1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:05,960 S1: Broadcasting from Chicago, across North America and beyond its cast 2 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:10,680 S1: and crew. Come as you are an experienced guide. Overcome 3 00:00:10,680 --> 00:00:15,440 S1: what seems impossible and live. As you never imagined. Start 4 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:16,880 S1: your morning with a laugh. 5 00:00:17,079 --> 00:00:22,119 S2: Practical from the Bible. Tips and tricks to kill. Not tricks, 6 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:23,600 S2: but tips and tricks. 7 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:28,400 S3: Tips and tricks to kill. Tips and tricks. 8 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:30,400 S1: Delivering the truth daily. 9 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:33,280 S4: All of my attempts to, you know, prop myself up 10 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:36,760 S4: with achievement in good works. But God wasn't impressed by that. 11 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:38,239 S4: Even if other people were. 12 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,040 S2: The gospel changes everything. 13 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:44,519 S5: Freedom in Christ. Man, it's like that backpack of cement 14 00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:46,440 S5: just falling to the ground. 15 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:50,920 S1: Now, from the call of Hope Studios, this is Carl 16 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:51,559 S1: and crew. 17 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:55,480 S4: Do you ever wonder if you're too far gone? You know, 18 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,000 S4: this can happen whether you've been in church a while 19 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:01,300 S4: or not. You can feel like I would never step 20 00:01:01,300 --> 00:01:03,660 S4: foot in a church. You've heard people say this, Jonathan, 21 00:01:03,660 --> 00:01:06,539 S4: if I set foot in a church, lightning might strike 22 00:01:06,580 --> 00:01:09,699 S4: like the whole building might collapse because of my past, right? 23 00:01:09,740 --> 00:01:11,300 S2: I'm too unholy to enter. 24 00:01:11,580 --> 00:01:14,819 S4: Exactly. Or you can feel like I've been in church 25 00:01:14,819 --> 00:01:18,420 S4: and I have failed so miserably. How could I ever 26 00:01:18,459 --> 00:01:19,259 S4: go back? 27 00:01:19,660 --> 00:01:20,340 S2: That's a big one, too. 28 00:01:20,380 --> 00:01:23,580 S4: How could I see those same people who maybe once 29 00:01:23,580 --> 00:01:26,259 S4: believed this about me? And now look at the mess 30 00:01:26,260 --> 00:01:29,740 S4: that I'm in. Am I too far gone for God? 31 00:01:29,940 --> 00:01:32,100 S4: I've got a guest joining us right now. His name 32 00:01:32,100 --> 00:01:36,340 S4: is Jay Louder. He is an author, evangelist, speaker, ministry leader. 33 00:01:36,819 --> 00:01:39,660 S4: Did you ever wonder if you were too far gone 34 00:01:39,660 --> 00:01:40,979 S4: for God to reach you? 35 00:01:41,020 --> 00:01:43,860 S6: Jay yeah, I certainly did. I got to a place 36 00:01:43,860 --> 00:01:46,100 S6: in my life and I kind of fit the second 37 00:01:46,100 --> 00:01:49,060 S6: category that you were talking about. I grew up in church, 38 00:01:49,060 --> 00:01:51,900 S6: and so I'd been there, done it, heard it, and 39 00:01:51,900 --> 00:01:53,940 S6: I thought, well, I really don't have an excuse to 40 00:01:53,980 --> 00:01:56,660 S6: be living the life that I'm living, and there's no 41 00:01:56,700 --> 00:01:59,340 S6: hope for me. And I knew I didn't deserve to 42 00:01:59,440 --> 00:02:02,280 S6: be forgiven, and I figured God felt the same way 43 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:05,200 S6: about me that I felt about myself. But that's the 44 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:07,960 S6: reason I decided to end my life for that very reason. 45 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:11,520 S4: Wow. Because you felt like you were too far gone. 46 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:13,240 S4: Like you were out of God's reach. 47 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:15,800 S6: Yeah, I felt like I was out of God's reach. 48 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:18,320 S6: And it's something that I've heard from so many people. 49 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:20,440 S6: You know, when you think about it, you really have 50 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:24,600 S6: to ask yourself what sin is so great that it's 51 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:28,040 S6: more powerful or greater than the blood of Christ? And 52 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,600 S6: there's not one. I mean, it's easy for me to 53 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,359 S6: look back and to say that now, but at the time, 54 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,720 S6: because of the way that I was living, it seemed unrealistic. 55 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,720 S6: I knew I didn't deserve to be forgiven. But really, 56 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:43,480 S6: who does? Right. That's never really been the issue of 57 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:46,920 S6: who deserves, because we we don't want what we deserve. 58 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:49,440 S6: But it's about grace. It's about mercy. And that's why 59 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,120 S6: one of my favorite stories in all of the Bible 60 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,280 S6: is the story about the thief on the cross. I mean, really, 61 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:59,540 S6: he proves the fact that you can't be too far gone. 62 00:02:59,780 --> 00:03:02,820 S6: And that really the people who feel like maybe they're 63 00:03:02,820 --> 00:03:05,620 S6: too far gone are the very people that Jesus came 64 00:03:05,620 --> 00:03:06,380 S6: to rescue. 65 00:03:07,020 --> 00:03:09,460 S4: We've got Jay with us right now, founder of J. 66 00:03:09,460 --> 00:03:13,260 S4: Lowder Harvest Ministries, an organization dedicated to reaching diverse groups 67 00:03:13,260 --> 00:03:16,020 S4: of people with the message of Jesus Christ. I want 68 00:03:16,020 --> 00:03:18,619 S4: to go back to you mentioned that in your younger years, 69 00:03:18,620 --> 00:03:21,739 S4: you there was a time when you had contemplated and 70 00:03:21,740 --> 00:03:24,500 S4: even planned to end your life. We're not going to 71 00:03:24,500 --> 00:03:27,940 S4: go into detail here, but how did God pull you 72 00:03:27,980 --> 00:03:30,180 S4: out of that? If you reached a point where you thought, 73 00:03:30,180 --> 00:03:33,340 S4: I'm too far gone, how did God convince you otherwise? 74 00:03:34,020 --> 00:03:36,580 S6: Well, first of all, I had a lot of people 75 00:03:36,580 --> 00:03:39,180 S6: praying for me. And that's why if you're listening, you're 76 00:03:39,180 --> 00:03:41,780 S6: listening to this program today, and maybe you're not the 77 00:03:41,780 --> 00:03:44,700 S6: one that feels like that. You're too far gone. But 78 00:03:44,700 --> 00:03:47,380 S6: you have a friend or a coworker or a son 79 00:03:47,380 --> 00:03:49,540 S6: or a daughter. I had people that were praying for 80 00:03:49,540 --> 00:03:52,940 S6: me that God would rescue me. And so, of course, 81 00:03:52,940 --> 00:03:55,820 S6: eventually what happened is I was invited to an evangelistic 82 00:03:55,820 --> 00:03:59,520 S6: outreach where I heard the gospel And actually the very 83 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,640 S6: story that I mentioned regarding this thief on the cross 84 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,720 S6: was something that was talked about. And when I heard 85 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,280 S6: the story, I thought, well, if Christ could forgive him. 86 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:12,280 S6: I mean, here's a guy not only is this guy 87 00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:15,440 S6: a thief, he's a lifetime criminal. But on top of that, 88 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:17,360 S6: I mean, here's a guy that initially when he was 89 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:22,320 S6: being executed along with Christ, was cursing Christ. And I thought, well, 90 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:26,000 S6: if God could forgive him, maybe I wasn't convinced, but 91 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,000 S6: I thought maybe God could forgive me. But again, this 92 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,159 S6: is a reoccurring theme. I mean, let's just say that 93 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:35,039 S6: maybe that one of the reasons a person feels this way. 94 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:37,160 S6: I mean, we could hit every topic. We could say, well, 95 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,520 S6: what if I murdered somebody? Well, so did David. And 96 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:43,680 S6: the Bible says that, uh, he's he was a man 97 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,640 S6: after God's own heart. You say? Well, I've got a 98 00:04:45,680 --> 00:04:48,559 S6: lot of sexual sin in my life. Well, think about 99 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:51,240 S6: the woman at the. Well, you know, Jesus has this 100 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:55,440 S6: uncanny ability of he runs to people who are broken. 