Merciful People

Text: Luke 15:2, 11-32

Focus: Mercy

Function: To help people be merciful

Form: Story telling

Intro:

I was in a Church in London, probably the largest Anglican Church in the world. A genuine revival is taking place there.

The church has 140 pastors. It is divided into groups of 40-60, called pastorates and those are divided into groups of 6-10 called cell groups. Each pastorate has a full-time pastor, but the reason for these small pastorates is so that they can develop the gifts and ministries of everyone in the church. It is a large church that owes it success to being small.

Creating an environment where people can be responsible to do ministry as God has gifted them is an organic environment in which all the members of the body can exercise their muscles and continue to grow.

However, I wonder if an ever better reason contributes to the revival that is happening there.

There are a lot of images used in churches that create a sense of holiness, a sense of mission, an atmosphere that reminds people of what is important to the faith.

Westminster Abbey is completely full of statues and icons of famous people from England’s history, some of them a Godly saints, and others are scoundrels. The Church is a monument to the successes of England’s power, but only 150 people actually worship there.

However, Holy Trinity Church, Brompton worships 4,500 people, in 5 services every week.

The building isn’t lined with statues of Military heroes, kings, scientists and saints. It is a beautiful old Cathedral, but its emphasis is on redemption. And right there, 7 foot tall, is a bronze sculpture (SHOW –in sermon file) by Charlie Maskey of the father embracing the prodigal son as he returns.

Now think about it, of the thousands of images, symbols and reminders that can be placed in our places of worship, the ones that get the center of attention relate to the worshippers the core values of that particular church.

Brethren embrace the concept of simple living, so, our Sanctuary is not guilt with gold and a lot of other things. We have a cross in the architecture, and a picture of Jesus. That isn’t what Jesus looked like, but it’s an idea of a man who has searching eyes and is focused on His mission. I wish we had two pictures, one Caucasian, and one Black. Both are equally valid and it would communicate our commitment to Social Justice. Did you know there are over 2,000 verses in the Bible dealing with social Justice? In Matt 25, when Jesus separates the sheep from the goats, the question will be, “when did you care for me as a prisoner, a foreigner etc.

I like the symbols we have here. We are here to focus on Jesus, and on the empty Cross, the proof of our redemption. Good symbols.

We have the colored altar clothes that get changed with the Church year calendar. I don’t know if anyone knows what the colors mean for sure, but the symbol is important to me because it connects us with the greater church around the world.

And then there is the IHS on the cloths, does anyone really know what they mean?

If you Google it, you get answers from International Headache Society and the Egyptian trinity of gods. But in Christian settings no one still knows, it is probably the first three letters of Jesus’ name in Greek, and very similar in Latin.

Many people think it means “In His Service” and that is close to the Latin acrostic which means this place is sacred.

I always thought it was “I” stands for Jesus, “H” stands for Son and “S” stands for Savior, meaning it points to Jesus, Son of God, and our Savior.

Symbols in worship really are important. I love the grapes and the Celtic cross on the brick. The grapes and the cup, I believe, symbolize either the blood sacrifice or the fact that Jesus is the vine that gives us life and of course, the cross points us to Good Friday.

So, in what is probably the largest Church in England, this church that is experiencing a tremendous revival, in that Church they use this sculpture of the prodigal being embraced by his father when he returns.

It is the image of people coming back to God.

It is the image of the love that God has to receive us when people return.

In England, and now in America, that is a significant image. Almost a whole generation has passed since England no longer considered itself a Christian nation.

And this church emphasizes the importance of coming back to Jesus.

(SHOW) Come back, He will receive you. God will always let us come back to Him.

My eldest brother trained 8 years to be a preacher. And then in his first church, which was an outreach church in downtown Minneapolis. It was funded by a Pentecostal Church, a Baptist Church and a Methodist Church. And no, I am not getting ready to tell a joke. Something bad happened to him.

One Sunday night, he was preaching at the Methodist Church that was contributing 1/3 of their operating budget and he neglected to mention the Baptist Church. Someone from the forgotten church was at the meeting to hear the report. They were offended, told their Church officers about it and that church pulled out of the ministry. The other two churches couldn’t afford to maintain it, so they closed the doors.

