What People Really Want to Know . . . About the Preacher

good morning again and it is  a blessing to be here today we've all heard about the progress of humanity to  a degree we we've heard things like the stone age the bronze age the industrial age you know  maybe today we live in the information age the computer age i'm not really sure  people want to know about a lot of things people are looking for information right  and i have a question you know what what is the thing that people really want to know  what is the thing people really want to know

well some people right now they want to know  who's going to win the presidential election will it be mr trump or mr biden who's going  to win the election some people want to know what the stock market's going to do you know the  stock market going up we'll go down people want to know will we have food next year will there be  water are we going to continue to have storms and hurricanes but today i really want to know what do  the people want to know about the preacher what do people really wan

t to know about the preacher  is he a good speaker can he articulate well has he been to the seminary or is he just  some hay seed country bunkin that we're not too sure that we want in the pulpit we need  someone with intelligence and someone with you know this aura of having phd or md  beside his name someone we can be proud of what the people really want to know about their  preacher they want to know what does he preach is he an 1889 historic sabbath believing  sanctuary teaching health refo

rm practicing sop upholder anti-abortion preacher or what  is he we want to know about these things is he willing to stay around for a while  or will he run off if he gets a bigger and better paying church to attend to we might even  want to know what kind of a car does he drive what kind of a car does he drive  you know that could be important knew of a situation happened one time there was a  preacher and he was preaching at a little church on a stipend getting about 300 a month  to take care

of the church full-time and the conference president came down in a  little sports car convertible sports car one time to visit the church one of the church members  said hmm and then the conference president stood up and said we're just so thankful for preachers  like you got here because you know we don't have to pay them very much money it allows us to do  other things and this one person saying that you said now i'm never paying a penny in my tithe  to this conference again they didn't they

didn't but you might want to know what kind of car  that maybe you'd be ashamed of the kind of car the preacher drives you wouldn't laugh you know  maybe he needs to drive a you know a a lexus or a big suv or something you know because you want  a preacher that's got some prestige to him but what is the real question because  none of those are the real question i'd like to invite you to turn your bibles to  john chapter 10. and we're going to begin reading in verse 11. jesus says i am the good 

shepherd the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep 12 but he that is unharling and not  the shepherd whose own the sheep are not seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth and  the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep the hireling fleeth because he is and  harling and carreth not for the sheep wow that's something in it verse 14 jesus says again i am the good shepherd  and know my sheep and in known of mine as the father knoweth me even so i know the  father and i lay do

wn my life for the sheep verse 16 and other sheep i have which are not of  this fold them also i must bring and they shall hear my voice and there shall be one fold and one  shepherd therefore doth my father love me because i lay down my life he goes on to add that i may  take it again but this is why the father loves him he says because i lay down my life he says  here in verse 11 that he lays down his life for the sheep in verse 15 he says i lay down my life  for the sheep in verse 17 again he

says i lay down my life but what about the harling what does  the harlem do he flees because he doesn't do something what doesn't the harling do he  doesn't care for the sheep he doesn't love the sheep but jesus is the good  shepherd now that word good in the greek is chaos and it means good especially pertaining  to a positive moral quality did you get that it means good especially pertaining to a  good moral quality i can say for instance um i don't know who to say but i could say  the dallas

cowboys are a good football team but that's not the same kind of good that this  is speaking about here in john chapter 10. that just might means that they're proficient  that they win that they're good but jesus says he's not just that he's good in a moral quality  he's a good shepherd he cares for his sheep in the moral quality ways he cares for them he loves  them so much that he lays down his life for them you see friends what people really want to know  about their preacher who is an under

shepherd is actually a question that is a much bigger question  because what they really want to know is what they really want to know is what is the great preacher  really like what is jesus really like you see and jesus says that i lay down my life for the  sheep now i've heard this said before and i didn't realize who it was attributed to until i looked  it up but theodore roosevelt said president theo roosevelt said people don't care how much  you know until they know how much you care it's

it's easy as a preacher especially if  you are a trained theological preacher to stand up and to amaze the people with  knowledge you can give them knowledge but that doesn't necessarily  give them jesus you know people need to know how much you care and what  we need to know what we really want to know about jesus is how much does he care how much does  jesus really care about us i want to just show you a few a litany of some scriptures today  that will talk about how much jesus cares for you