101 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:58,780 S6: He runs to people who are hurting. Well, one of 102 00:04:58,779 --> 00:05:01,659 S6: my favorite stories, and for many people that probably listen 103 00:05:01,660 --> 00:05:04,460 S6: to the program, is the story of the prodigal son. 104 00:05:04,820 --> 00:05:08,580 S6: This son who wastes his family inheritance, he wasted the 105 00:05:08,580 --> 00:05:11,940 S6: family money, wasted the family name, and he certainly wasted 106 00:05:11,940 --> 00:05:14,780 S6: his life. He was hanging out with prostitutes, and I mean, 107 00:05:14,820 --> 00:05:17,700 S6: his life just was going down the drain. And yet 108 00:05:17,700 --> 00:05:20,620 S6: he came home. And I really believe that he also 109 00:05:20,620 --> 00:05:23,620 S6: felt that I've gone too far. I mean, it was 110 00:05:23,620 --> 00:05:27,580 S6: obvious because he said to himself when he saw his father, 111 00:05:27,580 --> 00:05:30,540 S6: he said, if I could just be a hired servant, 112 00:05:30,540 --> 00:05:33,020 S6: I don't deserve to be your son, which is a 113 00:05:33,020 --> 00:05:36,380 S6: true statement. But what did the father do? Your father 114 00:05:36,380 --> 00:05:39,260 S6: not only welcomed, welcomed him back in, gave him a 115 00:05:39,260 --> 00:05:41,140 S6: job and all that, but he welcomed him back into 116 00:05:41,140 --> 00:05:43,940 S6: the family as his own son. And of course, the 117 00:05:43,940 --> 00:05:48,219 S6: father in the story represents God Almighty. And so people 118 00:05:48,220 --> 00:05:52,020 S6: that are hurting, that feel as though my sexual sin 119 00:05:52,020 --> 00:05:55,860 S6: is too great, my addictions too great, my past is 120 00:05:55,900 --> 00:06:00,560 S6: too blurry. It's too brackish. It's too. My life is wasted. It's. 121 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:05,560 S6: It's never not. It's not true. Jesus Christ is died 122 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:08,520 S6: for those very people that are hurting the most. 123 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:11,039 S4: Jay, louder. Our guest right now, coming up, let's talk 124 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:14,000 S4: more about this because you're you're listening because you had 125 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,200 S4: believed the lie that maybe I'm too far gone. I 126 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:19,600 S4: don't know how you arrived at this radio station today. 127 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:21,599 S4: I know it was the power of the Holy Spirit 128 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:24,080 S4: that has you listening this morning. What do you do 129 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,200 S4: today to turn back to Jesus? Or maybe turn to 130 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:29,920 S4: him for the first time? More with our guest coming up. 131 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,520 S1: You're listening to Curl and Cru on Moody Radio. 132 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:36,640 S4: Well, if you've ever wondered if you're too far gone 133 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,799 S4: for God to reach you, the answer is no. Jay 134 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:43,720 S4: and you, Jay, are with us. You have such a 135 00:06:43,720 --> 00:06:47,080 S4: heart for those who who feel this. This is a 136 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,120 S4: big part of your ministry, right? 137 00:06:49,520 --> 00:06:50,280 S7: Yeah. It is. 138 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:52,919 S6: I speak in churches, but yet I've spoken to NFL 139 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,820 S6: football teams. I've spoken to rehab centers. I mean, the 140 00:06:55,820 --> 00:06:58,700 S6: whole nine yards. Even as we were talking while ago, 141 00:06:58,740 --> 00:07:01,300 S6: I was thinking about, um, even though we're not a 142 00:07:01,300 --> 00:07:03,980 S6: prison ministry by any means, sometimes when I go into 143 00:07:04,020 --> 00:07:06,540 S6: a city, I'm invited to speak at various prisons, and 144 00:07:06,540 --> 00:07:10,060 S6: I've done that both nationally and internationally. And I was thinking, well, 145 00:07:10,060 --> 00:07:12,540 S6: ago when we were talking about being too far gone, 146 00:07:12,980 --> 00:07:16,180 S6: about some of the prisons that I've been in, I've 147 00:07:16,180 --> 00:07:18,780 S6: literally been on death row with people that have committed 148 00:07:18,780 --> 00:07:22,940 S6: the most heinous crimes that you can imagine and have 149 00:07:22,940 --> 00:07:25,140 S6: been able to share with them. I mean, we're not 150 00:07:25,140 --> 00:07:28,140 S6: talking about people that got arrested for driving too fast 151 00:07:28,180 --> 00:07:30,060 S6: on the road. I mean, I remember talking to a 152 00:07:30,060 --> 00:07:33,820 S6: guy who stabbed a young girl the same age as 153 00:07:33,820 --> 00:07:38,220 S6: my daughter over 40 times, and and it was a 154 00:07:38,220 --> 00:07:42,100 S6: little difficult. But even on the way there, thinking about, 155 00:07:42,460 --> 00:07:46,100 S6: you know, my my sin is no less than or 156 00:07:46,100 --> 00:07:49,220 S6: no worse than his. I mean, Christ died for him 157 00:07:49,220 --> 00:07:51,060 S6: the same way. And in being able to look him 158 00:07:51,060 --> 00:07:54,920 S6: in the eye and say, man, God even loves you, 159 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:57,360 S6: you know. In spite of all that you've done, even 160 00:07:57,360 --> 00:08:00,120 S6: you can dip into the grace of Christ. And I 161 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:04,360 S6: believe that, and I believe that for everybody. Now, you know, 162 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,040 S6: the truth of it is, I mean, we must realize 163 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,200 S6: that while your sin can never be greater than the 164 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:12,400 S6: blood of Christ, we do have to realize that there 165 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:15,000 S6: is a thing called the day of grace. Yeah. There 166 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,880 S6: can be a time where you reject Christ long enough, 167 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,840 S6: not because he wants you to spend eternity separated from him, 168 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:25,280 S6: but where he gives you up to your own way. 169 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:28,080 S6: You know, it talks about this in Romans where God 170 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:30,480 S6: gave them up. It wasn't that God didn't love them. 171 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:33,320 S6: It wasn't that God couldn't rescue them. It's that they 172 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:36,160 S6: wouldn't allow him to do that. Even the Scripture says 173 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:40,120 S6: in Zechariah that God's Spirit will not always strive with man. So, 174 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:42,440 S6: you know, I do believe that you can get to 175 00:08:42,480 --> 00:08:46,000 S6: a place where you can reject Christ long enough that 176 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:48,880 S6: your day of grace is wasted, but it's not because 177 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,280 S6: Christ couldn't or wouldn't forgive you. 178 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:56,819 S4: It's because he's actually Giving you over to what you're wanting, right? 