Sermon 5- (Tuesday Night) – Emphasis on the Love of God

series: Conocer a Dios Lo es Todo

Introduction

• Hola, buenas noches

• This series has been designed to strengthen 💪 our relationship with God
• & to be more intentional in knowing him because this is it.
Knowing God is Everything/Conocer a Dios Lo es Todo

[por favor, repita después de mi

Juan 17:3

“Y esta es la vida eterna: que te conozcan a ti, el único Dios verdadero, y a Jesucristo,
a quien has enviado.”

Basic realities on God

1. God is the Supreme Being

a. Gen 1:1 is the foundation of the Judeo-Christian faith

“En el principio creó Dios los cielos y la tierra 🌎 .”

b. All knowing: Knows the beginning from the end- Unpredictable, unspeakable

c. God is timelessness ⏰ ….. not limited to space

d. We cannot comprehend nor explain who God is.

2. God has revealed His character so that you may know Him

a. Three (3) ways: Bible 📖 , Nature💚 , & Jesus

b. You are His masterpiece 🎨 , & He has a plan for you.

3. God is real & personal. He has feelings

• Christianity as a culture has taught us that God is here for us.

 • Biblical Christianity emphasizes the opposite

o He is the King 👑 , & we are the servants, not the opposite

• The God of the Bible 📖 is real & personal. It means, we can make Him happy 😄 or make
Him sad 😥

• We closed last night with the desire of giving Him the very best of all we have:
• The heart ♥

• [Emphasize here the importance of knowing Him in the context of John/Juan 17:3]
Conocer a Dios Lo es Todo

4. God pursues a continuing love 💗 relationship with you that is real & personal

a. The ultimate purpose of His revelation: We may love 💗 Him back!

b. Adam & Eve were created into God’s image;

it means that they had the unique privilege
of knowing & responding to God’s love 💗
in a deeper way

c. Although this relationship was broken,

Jesus is working hard to bring back the “Shalom”,
hope, restoration, & peace
He always takes the initiative:
he will give you
his love 💗 , forgiveness & grace

• Tonight we’ll study this reality based on a profound & significant chapter

• Luke/Lucas 15 [quince]

o [On Sunday night, please arrange three (3) young people from church to read the
whole chapter—I told pastor Mario]

o [The first youth should read Luke 15:1-7] (The parable of the lost sheep 🐑 )

 1 Se acercaban a Jesús todos los cobradores de impuestos y pecadores para oírle, 2 y los fariseos
y los escribas murmuraban, diciendo: Éste recibe a los pecadores, y come con ellos. 3 Entonces
él les refirió esta parábola, diciendo:
4 ¿Qué hombre de vosotros, teniendo cien ovejas, si pierde una de ellas, no deja las noventa y
nueve en el desierto, y va tras la que se perdió, hasta encontrarla?
5 Y cuando la encuentra, la pone sobre sus hombros gozoso;
6 y al llegar a casa, reúne a sus amigos y vecinos, diciéndoles: Gozaos conmigo, porque he
encontrado mi oveja que se había perdido.
7 Os digo que así habrá más gozo en el cielo por un pecador que se arrepiente, que por noventa y
nueve justos que no necesitan de arrepentimiento.

o [The second youth is reading from Luke 15:8-10] (The parable of the lost coin 🪙 )

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house,
and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors
together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you,
there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

8 ¿O qué mujer que tiene diez dracmas, si pierde una dracma, no enciende una lámpara, y barre
la casa, y busca con diligencia hasta encontrarla? 9 Y cuando la encuentra, reúne a sus amigas y
vecinas, diciendo: Gozaos conmigo, porque he encontrado la dracma que había perdido. 10 Así
os digo que hay gozo delante de los ángeles de Dios por un pecador que se arrepiente.

o The third youth will read from Luke 15:11-32 (The parable of the lost son) read next
night

• Luke 15 has correctly been described as the heart ♥ of the Gospel

o This is a Lost & Found chapter

• Why did Jesus share these three (3) stories?