and of course we could quote john 3 16 god  so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son we are familiar with this verse i think that  whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life but let's look at some other  verses first let's go to mark chapter 10 and verse 13. it says and they brought young  children to him another another uh of the variations of this says they were infants they  were infants like small children like owen here and they brought young children to

him that he  should touch them just touch them oh yeah just just this is the son of god you just touch  my child it's going to mean something to me they want them to be blessed they want him  to give him a blessing but his disciples these really smart people these disciples  on this inner circle wanted to protect jesus and jesus is too busy to deal with children  jesus cares about the big issues he's taking care of this world he's got big issues to  take care of he don't have time for children

his disciples rebuked those that brought them  but when jesus saw it he was much displeased he was much displeased and said unto them suffer  or allow the little children to come unto me and forbid them not for as such is the kingdom  of god verily i say unto you whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of god as a little child  or with the faith of a little child he shall not enter there in it says that jesus was displeased  this word displeased in the greek is aganato and it means to be indigna

nt indignant now notice  carefully the text doesn't say he was indignant against his disciples but he was indignant against  what they did let's see jesus could separate the sin from the sinner you know you've heard the  saying you know hate the sin love the sinner jesus hates sin he does have a hatred of sin  but he loves the sinner that's who jesus is that's the kind of person that we really want  to know about what we really want to know about jesus is does he care does he really love me  he

loves the little children he begins with them and it says that he was indignant when the  disciples tried to keep the children from him in fact in luke chapter 13 and verse 14 here we  see this word that we translate displeased in mark used in another way it says and the ruler of the  synagogue answered with indignation because that jesus had healed on the sabbath day and said  unto the people there are six days in which men ought to work and then therefore come and be  healed and not on the sab

bath day see jesus had healed a man and he held him on the sabbath day  and this made the religious authority indignant displeased he was really upset because he thought  jesus shouldn't heal this mountain sabbath well the sabbath is an important day by the way how  many all think the sabbath is an important day it is an important day the bible says seventh day  is the sabbath right it says where to worship god it's an important day it's a sign that he is our  creator and redeemer important day

but jesus said i am the lord of the sabbath and he said the  sabbath was made for man not man for the sabbath he didn't make man to serve the sabbath he made  the sabbath to be a serving for man to bless man but now here is a child of god and he has this  problem and jesus wants to heal him but it's the sabbath and he knows it will cause prejudice  what does he do he heals him anyhow he takes care and he does what is right because it is right  and he'll leave the consequences to god in mark chap

ter two if we turn back to mark mark chapter  2 and here we have a story of a man who was lame and he needed healing he wanted healing and he  thought if he could just get close to jesus that that could happen and uh but there were so many  people in this house that they couldn't get in and so they took some really really interesting action  that probably none of us would dare to do today they sort of probably i don't think they had to  put up a ladder or whatever but they got up on the roof sta

rted to take the tiles off the roof and  they did enough tiles that they had enough space to hoist this man down in a sheet with you know  ropes or some kind of cords attached to it so he dropped right in front of jesus now i don't think  you could do that without making a little noise and a little commotion right so here  jesus is he's speaking to his people he's talking to him about words of life  but he hears this commotion above him but of course he knows what's going  on and he knows what h

e's going to do and and he doesn't say hey you know stop that  ruckus up there he didn't say hey man you know the plaster is falling on my head quit  this he waits and here he comes down and uh and jesus in verse five in in mark chapter two  verse five when jesus saw their faith he said unto the sick of the palsy son thy sins be  forgiven thee son thy sins be forgiven thee and these people they didn't like this either you  know who can forgive sins but god only they said but jesus said in verse

9 whether it's easier  to say unto the sick of the palsy thy sins be forgiven thee or to say arise take up thy bed  and walk but that ye may know that the son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins you say  it to the sick of the palsy i say unto thee arise take up thy bed and go thy way into thy house and  verse 12 says and immediately he rose took up the bed and went forth before them all in as much as  they were all amazed and glorified god saying we never saw it on this fashion now so thi

nk about  this for just a minute here again jesus is doing something contrary to the established religious  preference or the established religious way and he knows he's going to have to face a certain amount  of scorn for it he's going to have to face the retribution for it but he cares he cares for us  when we are sick and afflicted when we when we can't get to jesus of our own selves and someone  has to drag us to jesus as it were he cares for us and we'll see even more how much he cares a li