179 00:08:56,860 --> 00:08:57,300 S4: I mean. 180 00:08:57,340 --> 00:08:57,980 S6: Exactly. 181 00:08:58,020 --> 00:09:00,700 S4: Which, when you think about it, when you really think 182 00:09:00,700 --> 00:09:04,100 S4: about it is is terrifying because it reveals that we 183 00:09:04,140 --> 00:09:08,300 S4: we don't want our desire is toward sin from the 184 00:09:08,300 --> 00:09:11,699 S4: very beginning. I want you to to share the gospel 185 00:09:11,700 --> 00:09:15,380 S4: with somebody who's listening today and who who wants to 186 00:09:15,420 --> 00:09:18,300 S4: turn to Jesus, maybe for the very first time. 187 00:09:18,660 --> 00:09:21,300 S6: Yeah. Well, one quick thing before I do that. Years ago, 188 00:09:21,340 --> 00:09:23,020 S6: I was sitting at a table with a bunch of 189 00:09:23,020 --> 00:09:26,140 S6: people right around the time of the Timothy McVeigh trial. 190 00:09:26,140 --> 00:09:28,100 S6: If you remember, he's the one that bombed the federal 191 00:09:28,140 --> 00:09:32,060 S6: building in Oklahoma City, and he was being executed that day, 192 00:09:32,100 --> 00:09:34,620 S6: and somebody said, man, that guy's going to go straight 193 00:09:34,620 --> 00:09:36,900 S6: to hell. And I said, hey, guys, wait a minute. 194 00:09:36,940 --> 00:09:39,380 S6: You know, if if he is going to die and 195 00:09:39,380 --> 00:09:41,340 S6: go to hell, it's going to be not because he 196 00:09:41,340 --> 00:09:45,260 S6: blew up the federal building. It's because he rejected Christ. Wow. 197 00:09:45,300 --> 00:09:48,819 S6: So yes, even Timothy McVeigh, as heinous as that crime 198 00:09:48,820 --> 00:09:52,100 S6: was to murder innocent people and children, even he. If 199 00:09:52,100 --> 00:09:54,440 S6: he would reach out to Christ before his death. God 200 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,560 S6: was forgiven, but she. The good news is this. As 201 00:09:57,559 --> 00:10:01,320 S6: we talked earlier, none of us deserve forgiveness. We all 202 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,320 S6: deserve to be separated from God throughout all eternity. But 203 00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:09,360 S6: that's the very reason Jesus came. He came so that 204 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:11,680 S6: we could be forgiven. And it's not just about having 205 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,600 S6: a ticket to go to heaven. It's about having a 206 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:18,080 S6: new life, a new beginning. And the Scripture calls it 207 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:20,440 S6: an abundant life. And you go, well, what have I 208 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:22,000 S6: got to do to receive that? Now, see, I grew 209 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,439 S6: up in church. I'd heard the gospel many, many times. 210 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:26,760 S6: I've been baptized. I'd walked an aisle and I still 211 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,400 S6: was unsaved. I had an intellectual belief in Christ, but 212 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:33,400 S6: not a relationship. A relationship is is not just an 213 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:37,000 S6: intellectual belief, but it's a realization that, yes, Christ died 214 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,800 S6: for me and all the mess in my life and 215 00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:42,160 S6: all the filth in my life and all the ways I've. 216 00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:46,040 S6: I've broken my promises to him time and time again. Yes, 217 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,079 S6: he died for me. And not only did he die 218 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:51,160 S6: for me, but he's alive now. And he did every 219 00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:53,459 S6: bit of that so that I could have a relationship 220 00:10:53,460 --> 00:10:56,340 S6: with him. He literally wants to adopt me into my 221 00:10:56,340 --> 00:10:59,900 S6: family just as I am. I literally can come just 222 00:10:59,900 --> 00:11:01,780 S6: as I am. I don't have to clean anything up. 223 00:11:01,780 --> 00:11:03,740 S6: I don't have to change anything. This is what I've 224 00:11:03,740 --> 00:11:05,740 S6: got to be willing to do. I've got to be 225 00:11:05,740 --> 00:11:08,500 S6: willing to believe that He is God's Son who died 226 00:11:08,500 --> 00:11:10,660 S6: in my place. And I've got to be willing to 227 00:11:10,700 --> 00:11:13,740 S6: turn my back on my sin. Now you might say, well, but, Jay, 228 00:11:13,780 --> 00:11:16,380 S6: I can't do that. That's why I'm at where I'm at. 229 00:11:16,380 --> 00:11:19,220 S6: I have this addiction, I have this problem, I have 230 00:11:19,220 --> 00:11:22,620 S6: this ongoing sin. I have this ongoing guilt. No, you 231 00:11:22,620 --> 00:11:24,860 S6: can't do it on your own. But the great thing is, 232 00:11:24,900 --> 00:11:27,380 S6: is you can do it by his power. The Bible 233 00:11:27,380 --> 00:11:30,180 S6: says that whosoever shall call on the name of the 234 00:11:30,179 --> 00:11:34,900 S6: Lord can be saved, will be saved. Everybody knows John 235 00:11:34,900 --> 00:11:38,340 S6: 316 For God so loved that he gave. He gave something, 236 00:11:38,340 --> 00:11:41,220 S6: he gave his son, that whoever believes and again, not 237 00:11:41,220 --> 00:11:44,579 S6: an intellectual belief, but a saving belief. That night, when 238 00:11:44,580 --> 00:11:47,579 S6: I got on my knees as a young man who 239 00:11:47,580 --> 00:11:51,059 S6: had attempted suicide, my prayer wasn't fancy. No one would 240 00:11:51,100 --> 00:11:53,319 S6: have applauded the prayer. I got on my knees and 241 00:11:53,320 --> 00:11:57,560 S6: I said, God, I am a sinner. Will you come 242 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:00,480 S6: into my life right here, right now? Will you give 243 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:02,800 S6: me the power to turn my back on my sin 244 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:07,040 S6: and my unbelief? And at that very moment, Jesus Christ 245 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:10,400 S6: came in my life. It didn't mean everything was fixed. 246 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,000 S6: It didn't mean the mental health issues were gone. It 247 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:17,040 S6: didn't mean the suicidal tendencies completely evaporated. But what it 248 00:12:17,040 --> 00:12:19,600 S6: did mean is, is that God came into my life 249 00:12:20,080 --> 00:12:22,800 S6: and he gave me a new life, a new beginning. 250 00:12:23,120 --> 00:12:25,600 S6: And that's exactly what he wants to do for you. 251 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:28,719 S6: That's right. With all your baggage, with all your warehouse 252 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:31,720 S6: of regret, maybe with all your resentment, with all of 253 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:34,800 S6: your questions. You come to him just as you are. 254 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,840 S6: You don't have to have all the answers. You just say, Christ, 255 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:41,080 S6: will you come into my life? Will you be my Lord, 256 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:44,200 S6: my God and my Savior? And he promises that he'll 257 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:46,559 S6: do it just like he did for the thief on 258 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:49,480 S6: the cross when he told him, today you will be 259 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:53,460 S6: with me in Paradise. It's the greatest news in the world. 