o Parables are told in a context

o verses 1&2: Two (2) main groups are addressed

o The 1st group: Tax-collectors & sinners ☠

o In regards to the tax collectors: The Jews were ritually defiled by contact with
gentiles & despised them due to their collaboration with the Romans.
o Sinners ☠ represent the immoral who deliberately & consistently violated the
law.
▪ this excluded them from the religious community

 o The 2nd group: The Pharisees & scribes

o They are angry over Jesus’ behavior 😡

o He openly had social activity with those with whom the Pharisees refused to
even associate with.
▪ Jesus sat at the same table as them!
o This disgusted the Pharisees

• These three (3) parables are meant to be read as a unit.

o There is a progression

o The first two (2) parables are an introduction of the third

o there is Movement from

▪ 100 sheep 🐑
• to 10 coins 🪙
• to 2 sons

o The value of the lost item increases in each parable:

▪ 1 out of 100,
▪ 1 out of 10,
▪ then 2 out of 2

• here are some Common facts

o The sheep 🐑 , coin 🪙 , & sons…… were lost

o The shepherd, the woman, & the father take the initiative —they are active.

o The sheep 🐑 , the coin 🪙 & the son……. were found!

o There was a big celebration 🥳 : a feast

• 6 key actions:
1. Having or possessing,
2. losing,
3. seeking,

 4. finding,
5. rejoicing,
6. calling/inviting

The Lost Sheep 🐑 (Luke 15:3-7)

• It is also found in Matthew/Mateo 18:2-13

• Would a shepherd abandon 99 other sheep?

o Some provision would be made for the 99 sheep

o A flock this size must have had more than just one (1) shepherd

• What is the central interest of the parable?

o Shepherding was a despised occupation

o Remember, the Pharisees refused to associate with sinners?

o Here, Jesus is attacking their bias

o Do not judge others:

▪ If there is one thing that disappoints Jesus,
▪ it’s when his people question & judge someone else

o The primary function of this parable for Jesus

▪ was a defense of his deliberate association
▪ with & eating with people known to be sinners

• There is emphasis on the concept of “lostness”

o The point is that the 99 do not need to be found.

▪ It is not that they don’t count
▪ They just didn’t need to be found

o A lost sheep 🐑 usually lies down,

▪ gives up
▪ & will not be able to find its way back

o God’s love 💗 & concern for the lost (including the outcast & the marginalized)
▪ is great!

 ▪ including the outcast & the marginalized….drug addicts

o He takes the initiative in salvation:

▪ He is not passive; He seeks out

o Do you see The Value a lost soul has before God (even the least deserving)?

o The shepherd doesn’t drive/lead it back.

▪ He gently places it on his shoulder

▪ This is a message of restoration: I will bring you back to the flock

• In this parable, as well as in the other two (2) of this chapter, is found a theme:
Communal joy 🤩

o In the rabbinic belief, God delights in the downfall of the wicked

o This theme unites the three (3) parables in this chapter:

▪ Sense of jubilation 🥳 🤩
▪ victory search

o The joy continues upon the arrival at the house.

▪ He calls his friends to celebrate 🥳

o A similar joy occurs in heaven when one (1) sinner repents!!!

• The sheep 🐑 represent….who? … [ASK] The 1st group: sinners ☠ & tax collectors

o Those who are aware of their lostness.

▪ They are not happy
▪ They are miserable 😩

o Lost for ignorance & foolishness:

▪ Knows it’s lost
▪ but can’t do anything about it

o Completely helpless to find its way back

o (verse 14) the wilderness represents a desolate,

uninhabited region: Loneliness

 o [Key application of this section:]

▪ Perhaps a while ago you were part of the flock 🐑 🐑 🐑 .

• You felt loved 🥰 & cared for by the Shepherd.
• You belonged to a community.
• You were happy 😃 in the presence of the Good Shepherd

▪ But something happened,

• you left the flock.
• Perhaps the circumstances,
▪ problems
▪ or bad decisions made you leave the flock 🐑 🐑

▪ Maybe you were intentional in leaving.