ttle  bit but i think it's interesting in verse 5 notice in verse 5 again what's the first thing jesus did  in verse 5 what did he say first son he's a son he addressed him he said son now there are there  is a specific word in the greek language for son and it's used in john 3 16 for god's to love the  world he gave his only begotten son but this is a different word for sun this is the greek word  technon and it's actually a neuter word and it can be used for male or female we know it's male  i

n this case but it just simply means child child child child thy sins be forgiven thee you say  well i don't know if i want to be called a child but i'd like to invite you to turn with me in  your bibles to first john chapter 3 and verse 1. it says here behold what manner of love what kind  of love the father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called what the sons of god but if you  look at that word son in the greek it comes from the greek word technon child that we should be  called we're

children of god have you ever heard that expression surely you've read that expression  somewhere have you that that we're all to be children of god god loves each one he doesn't just  love one person because their skin is one color or one person because they come from a certain  place or have a certain background or family name we're all to be children of god and jesus  called this lame man child he's a child of mine here he is the son of god the divine son of  god he says to this lame man chi

ld you're my child i'm going to watch over you you know as  a parent you watch over your children don't you you care for your children you love your  children you provide for your children this is what jesus does because he cares for  us now i mentioned that the the slain man had to be brought to jesus but friends don't  think that you're dependent upon other people always to bring you to jesus because if we go  back to luke 15 luke chapter 15. by the way this is a great great and great chapter

in  luke and if you haven't read it for a while you need to and i would encourage you also  to read the chapter in the book christ object lessons that discusses this chapter in detail  but here in luke 15 we have three great stories three great parables there's the parable of the  lost sheep the parable the lost coin and what's the third parable usually called the parable the  the prodigal son what does the word prodigal mean we call it the prodigal son was it mean no it means wasteful wasteful

someone who's  wasteful but i'd like to say i'd like to rename this the parable of the lost son he was a lost  son but now in this first parable and let's read the introduction to this because that's important  it says then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him jesus had been  speaking words of life to these people and who comes and wants to hear now it says it's the  publicans now publican was an old english term for tax collector and i assure you that in the days of 

jesus tax collectors were no better uh loved than they are today in fact much worse because they  were much they were they were crooked most of them like zacchaeus he was a tax collector this is  why i've taken all this stuff from i'm going to give it back lord i'm changing but they were  not well loved and it says and the sinners in other places we read about how he would associate  with the wine bibbers and the harlots even oh boy you know can you imagine associating with  the harvest what th

e headlines are going to read in the jerusalem express for  that one you know so-called messiah seen flirting with the harlots you know  you know how they would spin it right but does jesus let that stop him no these people  need me and he cares too much for them to care what other people say about it and so he is with  these publicans and sinners and the pharisees these really righteous religious leaders and the  scribes the learned writers murmured saying this man receiveth sinners and eateth

with him and i'll  tell you it's the best good news in all the bible jesus receives sinners and that's where i was and  it's where you were at one time maybe some of you still are i don't know but jesus receives  sinners and he will eat or fellowship with them and he said this parable unto them saying  notice the first parable luke 15 verse 4 now what man of you put yourself into this situation  jesus is saying he says what man of you having a hundred sheep if he lose one of them doth  not leave

the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find  it and when he found it he scolds the sheep he rebukes the sheep he beats the sheep  he's harsh to this no he doesn't do that does he it says that when he found it  he laid it on his shoulders rejoicing and when he cometh home he called together his  friends and neighbors saying unto them rejoice with me for i have found my sheep which was lost  and jesus says in verse 7 i say unto you likewise joy shall be in

heaven over one sinner that  repenteth moreover than 99 just persons which need no repentance you see friends the sheep was  out there lost and it didn't know how to get home didn't know the way home and it's going  to perish because it can't support itself the shepherd could say well look i've got  i've got 99 sheep and they're all good man they're obedient they're in the pen  they're doing what they're supposed to do but because he cares but because the good  shepherd cares he goes looking for

that lost sheep and he's not content to stop until he  finds it and then jesus tells another parable either what woman having ten pieces of silver if  she doth lose one piece doth not light a candle and sweep the house and seek diligently till she  find it and when she has found that she called her friends and her neighbors together saying  rejoice with me for i have found the peace which i had lost first hand likewise in the same way i  say unto you there is joy in the presence of the angels o

f god over one sinner that does what  that repents over one sinner that repents now there's a little difference in these parables  they sound a lot alike something got lost in each one right something got found in each  one but notice there's a difference in the parable of the lost sheep the sheep was out  in the wilderness it was away from the fold but now with these coins they're all at home or  where they're supposed to be right but one's lost it doesn't know it's lost it thinks it's home  bu