260 00:12:53,500 --> 00:12:57,020 S4: Yeah. If that's you and you're listening this morning and 261 00:12:57,020 --> 00:13:00,100 S4: today you are turning. You are repenting. You are turning 262 00:13:00,100 --> 00:13:02,300 S4: from your sin. You are going a new way. And 263 00:13:02,300 --> 00:13:05,179 S4: today you are following Jesus. Just text new. We want 264 00:13:05,220 --> 00:13:07,500 S4: to send something to you. Just text new and E 265 00:13:08,140 --> 00:13:16,860 S4: to 800 555 7898. Text new to 800 555 7898. 266 00:13:17,059 --> 00:13:19,740 S4: J you get the privilege of sharing the gospel in 267 00:13:19,740 --> 00:13:22,819 S4: a lot of different contexts around the country. It never 268 00:13:22,820 --> 00:13:26,300 S4: gets old. Seeing people turn from their sin, turn from 269 00:13:26,300 --> 00:13:28,660 S4: death to life never gets old to you, does it? 270 00:13:29,300 --> 00:13:31,459 S6: No it doesn't. Matter of fact, when I gave my 271 00:13:31,460 --> 00:13:34,740 S6: life to Christ, I thought, I want to do something 272 00:13:34,740 --> 00:13:37,700 S6: that will stand the test of time. And I thought 273 00:13:37,700 --> 00:13:40,060 S6: if somehow, some way, I can be a catalyst to 274 00:13:40,059 --> 00:13:43,780 S6: help people find the same hope that I found. It'd 275 00:13:43,820 --> 00:13:46,820 S6: be a life worth living. And yet, to this day, 276 00:13:47,059 --> 00:13:49,600 S6: seeing people come to know the Lord, there's nothing better. Or. 277 00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:52,320 S6: And the reason that many of you tuned into the 278 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:54,760 S6: program today was for that very reason. You thought you 279 00:13:54,760 --> 00:13:58,160 S6: weren't good enough. But God is. And he wants you 280 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:01,079 S6: in a relationship with you and wants you to come 281 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:02,000 S6: to him in faith. 282 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:04,640 S4: If you want more on our guest, Jay louder, just 283 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:11,160 S4: text Jay. Jay a text Jay to (800) 555-7898. We'll get 284 00:14:11,160 --> 00:14:13,840 S4: you connected to his ministry page. Find out more about 285 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:18,760 S4: what he's doing. Just text Jay to (800) 555-7898. 286 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:23,720 S1: Walking closer to Jesus every day. You're listening to Carl 287 00:14:23,720 --> 00:14:24,320 S1: and Crew. 288 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:28,360 S4: Freedom Friday here on Carl and crew mornings. Hey, I'm Allie. 289 00:14:28,720 --> 00:14:31,240 S4: Have you ever lost something valuable? 290 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:37,320 S2: Yes. My wallet on a missions trip. Oh, yeah. We were. 291 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:39,760 S2: It was domestic missions trip, so it wasn't like I 292 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,880 S2: had trouble getting home or anything like that. But, you know, 293 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:46,080 S2: we were we were on a on a missions trip 294 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:48,800 S2: kind of road trip thing, and we were out getting 295 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:52,140 S2: dinner at some point and had gone to some stores 296 00:14:52,180 --> 00:14:55,900 S2: and we all jumped back in the church van, and 297 00:14:55,940 --> 00:15:00,300 S2: I'm putting my patting my pockets and there's no wallet 298 00:15:00,300 --> 00:15:00,620 S2: in there. 299 00:15:00,740 --> 00:15:01,180 S4: Missing? 300 00:15:01,220 --> 00:15:04,860 S2: Yeah. And so I had a a small reserve of 301 00:15:04,860 --> 00:15:07,740 S2: cash that got me through on meals for the rest 302 00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:11,100 S2: of the time, but, uh, but yeah, I once I 303 00:15:11,100 --> 00:15:14,020 S2: got home, I had to do some replacement because I 304 00:15:14,020 --> 00:15:14,980 S2: could not find it. 305 00:15:15,300 --> 00:15:17,020 S4: Did you. What did you what did you do to 306 00:15:17,060 --> 00:15:18,820 S4: try to find it? Well, did you retrace your. 307 00:15:18,820 --> 00:15:21,740 S2: I retraced my steps. We. Before we left, we went 308 00:15:21,740 --> 00:15:23,660 S2: back to the stores that I had been in and 309 00:15:23,660 --> 00:15:26,300 S2: the restaurants that I had been in and tried to 310 00:15:26,340 --> 00:15:29,740 S2: find it. Asked anybody who knew and and nobody knew. 311 00:15:29,740 --> 00:15:32,060 S2: And so there was just nothing else you could do. 312 00:15:33,180 --> 00:15:34,060 S4: That hurts a little bit. 313 00:15:34,260 --> 00:15:37,700 S2: It was the worst. Yeah. Yeah. Because you always have 314 00:15:37,700 --> 00:15:39,260 S2: in the back of your mind when you lose something, 315 00:15:39,260 --> 00:15:41,660 S2: you're like, I'm gonna find it. Like, okay, it's probably 316 00:15:41,660 --> 00:15:43,380 S2: here or there, but when you're in the middle of 317 00:15:43,380 --> 00:15:45,180 S2: a place that you don't know and you're. 318 00:15:45,180 --> 00:15:46,900 S4: Not necessarily going back to like. 319 00:15:46,940 --> 00:15:48,840 S2: Yeah, and you're not going back to again, I don't 320 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:50,960 S2: think I've ever seen that place again in my life. 321 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:55,000 S2: You know, I. And so, yeah, I had to go 322 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,200 S2: back to the van and go, okay, how am I 323 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,200 S2: going to get through the rest of this trip without 324 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:04,880 S2: my money? And we made it. We're okay. But the. 325 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:06,920 S4: Worst. You ever lost something of value. 326 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,720 S5: I did it was a very tiny gold cross that 327 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,800 S5: I had had for a very, very long time. I 328 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:14,240 S5: was on a missions trip and. 329 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:15,480 S4: Another missions trip. 330 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:20,000 S5: This was overseas. And I'm pretty sure just with all 331 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,440 S5: my interactions with the kids and things like that, it 332 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:24,960 S5: just probably, you know what I'm saying? It just kind 333 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,560 S5: of fell off. Slipped off, slipped off. Well, the I 334 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:29,560 S5: still have the chain on. So that was the thing 335 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:32,120 S5: the cross had somehow snapped off or whatever. So I'm 336 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:34,600 S5: sure we're just playing and things of that nature. So 337 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:36,960 S5: I'm just like, okay, my cross is somewhere at an 338 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:40,680 S5: orphanage in Guatemala and I'm going to leave it. Leave 339 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,200 S5: it to be at that at this point. But it 340 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:45,040 S5: was hard because I had it for a very, very 341 00:16:45,040 --> 00:16:46,960 S5: long time. Yeah, it was a gift from my grandmother. 342 00:16:47,360 --> 00:16:47,720 S4: Ah. 343 00:16:48,020 --> 00:16:48,420 S5: Yeah. 344 00:16:48,460 --> 00:16:52,460 S4: I definitely remember the day that I was headed out 345 00:16:52,460 --> 00:16:55,620 S4: to take one of my kids to basketball. It was 346 00:16:55,660 --> 00:16:59,340 S4: a Saturday morning and I went to reach for my 347 00:16:59,700 --> 00:17:04,380 S4: wedding ring and oh, you know, I feel like, okay, 348 00:17:04,420 --> 00:17:07,060 S4: I normally put it as I like to take my 349 00:17:07,060 --> 00:17:09,859 S4: rings off when I get in the house because I 350 00:17:09,859 --> 00:17:13,020 S4: don't like to, you know, when I'm doing laundry and 351 00:17:13,020 --> 00:17:15,580 S4: washing dishes. I don't like the feeling of the rings 352 00:17:15,580 --> 00:17:17,300 S4: on my hands and I don't want to get them 353 00:17:17,340 --> 00:17:17,820 S4: kind of. 354 00:17:17,859 --> 00:17:18,660 S2: That makes sense. 