand that in order to get people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/gospelReenacted.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/gospelReenacted.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/gospelReenacted.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/gospelReenacted.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":92143,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-the-friend-of-sinners\/","url_meta":{"origin":5759,"position":4},"title":"Jesus, the Friend of Sinners","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by David Gibson Text: Luke 19:1-10 Jesus makes a friend Astounding! The Creator of the universe walking around in a human body on dusty roads here on Planet Earth and into the home of a man nobody liked. Jesus paid a price to make this friend. This is the third\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":47430,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-baptism-have-to-do-with-salvation\/","url_meta":{"origin":5759,"position":5},"title":"What Does Baptism Have to Do with Salvation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Kings 5:1-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Leprosy is a terrible disease. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is a bacterial infection that causes skin lesions and nerve damage \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It has only been curable since the early 1980's. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0So it is no wonder that a commander in Syria\u2019s army would go great lengths\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}