t it's made a disconnect from the master from the owner and this represents those  folks those good folks who are in church and they think they're saved and they think  everything's just fine and they were just waiting for jesus to come saying go to heaven but  they're lost and they don't know that they're lost but jesus knows they're lost and he goes  looking for him he goes and he sweeps notice what it says in verse 8 and swept the house and  seek diligently diligently until she finds it i'm t

hankful for that kind of a savior now we  don't have time to talk about this third parable the parable of the prodigal son the lost sign but  in that parable we know that this this this sun what became lost he went wayward but in this one  there there is a a picture of the anxiety of god over the sinner because the son has left and he  has spoiled all of the of his wealth and he had he must have what we would today call enormous wealth  his father was a very wealthy man and by right when his fat

her died he would receive one-third  of the inheritance because he was a younger son but instead of waiting he goes to his father  can you imagine the the the the gall to do this he goes to his father's father i know that you're  not gonna die anytime soon so i want you go ahead and give me my inheritance now and it doesn't  matter if it takes away from you i want it now and the father gave it to him and it's in and he  went and he spent it in riotous living we know that because in verse 30 the

elder son told  the father since but as soon as this thy son was come which hath devoured thy living with  harlots thou has killed the fatted cat for him see word got back home what  happened even though he went into a far country here this represents  someone who who has known the love of god but they turn their back on god and they walk away  and they don't just walk a short distance they walk a far way off maybe their life becomes very  deep in sin and trespasses and they want to keep you kno

w god's the last thing on my mind i don't  want to hear i don't hear about god don't don't send me no literature don't you know don't don't  talk to me about god whatever it is don't do this but the lord allowed in the story this man's  situation become so depraved that he decided that something had to be done and so he  decided he'd go home even if i can't be a son i'll just be a servant in my father's  house my servants are doing much better than i'm doing i'm i'm here in a hog pin wanting to 

eat what the hogs are eating he became so poor but what was the situation what actually happened  well it tells us here in verse 20 it says and he arose and came to his father and when he  was yet a great way off his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck  and kissed him this is a picture of a father who's preoccupied with only one thing he's preoccupied  with only one thing and that is his son and every day he's going out to the end of the path to the  end of the road a

nd he's looking down that highway wanting to see his son every day he's out there  praying that the lord will send his son home and when he sees him he recognizes him  you see love is of keen sight beloved love is of keen sight and love recognizes its  own quickly and when he recognized his son even though he didn't look like his son anymore he  left in beautiful clothing he came back in rags he left clean he came back matted and dirty filthy  the father ran to him embraced him hugged him the so

n said my father i have sinned against  heaven and thy son him no more were they be called thy son father doesn't even argue  father doesn't try to deal with that father said to his servants bring forth  the best robe not just any rub bring the best rope put it on him and put a ring  on his hand and shoes on his feet and bring him to the fatted calf and kill and let us  be let us eat and be merry for this my son this my son was dead and is alive again he was  lost and is found and they begin to

be married you see that's the attitude that god has  just like we saw in the other two parables whenever someone comes to jesus  when someone comes back home there's joy in heaven friends whether god has  to find them or they find god they come back on their own in one way or another that's the way  it is always there's so much more i could talk to you about on this but our our time is fleeting  away and i i don't want to to belabor any points too much tonight but i i would like to just tell  a

short story and i'll just give you the reference but it's in matthew chapter uh 15 there's a story  about jesus and he take he takes a trip and i have a map here he takes the trip up to the coast  of tyre and sidon okay now jesus at this time at the time the story begins had been in  jenesseret and jenesseret was a little town just below capernaum there by the sea of galilee  sometimes called the lake of genester also and he made this travel this trip up to the coast  of tyre and sidon and you c

an see from this it would have been about 30 40 50 miles to hike  up there because there was this canaanite woman who had been despised by the jewish people and she  had this daughter that was quite ill but she heard about this man that could heal anyone and  she longed to see this man and friends jesus made a trip to the coast  of tyre and sidon to see this one woman that's the only reason he went up there he  didn't go up there to have a big crusade didn't go up there to have a a big political

rally or  anything else he went there to see this one woman now i've known preachers today that wouldn't drive  40 or 50 miles to see someone because it says too far but jesus because he cared so much god on his  feet they were probably calloused and blistered and walked up to the coast of tyre and sidon to  see this one woman i tell you it tells me just how much jesus really cares in john chapter 1 and  verse 5 it says and the light shineth in darkness who is that light who is that  light that