355 00:17:18,700 --> 00:17:21,139 S4: Dinged. So I always would take them off and I 356 00:17:21,140 --> 00:17:23,660 S4: would put them in like 1 or 2, one of 357 00:17:23,700 --> 00:17:28,220 S4: two different spots. And so this was the the engagement ring. 358 00:17:28,660 --> 00:17:32,659 S4: And so I reached for it, wasn't there. Looked at 359 00:17:32,660 --> 00:17:36,540 S4: the other spot. It wasn't there. So I go, huh. 360 00:17:36,580 --> 00:17:40,060 S4: That's strange. So, you know, with something like that you're 361 00:17:40,060 --> 00:17:44,460 S4: not you don't instantly panic because I'm in my own house. 362 00:17:44,460 --> 00:17:47,160 S4: So it's like, okay, I've lost it in my house. 363 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:47,840 S5: True. 364 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:52,719 S4: Yeah, I turned that house upside down. And can I 365 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,479 S4: tell you, I never found it? 366 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:57,800 S5: Even to this day, you still have this day. 367 00:17:57,840 --> 00:17:59,840 S4: We've now moved. We don't even live in the same 368 00:18:00,200 --> 00:18:06,560 S4: place anymore. So I lost an engagement ring somehow, and 369 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:11,440 S4: I can. I looked everywhere. Everywhere. And I can. Only 370 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,080 S4: I have to imagine that something fluky probably happened. Like 371 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:21,159 S4: it somehow, like, got slipped into, like, the recycling bin 372 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,000 S4: and got recycled or something because it was nowhere to 373 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:24,400 S4: be found. 374 00:18:24,440 --> 00:18:26,560 S5: And you don't have little ones that would have grabbed it. 375 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:28,120 S5: You don't have pets that my kids were. 376 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:31,080 S4: Little, but it was never it was all I had. 377 00:18:31,080 --> 00:18:33,680 S4: Always would put it like just, you know, in a 378 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:36,360 S4: on the counter in a dish or there was it 379 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:39,320 S4: wasn't like I would just sort of, you know, drop 380 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:42,919 S4: it casually. And so and I would think about it 381 00:18:42,920 --> 00:18:45,119 S4: from time to time because we lived there probably for 382 00:18:45,119 --> 00:18:49,659 S4: another 4 or 5 years before we ended up moving. 383 00:18:49,660 --> 00:18:52,500 S4: And I thought when we moved, I thought, I cannot 384 00:18:52,500 --> 00:18:56,020 S4: believe that that never turned up. It never did. 385 00:18:56,220 --> 00:18:58,860 S5: Odd. So odd. I'm sorry. 386 00:18:58,900 --> 00:19:03,139 S4: And thankfully, thankfully, we had gotten it, you know, put 387 00:19:03,220 --> 00:19:06,820 S4: in under our homeowners insurance. So I was able to 388 00:19:06,859 --> 00:19:11,260 S4: to replace it. But man, I was really bummed for 389 00:19:11,260 --> 00:19:14,139 S4: a while. Like, how did I lose my wedding ring? 390 00:19:14,140 --> 00:19:17,500 S4: How do you lose that? I'm curious to know, have 391 00:19:17,500 --> 00:19:21,020 S4: you ever lost something of value? Maybe. And found it 392 00:19:21,020 --> 00:19:24,300 S4: maybe that your story had a happier ending than ours did. 393 00:19:24,660 --> 00:19:27,500 S4: We've got three lost items that were never found. But 394 00:19:27,500 --> 00:19:30,379 S4: have you ever lost something that you did then find? 395 00:19:30,619 --> 00:19:37,900 S4: 800 555 7898 800 555 7898. Coming up, I want 396 00:19:37,940 --> 00:19:41,219 S4: to talk about lost things. I'm going to take you 397 00:19:41,220 --> 00:19:44,780 S4: to Luke 15, a very familiar passage of Scripture. But 398 00:19:44,780 --> 00:19:46,760 S4: as I was looking at it yesterday, I saw some 399 00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:50,240 S4: some things a little bit different than I had seen 400 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:52,440 S4: them before. Let's go. They're coming up. 401 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:58,760 S1: Romans eight brought her to Jesus while broadcasting traffic overnight. 402 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:02,760 S1: Super Dai is in the crew. It's colonel and crew 403 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:04,040 S1: on Moody Radio. 404 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:07,919 S4: You know, when we look at Luke 15, it is, uh, 405 00:20:08,040 --> 00:20:12,080 S4: three parables. Parables of a three lost things. I think 406 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:15,960 S4: most people are familiar with the parable of the Prodigal Son, 407 00:20:16,280 --> 00:20:18,640 S4: but I want to start back at the beginning to 408 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:22,280 S4: the setup for this whole section. I'm going to read 409 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:25,680 S4: to you Luke 15, starting with verse one. Now the 410 00:20:26,080 --> 00:20:29,440 S4: tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him, 411 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:33,159 S4: to Jesus and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, 412 00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:37,520 S4: this man receives sinners and eats with them. Stop right there. 413 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:39,520 S4: So I want you to picture this. So the tax 414 00:20:39,520 --> 00:20:44,320 S4: collectors not not viewed well, usually they were known for 415 00:20:44,410 --> 00:20:46,129 S4: being dishonest. 416 00:20:46,330 --> 00:20:51,010 S2: Yeah. And it was an interesting thing about tax collectors 417 00:20:51,010 --> 00:20:54,530 S2: is they were they were of Jewish descent, grabbing money 418 00:20:54,530 --> 00:20:57,450 S2: from the Jewish people and bringing it to the Roman government. 419 00:20:57,450 --> 00:20:59,970 S2: And so the Romans looked down on them because they 420 00:20:59,970 --> 00:21:02,330 S2: were Jewish. And the Jewish people looked down on them 421 00:21:02,330 --> 00:21:04,330 S2: because it was like they betrayed their own people. 422 00:21:04,330 --> 00:21:05,170 S4: So interesting. 423 00:21:05,210 --> 00:21:06,929 S2: They they were kind of hated by all. 424 00:21:06,970 --> 00:21:10,610 S4: Yeah. And then the sinners, they were just another category 425 00:21:10,609 --> 00:21:13,970 S4: that's lumped in the tax collectors and sinners. And they're 426 00:21:13,970 --> 00:21:16,890 S4: drawing near to Jesus and the Pharisees, the ones who 427 00:21:16,890 --> 00:21:20,930 S4: were known for their meticulous keeping of the law, the scribes. 428 00:21:21,170 --> 00:21:25,170 S4: They are watching these tax collectors, these sinners come near 429 00:21:25,170 --> 00:21:28,770 S4: to Jesus, and they are grumbling about it. This man 430 00:21:28,770 --> 00:21:32,250 S4: receives sinners and eats with them. And you can hear, 431 00:21:32,250 --> 00:21:35,130 S4: you can almost hear the distaste with which they would 432 00:21:35,170 --> 00:21:39,490 S4: have uttered these words like, come on, who? You're gonna 433 00:21:39,490 --> 00:21:42,930 S4: eat with these guys? And so then he tells them 434 00:21:42,930 --> 00:21:47,790 S4: a parable. What man of you having a hundred sheep, 435 00:21:48,070 --> 00:21:50,350 S4: if he has lost one of them, does not leave 436 00:21:50,350 --> 00:21:52,909 S4: the 99 in the open country, and go after the 437 00:21:52,910 --> 00:21:55,390 S4: one that is lost until he finds it. And when 438 00:21:55,390 --> 00:21:57,990 S4: he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 439 00:21:58,230 --> 00:22:00,350 S4: And when he comes home, he calls together his friends 440 00:22:00,350 --> 00:22:03,310 S4: and his neighbors, saying to them, rejoice with me, for 441 00:22:03,310 --> 00:22:05,950 S4: I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so 442 00:22:05,990 --> 00:22:07,830 S4: I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven 443 00:22:07,830 --> 00:22:12,070 S4: over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons 444 00:22:12,190 --> 00:22:17,390 S4: who need no repentance. That's parable number one. Picture of 445 00:22:17,630 --> 00:22:21,510 S4: 100 sheep. Picture him out on a hillside. One of 446 00:22:21,510 --> 00:22:26,790 S4: them goes off and the shepherd leaves the 99 to 447 00:22:26,830 --> 00:22:31,790 S4: go and find the one. So that's lost thing number one. Jonathan, 448 00:22:31,790 --> 00:22:33,670 S4: you have this passage of Scripture open. 449 00:22:33,910 --> 00:22:36,389 S2: I do start with verse eight. You got it. 450 00:22:36,390 --> 00:22:37,990 S4: The parable of the Lost coin. 451 00:22:38,030 --> 00:22:41,670 S2: Jesus just continues and he says, or what woman having 452 00:22:41,710 --> 00:22:45,290 S2: ten silver coins if she loses one coin, does not 453 00:22:45,290 --> 00:22:48,129 S2: light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently 454 00:22:48,130 --> 00:22:50,889 S2: until she finds it. And when she has found it, 455 00:22:50,890 --> 00:22:54,290 S2: she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, rejoice with me, 456 00:22:54,330 --> 00:22:56,690 S2: for I have found the coin that I had lost. 457 00:22:56,690 --> 00:22:59,690 S2: Just so I tell you, there is joy before the 458 00:22:59,690 --> 00:23:02,409 S2: angels of God over one sinner who repents. 