• You know, it is not the flock you left behind—it is the Shepherd.
• Maybe you thought you could find pleasure & happiness far away
from the Shepherd

▪ You can deceive other people,

• but you cannot fool yourself.
• You ran away from God, & you feel sad 😞 , weary, alone.
• As this sheep 🐑 , you are now in the desert
• and what usually we find in a desert? Nothing

▪ You feel empty, frustrated, sad 😞

▪ You acknowledge that your days in the flock with the Shepherds were
happy days,
• but you think you cannot come back

▪ If that’s your case, the Shepherd sent me here tonight to tell you—-
He misses you!
▪ I came all the way from Woodbury, TN, USA to tell you—-
God loves you with an everlasting love 💗

▪ Tonight, I have the privilege

• of extending to you
• an invitation on behalf of the Good Shepherd:

 It is time ⏰ to come back!

The Lost Coin 🪙 (Luke 15:8-10)

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep
the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls her
friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I
lost!’ 10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner
who repents.”

8 ¿O qué mujer que tiene diez dracmas, si pierde una dracma, no enciende una lámpara, y barre
la casa, y busca con diligencia hasta encontrarla? 9 Y cuando la encuentra, reúne a sus amigas y
vecinas, diciendo: Gozaos conmigo, porque he encontrado la dracma que había perdido. 10 Así
os digo que hay gozo delante de los ángeles de Dios por un pecador que se arrepiente.

• The subject is a woman

o In the gospel of Luke, women are important, valuable & precious

o In the gospel of Luke, Jesus is the Savior for the whole world 🌎

▪ Jesus does not make exceptions!

• The drachma was a Greek silver coin 🪙 approximately equal to the Roman denarius

o One day’s pay for a day worker = 10 days of work

o This might represent the woman’s life savings.

o She diligently seeks this coin 🪙 until she finds it.

▪ The point: She will never give up;

▪ [story of the lost $150]
▪ she will continue seeking until the coin is found

o There is also a communal joy 🤩 in this parable.

▪ After she finds the coin,
▪ she calls her friends
▪ The gender of friends is feminine:

 • Celebration among women…..

• showing Intimacy

• The woman’s searching is an analogy

of God’s initiative & diligence
in seeking to recover His people.

• The lost coin primarily represents… [who is the audience?] [ASK] The Pharisees

o Notice the nature of the coin 🪙 ,

▪ it is an object,
▪ it doesn’t even know it's lost

o They were lost although they had God’s revelation

o The coin does not get lost in the mountain

▪ or in the wilderness
▪ but inside the house

o The search for the lost coin 🪙 is certainly given more detail than the search for the lost
sheep 🐑

o The woman lights a lamp 🪔

▪ sweeps the house 🧹
▪ & searches carefully with diligence

o This coin represents you my brother- who are here tonight;

▪ you sister- who are a church leader

o You are inside the house;

▪ you know the Bible, 📖
▪ the doctrine & the church; ⛪
▪ but your problem is that you do not know the Lord of the Bible,
▪ the Lord of the doctrine
▪ and the Lord of the church

o You believe you are better than others:

▪ you have more experience,
• knowledge,
• & talents

 ▪ My friend: you are lost inside the house

▪ The good news is that Jesus will never give up on you
▪ Where are you today?

Conclusion & Appeal [come down]

• [Share your story here: Are you a sheep 🐑 or a coin 🪙 ]

• [……………..my experience……]

• If you are a coin……this call is for you church members;

o Those who come to church ⛪ on a weekly basis

o Call for Those who are baptized members of the SDA church

o Call for Those who hold a position of leadership in this church

o If you feel that you’ve been looking for knowledge & power 💪 instead of Jesus,
▪ I invite you today to stand up

o If you acknowledge that you have been lost inside the house,
▪ today is the day of salvation for you

o Today is the day of celebration 🥳

o Today is the day of salvation
o You want to make the change….make Jesus the center of you life!!

o [Acknowledge people as they start standing up…….please stay standing]

• If you are a sheep 🐑 : You left the flock

▪ seeking for your pleasures & happiness
▪ Grass was greener

o But you only to find a desert;

▪ you feel lonely,
▪ sad 😞
▪ & hopeless

o I will also invite you to stand

o I want you to come here where I am because I want to have a special prayer for
you

 o Today is the day to come back

o This week is your week

o You do not need to be hopeless or sad 😞 anymore

o The Good Shepherds invites you to come back to His presence

o He will restore you

• Invite the pastor or head elder (talk to him ahead of time) to have a special prayer for the
ex-Adventists (sheep) & for the church members (coin)