shined in darkness it's jesus it says in verse 4 and him was  life and the life was the light of men and the light shineth in darkness and the  darkness comprehended it not but the greek word that we translate uh comprehended from is  catalabano and it means to overtake or to overcome and friends the truth is that darkness can  never overtake darkness can never overcome light when you have light darkness can affect it  but darkness is dispelled by light jesus says he is the light of the world j

esus looks for the  sinner because he cares for them and he wants to bring his light and i think about one more story  just really quick and we'll just talk about briefly but it's in the book of john in the gospel  of john and in the ninth chapter of john we have a story here about a man who was born blind  this man had no memory of seeing anything ever you know i can't i can't empathize with  that you could put a blindfold on me for the rest of my life and i'll never be able  to empathize with

that because i've seen i've had a chance to see i i know what things  look like i know what i know what lavender or purple looks like you know i know what aqua  marine and and blue and grays and reds look like i know the beauty of a a a of a cloudy a beautiful  cumulus cloud sky sunlight sunbeam shining through it i've seen all those things you have too jesus  healed this man jesus healed this man but because again the religious leaders of his day didn't  like what he did they raised a big rucku

s about it and they called his parents in and they said  how did this happen and the parents because they were afraid of those religious leaders they said  well we don't know you have to ask him they knew what happened but they wouldn't say but jesus  cared for this outcast cared for this person who was down and out and he healed him and  finally these religious leaders they brought this man who'd been healed in they said you know give  god the glory we know this man is a sinner he couldn't have

done this say god did this they  couldn't dispute the fact that he could see now they couldn't dispute the fact that he'd been born  blind he'd been like that's from his birth there's ample testimony for that they couldn't change  that so they tried to spin it and they said look just just say god is good give god the glory but  this man not him he didn't do this he's a sinner and the the man said well he said since the world  began there was never anyone who opened the eyes of one born blind an

d if this man were not of  god he could do nothing verse 33 it says that verse 34 they answered and said unto him  thou was altogether born in sins dost thou teach us and they cast him out  now they said he was born in what sin but if you look at the beginning of the  chapter jesus saw this man he was born blind and the parent and disciples want to know now whose  sin is he blind for because they understood that all all sickness all affliction had to happen  because of sin only and jesus answere

d in verse three he said neither had this man sinned nor his  parents but that the works of god should be made manifest in him says i've allowed him to be blind  so i can do something very special to glorify god well the religious leaders they didn't like this  and in verse 34 they said was that altogether born in sins and dost thou teach us and they  cast him out they cast him out and if you look in your margin if you have a marginal bible in  verse 34 i know andy does it says excommunicated in

other words they disfellowshipped  him they put him out of the synagogue and do you understand what that meant  at that day you know today if people get disfellowshipped from the church it really  doesn't mean a lot you know life continues with this but that was a close-knit society  the jewish society was a close-knit society and when you got put out of the synagogue when  you got discommunicated it was like you died i mean they could they could even times have a  funeral for you and they woul

dn't talk to you they would shun you what we call shun i mean  that was like it was like shining on steroids it was like you didn't even live or exist  you couldn't do business with anyone but notice what happens verse 35 jesus heard that they had cast him out and when he had found him he said unto  him dost thou believe on the son of god. he answered and said who is he lord that  i might believe on him and jesus said unto him thou hast both seen him and it is he that  talketh with thee and he s

aid lord i believe and he worshipped him notice what happened the  man who was healed was put out of the synagogue in other words everything that religiously could  happen to you in that society had just happened jesus came and found him jesus heard that they  cast him out and when he had found him jesus went looking for him didn't he and friends if  today the so-called religious establishment or establishments cast you out jesus comes  to look for you and to give you personal fellowship with hi

m and he does  this because he cares so much he cares just so much for us what people really  want to know is how much do you care how much do you care and and and the basis of how much you  really care france is to a great degree going to be based upon how much you understand god cares  for you because as as as you understand and can receive the love of god into your life you will  then live out and and express that love of god to others and that's the message of the gospel  in a nutshell that'

s the message of the gospel in a nutshell that god loves you he comes looking  for you he searches for you he wants to bring you he wants to make you a child of god behold what  manner of love the fathers bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of god i want to  be a son of god today don't you do you want to be a son of god today i do i want to follow the  lord jesus and be his child and serve him always you