459 00:23:02,530 --> 00:23:05,370 S4: So I want you to to to notice the progression here. 460 00:23:05,570 --> 00:23:08,250 S4: So this these two parables. And we'll get to number 461 00:23:08,250 --> 00:23:10,810 S4: three in a minute. But these two parables are told 462 00:23:10,810 --> 00:23:16,330 S4: in response to the Pharisees and the scribes grumbling over 463 00:23:16,369 --> 00:23:20,970 S4: Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners. He doesn't rebuke 464 00:23:20,970 --> 00:23:24,290 S4: them for that. He tells them two parables about a 465 00:23:24,330 --> 00:23:29,810 S4: lost sheep and a lost coin. What's the point here? Well, 466 00:23:29,810 --> 00:23:31,650 S4: there's a couple of them, but one of the big 467 00:23:31,650 --> 00:23:35,730 S4: ones is to drive home the obvious principle that when 468 00:23:35,730 --> 00:23:40,610 S4: something of value is lost, the natural response is to 469 00:23:40,650 --> 00:23:41,690 S4: look for it. 470 00:23:41,730 --> 00:23:45,430 S2: Yeah. Not to say. Ah, well, for the coins, I've 471 00:23:45,430 --> 00:23:50,109 S2: got nine other silver coins. No, the, the, all of 472 00:23:50,109 --> 00:23:53,830 S2: them had value. So this one that was lost had 473 00:23:53,830 --> 00:23:56,750 S2: value to this woman. Just like all of us have 474 00:23:56,750 --> 00:23:57,510 S2: value to God. 475 00:23:57,550 --> 00:24:01,390 S4: Exactly. So it's. But he starts with even before he 476 00:24:01,390 --> 00:24:04,070 S4: gets to a lost person. Which is the last one, 477 00:24:04,070 --> 00:24:07,590 S4: the prodigal son. He starts with things that would obviously 478 00:24:07,590 --> 00:24:08,430 S4: be valuable. 479 00:24:08,950 --> 00:24:12,110 S2: Which is. Which is kind of funny that he he 480 00:24:12,150 --> 00:24:15,030 S2: drives the point home with a person. He starts with 481 00:24:15,070 --> 00:24:19,910 S2: money and with possessions because everyone can agree on that. 482 00:24:19,910 --> 00:24:23,150 S2: Oh well, of course a sheep and a coin have value. 483 00:24:23,190 --> 00:24:26,109 S4: Exactly. So in the same way that when my wedding 484 00:24:26,109 --> 00:24:30,590 S4: ring went missing, when your wallet. When Diana's gold cross 485 00:24:30,590 --> 00:24:34,830 S4: went missing, the obvious response when something is lost is 486 00:24:34,830 --> 00:24:35,669 S4: to seek after it. 487 00:24:35,710 --> 00:24:36,350 S2: I must look. 488 00:24:36,350 --> 00:24:38,790 S4: For it to go find it. Right? Right. So that's 489 00:24:38,790 --> 00:24:41,970 S4: clear here. The shepherd's going to go try to find 490 00:24:42,010 --> 00:24:45,090 S4: the sheep. The woman who loses one of her ten coins. 491 00:24:45,090 --> 00:24:48,130 S4: One of those silver coins would represent about ten days wages. 492 00:24:48,170 --> 00:24:50,930 S4: It's not a lifetime of wages, but it's certainly not 493 00:24:50,930 --> 00:24:52,570 S4: like you're going to be like, ah, well, you know, 494 00:24:52,609 --> 00:24:55,290 S4: I guess that's gone, right? You're going to make a 495 00:24:55,530 --> 00:24:58,890 S4: good faith effort to go try to find what's lost. 496 00:25:00,210 --> 00:25:03,450 S4: I think that's coming through loud and clear a little bit. 497 00:25:03,970 --> 00:25:07,889 S4: But then he drives it home with the roundhouse coming 498 00:25:07,890 --> 00:25:11,330 S4: on the heels of the lost sheep. That's that. He 499 00:25:11,330 --> 00:25:14,010 S4: went after the lost coin that the woman said. Yeah, 500 00:25:14,010 --> 00:25:17,290 S4: let me go try to find that is the son 501 00:25:17,410 --> 00:25:21,810 S4: who went off. Of course, lost things matter to God. 502 00:25:22,050 --> 00:25:22,649 S4: Coming up. 503 00:25:24,450 --> 00:25:28,970 S1: Breaking chains and running free. You're listening to Carl and crew. 504 00:25:29,570 --> 00:25:34,050 S4: If one lost sheep is worth going after. If one 505 00:25:34,050 --> 00:25:38,650 S4: lost coin is worth turning a house upside down to 506 00:25:38,690 --> 00:25:43,430 S4: try to find it. How much more a lost son. 507 00:25:44,390 --> 00:25:47,350 S4: As Jesus told this series of parables, parables to the 508 00:25:47,350 --> 00:25:51,189 S4: Pharisees and the scribes in Luke 15, the parable of 509 00:25:51,190 --> 00:25:54,830 S4: the Prodigal Son is probably the most commonly known out 510 00:25:54,830 --> 00:25:57,669 S4: of this little section. I'm not going to read it 511 00:25:57,710 --> 00:26:01,030 S4: in its entirety because it is a pretty lengthy, but 512 00:26:01,070 --> 00:26:04,149 S4: in short, it goes a little something like this. There's 513 00:26:04,190 --> 00:26:07,470 S4: a man who has two sons, the younger one. He 514 00:26:07,470 --> 00:26:09,630 S4: tells his dad, hey, go ahead and give me my 515 00:26:09,790 --> 00:26:12,030 S4: inheritance that's coming to me, even though I know you're 516 00:26:12,030 --> 00:26:15,389 S4: still alive. I'd like to have that now. So he 517 00:26:15,390 --> 00:26:17,950 S4: gets all that he can get his hands on, and 518 00:26:17,950 --> 00:26:21,669 S4: then he heads off to a far country, and then 519 00:26:21,670 --> 00:26:26,310 S4: he just starts going wild. Reckless living, doing who knows what. 520 00:26:26,550 --> 00:26:30,229 S4: And then the very predictable happens. He runs out of money. 521 00:26:30,270 --> 00:26:33,710 S4: He squanders it all. He finds himself in an absolute 522 00:26:33,710 --> 00:26:36,590 S4: desperate situation where he longs to be fed with the 523 00:26:36,590 --> 00:26:39,429 S4: pods that the pigs ate. That's how desperate he is. 524 00:26:40,250 --> 00:26:43,770 S4: and no one gives him anything. So he comes to himself. 525 00:26:43,770 --> 00:26:45,810 S4: It says he comes to his senses. He has a 526 00:26:45,810 --> 00:26:49,450 S4: bit of a epiphany moment. I don't have to live 527 00:26:49,450 --> 00:26:50,290 S4: like this. 528 00:26:50,850 --> 00:26:53,090 S2: Yeah, this is a pretty bad way to live. 529 00:26:53,810 --> 00:26:57,450 S4: My father's servants have more than enough bread. Yet I'm 530 00:26:57,450 --> 00:27:00,930 S4: out here perishing, trying to eat with the pigs. Maybe 531 00:27:00,930 --> 00:27:04,369 S4: I can go back to my father, tell him I've 532 00:27:04,410 --> 00:27:08,290 S4: sinned against heaven and before you. I'm not even worthy 533 00:27:08,290 --> 00:27:11,490 S4: to be called your son. Maybe he'll take me back 534 00:27:11,530 --> 00:27:15,090 S4: as a servant. So he's a long way off. But 535 00:27:15,090 --> 00:27:17,090 S4: he starts to head home. And the father? I'm going 536 00:27:17,130 --> 00:27:19,650 S4: to read this. His father saw him and felt compassion 537 00:27:19,650 --> 00:27:22,250 S4: and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the 538 00:27:22,250 --> 00:27:25,170 S4: son said to him, father, I have sinned against heaven, 539 00:27:25,170 --> 00:27:27,810 S4: and before you. I am no longer worthy to be 540 00:27:27,810 --> 00:27:30,290 S4: called your son. But the father said to his servants, 541 00:27:30,290 --> 00:27:33,690 S4: bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, 542 00:27:33,690 --> 00:27:36,210 S4: and put a ring on his hand, and his shoes 543 00:27:36,210 --> 00:27:38,129 S4: on his, and shoes on his feet, and bring the 544 00:27:38,130 --> 00:27:41,510 S4: fattened calf, and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 545 00:27:41,510 --> 00:27:45,270 S4: For this my son was dead and is alive again. 546 00:27:45,510 --> 00:27:49,990 S4: He was lost and is found, and they began to celebrate. 