After training for 8 years to be a preacher, his first experience left him devastated, almost suicidal. His faith was really shaken. He couldn’t understand why God let this happen.

So, he became a salesman. And, his faith journey was on and off for several years. He always went to church, raised his kids in church, but he wasn’t buying it.

I worked with him a few years in a sales job as well, and he talked about Jesus, but his lifestyle was different than what we were raised with.

And then his company closed and he was out of a job with no real prospects.

Devastated, he was invited to a support group in his Church for men who had been downsized.

They made a covenant to read at least 1 chapter of the Bible a day, and pray at least 15 minutes a day

He told me, “Phil, I feel like such a hypocrite. I didn’t pray much, I wasn’t very religious while things were going so great, but now that things are going bad, I start to pray again.”

“Am I a Christian who only prays when he is in trouble? Then he said, “I truly doubted if God would take me back.”

So, he said: “When I read the bible and prayed that first day, I was nervous. But you know what, Phil? God just opened His arms and took me back. I couldn’t believe the peace He gave me in that crisis. He never made me feel ashamed for not considering Him as much as I should when things were going great. He just let me feel His love.”

He came back to Jesus.

Here is God, with His unconditional love, waiting for the return to life of His son.

…Waiting for us to return to Him.

(SHOW) God waits for us to return to Him.

…Waiting for us to embrace His forgiveness.

Now some may think that the small-time carousing my brother did while he was a salesman is nothing compared to their own sins, but I can guarantee you that God will always take us back. His desire isn’t to scold and say: “I told you so” or “you made your bed, now sleep in it” or “3 strikes and your out!” No, Jesus said even 7 times 70 in one day we are to forgive the person. He does that Himself.

God is waiting.

Now you’ve probably heard the joke about the insomniac, dyslexic, agnostic who sat up all night wondering if there really is a dog.

Well look at this video that Gay Shock sent me about the desire of God for us to come back to Him.

(SHOW video on laptop desktop “God and Dog”) –video is also in sermon file on Susan’s pc.

I remember a man said to me once, “Pastor, all you ever talk about is God’s love –mocking- God’s love…, what about God’s wrath?”

His implication was that if I make grace too easy, then people will cheapen grace and take advantage of it.

Listen, continuing in sin after we trust Jesus breaks our Father’s heart.

Parents want to be proud of their children.

But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that some are more deserving of grace than others.

I added verse 2 to the text: (SHOW) Luke 15:1-3: By this time a lot of men and women of doubtful reputation were hanging around Jesus, listening intently. The Pharisees and religion scholars were not pleased, not at all pleased. They growled, "He takes in sinners and eats meals with them, treating them like old friends." Their grumbling triggered these stories (original “this story”).

I italicized the words “these stories” because Jesus gives three examples about the people who grumbled about God’s mercy given to people they comforted their own arrogance with by looking down on. He tells the story of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son.

The prodigal son story is one of the greatest stories in the entire bible. It gives hope to every sinner who draws back into the love of God.

It holds out the promise of God’s forgiveness to everyone who trusts in Him.

It illustrates the fact that the church is God’s family. We are a family together. Families care for each other. Parents are committed to their children. God is committed to us.

And I gotta tell you, if you have wandered away, this story proves that God will take you back no matter what.

It makes for some mighty fine preaching. That image (RESHOW sculpture picture) of the Fathers’ unconditional embrace is glorious and heartwarming.

It is what England needs, it what we need, it is what everyone needs to see.

But the message of God’s willingness to take us back overwhelms the original purpose that Jesus had when He told them this story.

The story is a call for us to return to Him, but Jesus doesn’t tell the story with that purpose in mind. The story is a rebuke to those who disliked the fact that other people were getting grace.

Some people are happier about someone suffering for their mistakes than they are for someone who gets restored.

(SHOW) Verse 7: There is more rejoicing in heaven over 1 sinner who returns than 99 who are already in the fold.

Restoration is the passion of God.

And the religious leaders didn’t like it.

I tell you, grace is a major stumbling block for us.

Jesus is calling us to have that same kind of mercy. (SHOW) Jesus is calling us to become Merciful People.

He is calling us to give back the mercy we have received.

The one who thinks that they deserve less mercy because they aren’t as bad doesn’t understand the meaning of God’s mercy. Come to that mercy.