547 00:27:51,270 --> 00:27:54,270 S4: The lost sheep, the lost coin, and now a lost son. 548 00:27:54,310 --> 00:27:56,270 S2: You know what I find really interesting about this one? 549 00:27:56,270 --> 00:27:58,430 S2: I was thinking as we were going because I was like, well, 550 00:27:58,430 --> 00:28:01,669 S2: the the lost sheep. Someone was looking for it desperately. 551 00:28:01,670 --> 00:28:03,750 S2: The lost coin. Someone was looking for it desperately. And 552 00:28:03,750 --> 00:28:05,869 S2: then I was like, well, the lost son. He leaves 553 00:28:05,869 --> 00:28:09,710 S2: and the father lets him go. But what I caught here, 554 00:28:09,710 --> 00:28:13,190 S2: as you were reading it, was it said that he 555 00:28:13,190 --> 00:28:14,990 S2: arose and came to his father, but while he was 556 00:28:14,990 --> 00:28:17,430 S2: still a long way off, his father saw him and 557 00:28:17,430 --> 00:28:20,110 S2: ran to him, felt compassion, and ran to him. He 558 00:28:20,109 --> 00:28:23,030 S2: was still a ways out, and his father saw him. 559 00:28:23,350 --> 00:28:26,550 S2: Which means his father was looking for him. His father 560 00:28:26,550 --> 00:28:29,150 S2: let him go, but was on the watch for him. 561 00:28:29,150 --> 00:28:32,590 S4: Yeah, yeah. And, you know, there's a there's a moody 562 00:28:32,590 --> 00:28:34,710 S4: Bible commentary pointed this out, and I thought it was 563 00:28:34,710 --> 00:28:37,709 S4: really interesting. There's a pattern with each of these parables. 564 00:28:37,710 --> 00:28:40,970 S4: An item is lost. A search is made. The item 565 00:28:40,970 --> 00:28:44,570 S4: is found and then rejoicing follows. And so the pattern 566 00:28:44,570 --> 00:28:47,690 S4: of salvation we see that so clearly mirrors, that is, 567 00:28:47,690 --> 00:28:50,730 S4: that sinners are lost. They are sought by God. They 568 00:28:50,770 --> 00:28:55,290 S4: are found by God. And then rejoicing follows. And so 569 00:28:55,330 --> 00:28:59,130 S4: this in verse 24 out of Luke 15, the parable 570 00:28:59,130 --> 00:29:02,250 S4: draws a very clear distinction. For this my son was 571 00:29:02,250 --> 00:29:07,570 S4: dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. 572 00:29:08,770 --> 00:29:14,770 S4: Dead now alive. Lost. Now found. There's not there's no 573 00:29:14,770 --> 00:29:19,810 S4: grey area there. And there's also no fixating on the 574 00:29:19,810 --> 00:29:24,690 S4: degree to which he was lost, the circumstances of his lostness. 575 00:29:24,730 --> 00:29:27,250 S2: No, there were no questions asked about the life that 576 00:29:27,250 --> 00:29:28,450 S2: he lived in that moment. 577 00:29:28,970 --> 00:29:32,610 S4: He was lost. And he's found he was dead and 578 00:29:32,610 --> 00:29:38,150 S4: he's alive. And that alone was reason to celebrate. And 579 00:29:38,150 --> 00:29:42,750 S4: so the clear takeaway is that God cares about lost people. 580 00:29:43,270 --> 00:29:46,910 S4: So lost things just like something we value goes lost. 581 00:29:46,950 --> 00:29:49,510 S4: We make a search for it. How much more does 582 00:29:49,510 --> 00:29:54,910 S4: God desire to bring lost people to himself, just as 583 00:29:54,910 --> 00:29:58,790 S4: a father does a son? Because he is our Heavenly Father, 584 00:29:59,470 --> 00:30:04,070 S4: he longs to bring people who have wandered off, who 585 00:30:04,070 --> 00:30:08,510 S4: have squandered everything, and he doesn't shame them in their 586 00:30:08,790 --> 00:30:11,870 S4: turning to him. How could you? Come on. 587 00:30:12,230 --> 00:30:12,630 S2: No. 588 00:30:13,590 --> 00:30:18,350 S4: There's rejoicing because what was lost is found. And what 589 00:30:18,350 --> 00:30:21,910 S4: was dead is now alive. So I want to appeal 590 00:30:21,910 --> 00:30:27,030 S4: to you today. Maybe you are that lost person. Does 591 00:30:27,030 --> 00:30:30,310 S4: it matter how you got where you are? It really doesn't. 592 00:30:31,030 --> 00:30:36,150 S4: Are there consequences? Sure. But God's not concerned about your 593 00:30:36,150 --> 00:30:43,450 S4: level of lostness a little lost. Medium level lost. Maximum level. Lost. 594 00:30:44,450 --> 00:30:45,490 S2: Lost is lost. 595 00:30:45,490 --> 00:30:48,490 S4: Lost is lost. I remember one time bringing. There was 596 00:30:48,490 --> 00:30:51,290 S4: a young woman that I met actually kind of randomly 597 00:30:51,690 --> 00:30:56,010 S4: on a train, was taking an Amtrak train from Chicago 598 00:30:56,010 --> 00:30:59,330 S4: downstate to where my parents live. And I, I believe 599 00:30:59,330 --> 00:31:02,730 S4: the Lord had me meet this young woman, and we 600 00:31:02,730 --> 00:31:05,690 S4: ended up sitting together and and we, we we kind 601 00:31:05,690 --> 00:31:09,770 S4: of formed a friendship out of this train ride. And 602 00:31:09,770 --> 00:31:11,690 S4: we stayed in contact for a little while. And I 603 00:31:11,690 --> 00:31:15,450 S4: remember I she was from another part of the world, um, 604 00:31:15,490 --> 00:31:19,610 S4: didn't have much exposure to Christianity or really at all. 605 00:31:20,170 --> 00:31:23,410 S4: She had was really anxious and had a lot of 606 00:31:23,450 --> 00:31:28,210 S4: kind of superstitions. And I brought her to a outreach 607 00:31:28,210 --> 00:31:31,010 S4: at my church, and I remember a lot of it 608 00:31:31,050 --> 00:31:34,370 S4: kind of went over her head. Um, but she was 609 00:31:34,370 --> 00:31:37,150 S4: clearly touched by it. And we were in the car 610 00:31:37,870 --> 00:31:42,150 S4: after the service and she started to get emotional and 611 00:31:42,150 --> 00:31:46,590 S4: she was like, you don't understand. Like, I'm so lost. 612 00:31:48,350 --> 00:31:51,870 S4: It's like, you don't understand what I've done. And I'm like, 613 00:31:52,630 --> 00:31:54,350 S4: it doesn't matter. 614 00:31:54,470 --> 00:31:55,270 S8: Yeah, yeah. 615 00:31:55,430 --> 00:31:59,630 S4: It really doesn't matter. That's the cry of your heart. 616 00:31:59,630 --> 00:32:04,070 S4: Don't try to, like, explain how you got here. Don't 617 00:32:04,070 --> 00:32:07,950 S4: try to minimize it. Don't try to justify it. Just 618 00:32:07,950 --> 00:32:12,070 S4: know that if you're lost and you turn to God, 619 00:32:12,670 --> 00:32:15,390 S4: you can be found today. You can go from lost 620 00:32:15,390 --> 00:32:20,390 S4: to found. From death to life. Just like that. Yeah. 621 00:32:21,950 --> 00:32:25,990 S4: It's not this, like three mile journey up the mountain 622 00:32:26,470 --> 00:32:31,870 S4: to get from A to B in a moment. Because 623 00:32:31,870 --> 00:32:35,850 S4: you have a Heavenly Father who longs to bring you home. 624 00:32:37,650 --> 00:32:43,290 S2: I think about Peter in Luke five when Jesus performs 625 00:32:43,290 --> 00:32:45,850 S2: that miracle of all the fish in their net. He's 626 00:32:45,850 --> 00:32:49,970 S2: out fishing all night. He's not a disciple yet. And 627 00:32:50,450 --> 00:32:53,730 S2: when Peter sees this, he falls on his knees before 628 00:32:53,730 --> 00:32:56,370 S2: Jesus and says, depart from me, for I am a 629 00:32:56,370 --> 00:32:59,930 S2: sinful man. He just says, like, I don't even deserve 630 00:32:59,930 --> 00:33:02,170 S2: to be near you. You just have to go away 631 00:33:02,170 --> 00:33:05,570 S2: from me. It's that I'm. I'm too lost for you 632 00:33:05,570 --> 00:33:08,890 S2: to deal with. Yeah. And his response is, don't be afraid. 633 00:33:08,890 --> 00:33:11,730 S2: From now on, you will fish for people. He says, 634 00:33:11,730 --> 00:33:14,890 S2: don't be afraid. I'm bringing you into this. You're going 635 00:33:14,890 --> 00:33:16,650 S2: to be a part of this with me. I can 636 00:33:16,650 --> 00:33:17,810 S2: redeem anything. 637 00:33:17,850 --> 00:33:18,330 S8: Yeah. 638 00:33:18,970 --> 00:33:21,210 S4: He can redeem your life today. And I want to 639 00:33:21,210 --> 00:33:23,010 S4: make a quick clarification, because I want to be clear 640 00:33:23,010 --> 00:33:27,810 S4: on something, is this is something that's commonly misunderstood. We 641 00:33:27,850 --> 00:33:31,170 S4: are children of God. He becomes our father when we 642 00:33:31,170 --> 00:33:38,630 S4: turn to Jesus for salvation. So although God loves everybody, 643 00:33:39,550 --> 00:33:42,870 S4: he's not our father. We're not his kid until we 644 00:33:42,870 --> 00:33:46,830 S4: turn to him. So today you can have a father. 645 00:33:47,430 --> 00:33:53,190 S4: He can become your heavenly father. You must turn to Jesus. 646 00:33:53,430 --> 00:33:56,790 S4: That's the only way. And so today I ask you 647 00:33:56,790 --> 00:33:59,990 S4: if you are lost. Do you want to be found? 648 00:34:00,710 --> 00:34:02,470 S4: Do you want to be found in Christ today? Do 649 00:34:02,470 --> 00:34:05,390 S4: you want new life? Do you want hope? Do you 650 00:34:05,390 --> 00:34:08,350 S4: want your eternal future that's secure? Do you want an 651 00:34:08,350 --> 00:34:10,990 S4: abundant life? Man, I could go on and on for 652 00:34:10,989 --> 00:34:12,950 S4: I don't have enough time on this show to go 653 00:34:12,950 --> 00:34:15,750 S4: on and on about all of the benefits that God's 654 00:34:15,750 --> 00:34:19,230 S4: kids have. Does it mean it's an easy life? Absolutely not. 655 00:34:19,750 --> 00:34:23,270 S4: But you're safe. You're secure. You're significant. Just like we 656 00:34:23,270 --> 00:34:26,310 S4: talked about yesterday, you can find satisfaction that the world 657 00:34:26,830 --> 00:34:30,830 S4: will never offer you. Turn to Jesus today. Do you 658 00:34:30,830 --> 00:34:33,549 S4: believe that he died on the cross for your sins? Yeah. 659 00:34:33,610 --> 00:34:37,250 S4: that you've heard versions of that. It's actually true. He 660 00:34:37,250 --> 00:34:39,650 S4: died on a cross for your sin, for mine. Because 661 00:34:39,650 --> 00:34:42,730 S4: we could never pay the penalty that our sin deserves. 662 00:34:42,730 --> 00:34:46,370 S4: He took it for us. He didn't stay dead. God 663 00:34:46,370 --> 00:34:49,930 S4: rose him on the third day in new life so 664 00:34:49,930 --> 00:34:52,810 S4: that we can have new life, too. So if today 665 00:34:52,810 --> 00:34:56,250 S4: you believe and you repent, you say, I'm done. I'm 666 00:34:56,250 --> 00:34:59,570 S4: not going my own way. Repent just means that 180 667 00:34:59,610 --> 00:35:02,089 S4: degree turn picture driving the wrong way down a one 668 00:35:02,130 --> 00:35:04,610 S4: way street. As soon as you realize you're going the 669 00:35:04,610 --> 00:35:08,210 S4: wrong way, what do you do? You turn around. That's repentance. Today. 670 00:35:08,210 --> 00:35:11,770 S4: You believe, you repent, and you say, Jesus, you are 671 00:35:11,770 --> 00:35:15,250 S4: my Lord and Savior. I want to call God. I 672 00:35:15,250 --> 00:35:17,210 S4: want to call you father. I want you to be 673 00:35:17,250 --> 00:35:19,210 S4: my father. Can I can I be a part of 674 00:35:19,210 --> 00:35:22,530 S4: your family? When you turn to Jesus, the answer is yes. 675 00:35:23,410 --> 00:35:26,890 S4: So if that's you, Jonathan, will you pray for. Maybe 676 00:35:26,890 --> 00:35:29,610 S4: it's just one. Will you pray for this person who's 677 00:35:29,650 --> 00:35:31,490 S4: was lost is now found? 678 00:35:31,530 --> 00:35:31,970 S8: Yes. 679 00:35:34,350 --> 00:35:43,470 S2: God, I come to you on my knees. I have sinned. 680 00:35:44,430 --> 00:35:48,549 S2: I have rebelled against you. I have made so many 681 00:35:48,550 --> 00:35:57,230 S2: mistakes in the life that I've chosen. That doesn't include you. God, 682 00:35:57,230 --> 00:36:00,230 S2: I recognize that in my mistakes in the life that 683 00:36:00,230 --> 00:36:04,550 S2: I have lived, I cannot be good enough to get 684 00:36:04,550 --> 00:36:13,270 S2: to you. God, the only way I can come to 685 00:36:13,270 --> 00:36:19,830 S2: you is because of your goodness. I believe that you 686 00:36:19,870 --> 00:36:25,590 S2: sent Jesus, your son to die on the cross for me. 687 00:36:27,750 --> 00:36:29,710 S2: I believe that he died on the cross and my 688 00:36:29,710 --> 00:36:33,250 S2: price was paid with that. And I believe that he 689 00:36:33,250 --> 00:36:36,730 S2: rose again from the dead, proving that he is God. 690 00:36:39,330 --> 00:36:42,650 S2: I trust in his sacrifice to bring me to you. 691 00:36:43,650 --> 00:36:49,450 S2: I repent of my sin before you now. Lord, I 692 00:36:49,450 --> 00:36:52,729 S2: don't just say forgive me, but I. I say, forgive me, 693 00:36:52,730 --> 00:36:56,689 S2: and I'm turning a new way. God, I ask that 694 00:36:56,690 --> 00:37:02,570 S2: your spirit would sustain me as I repent to you. 695 00:37:03,250 --> 00:37:09,690 S2: Help me live this new life. Lord, give me new life. 696 00:37:12,170 --> 00:37:15,930 S2: And as I pray, I believe and acknowledge that you have. 697 00:37:16,210 --> 00:37:19,490 S2: Because your word says that you will. If a believing 698 00:37:19,489 --> 00:37:25,009 S2: heart prays and follows in Jesus name, Amen. 699 00:37:25,410 --> 00:37:26,129 S8: Amen. 700 00:37:26,290 --> 00:37:28,129 S4: If that's you, I want you to do one thing. 701 00:37:28,130 --> 00:37:34,030 S4: Just text the word new to 805 55578998. Text new 702 00:37:34,230 --> 00:37:39,390 S4: to (800) 555-7898. Want to send you a just a little 703 00:37:39,390 --> 00:37:41,190 S4: follow up that's going to encourage you, give you an 704 00:37:41,190 --> 00:37:44,069 S4: opportunity to connect with someone here at Moody Radio. Text 705 00:37:44,150 --> 00:37:47,230 S4: new to (800) 555-7898. 706 00:37:48,070 --> 00:37:52,590 S1: A basketball mom who's mastered the dad joke. Ali is 707 00:37:52,590 --> 00:37:56,230 S1: in the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio. 708 00:37:56,710 --> 00:37:59,990 S4: Do you have a rescue story today? If you're in Christ, 709 00:38:00,030 --> 00:38:03,750 S4: you do. Even if it doesn't feel like it's dramatic, 710 00:38:04,230 --> 00:38:08,270 S4: you have a rescue story because you go from lost 711 00:38:08,270 --> 00:38:12,189 S4: to found, from dead to alive. You've been rescued. I've 712 00:38:12,190 --> 00:38:17,670 S4: been rescued. Tell me your story. 805. Five five. 78. 98. 713 00:38:17,750 --> 00:38:21,310 S4: Philip calling in this morning from Aurora. Brother, you ever 714 00:38:21,310 --> 00:38:24,950 S4: feel like you were too far gone? God rescued you. 715 00:38:26,350 --> 00:38:28,590 S9: Oh my goodness, are you kidding? I was I'm thinking 716 00:38:28,590 --> 00:38:33,170 S9: of super sized backpack of cement. I had a body 717 00:38:33,210 --> 00:38:34,410 S9: cast of cement. 718 00:38:34,450 --> 00:38:34,810 S4: Wow. 719 00:38:35,930 --> 00:38:38,570 S9: Yes, of my sin. You know, I was reminded of 720 00:38:38,610 --> 00:38:42,170 S9: the of the passage that once we confess our sins, 721 00:38:42,210 --> 00:38:46,170 S9: that God is faithful and just to cleanse us. You know, 722 00:38:46,210 --> 00:38:49,010 S9: to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 723 00:38:49,489 --> 00:38:52,890 S9: And I was reminded by the story that that came 724 00:38:52,890 --> 00:38:57,250 S9: in this morning of of how long I stood. Just 725 00:38:57,290 --> 00:39:02,730 S9: remained stuck in my sin, stuck in, in multiple addictions. Uh, 726 00:39:02,850 --> 00:39:07,450 S9: how I through my sinful behavior and my, uh, my, 727 00:39:07,489 --> 00:39:10,770 S9: my defiance to the goodness and glory of God that 728 00:39:10,770 --> 00:39:16,730 S9: I destroyed two marriages. Uh, I estranged myself from my children. 729 00:39:16,730 --> 00:39:18,930 S9: I can't even say that my older children were estranged 730 00:39:18,930 --> 00:39:21,770 S9: from me, but I did that to myself. Wow. You know, 731 00:39:21,810 --> 00:39:23,529 S9: and then. But for the grace and the mercy of 732 00:39:23,530 --> 00:39:29,530 S9: God and a beautiful, God fearing woman who. Who basically 733 00:39:29,530 --> 00:39:32,350 S9: just gave me an ultimatum, she said. Either you get 734 00:39:32,350 --> 00:39:35,350 S9: it together, either you get some help with these addictions. 735 00:39:35,710 --> 00:39:39,069 S9: Either you stop this emotional abuse or you're leaving. I'm 736 00:39:39,070 --> 00:39:42,150 S9: not leaving. I'm going to take care of our three kids. 737 00:39:42,310 --> 00:39:45,870 S9: You're leaving? Wow. And that held my foot, my my 738 00:39:45,870 --> 00:39:48,310 S9: feet to the fire. I went, I went out, and 739 00:39:48,630 --> 00:39:51,750 S9: I got help, and I'll admit. And I told you this, guys, 740 00:39:52,030 --> 00:39:57,509 S9: that that I sought professional help for my addictions before 741 00:39:57,510 --> 00:40:01,470 S9: I submitted myself completely to the Lord, you know, and I, 742 00:40:01,469 --> 00:40:04,950 S9: I wondered, why am I still feeling this unrest? You know, 743 00:40:04,989 --> 00:40:08,069 S9: when I've stopped using my drugs of choice? Why am 744 00:40:08,070 --> 00:40:11,310 S9: I still feeling bad? Why am I still troubled? And 745 00:40:11,310 --> 00:40:15,070 S9: it's because I had not yet surrendered completely to him. 746 00:40:15,430 --> 00:40:17,469 S9: I had some place I had, I had I had 747 00:40:17,469 --> 00:40:21,910 S9: replaced those other addictions with, with new addictions that I 748 00:40:21,910 --> 00:40:26,629 S9: felt were less toxic, toxic, but were still great sins. 749 00:40:26,630 --> 00:40:29,150 S9: And until I did that, that's when I found the 750 00:40:29,150 --> 00:40:29,910 S9: peace of Christ.