08/07/11 - GO Part 1 - Pastor Tony Ashmore

Pastor Tony Ashmore begins a new series entitled "GO" in this Sunday morning celebration.

GO Part 1
Pastor Tony Ashmore
Sunday, August 7, 2011

www.mylifegatechurch.com


Sermon Notes:

GO!

Proverbs 11:30 (NKJV) “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.”

Luke 14:23 So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.  (Message: Whoever you find, drag them in.)


3 Reasons People are Lost or Away from God

Luke 15:4-7 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” 

-   The sheep got lost.  The man had nothing to do with it.  Pre-occupied.  Distracted. Wandered off.  Too late when the sheep realized it was lost, separated from the flock.  Panic time, fear, helplessness which leads to hopelessness.  (Story of Jeff at Wickes)

Luke 15:8-10 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

-   The woman misplaced the coin.  She was careless with the coin.  Took it for granted.  Didn’t understand its worth and value.  Coin probably was in a dark place, separated from the others.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Gathered dust, grime.  It’s worth never changed, no matter how many roaches crawled across it, no matter how much dirt and grime gathered on it, no matter how deep into the crevice it fell.  It’s worth never changed.  She was careless with it.  Many people are away from God because others were careless with their lives.  (Story of the $150 I found in the cabinet that had been there for several years.  It didn’t ask to be put on a shelf, hidden away, forgotten.  When I found it, it was like a bonus, even though it had been mine all along.)

Luke 15:12-20 “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.  “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’ “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him.

-   The son miscalculated—he thought life would be better, more fun, more adventurous without the father.  He thought the life his father had chosen was not the “good life”, not the life for him.  He knew there was better life out there, a life away from his father, a life not filled with the choices and boundaries he saw in his father’s life.  He miscalculated.  Note: “When he came to his senses”.  First pride—“I was right.  I have found the good life.”  Then pride resists the truth—this life is not as good as I thought it would be.  Then pride rejects repentance: “I don’t want to admit I was wrong so I would rather hurt than admit it.”  Pride is replaced by feelings of unworthiness, guilt, shame, “I blew it so I deserve to be rejected.”  His father never de-valued him. 


So What:

Isaiah 6:8-9 ‘Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” And he said, “Yes, go…”

2 types of people here today:

*   Those who fit one of these descriptions and are away from God
*   Those who have fit one of these descriptions, were away from God, are now found and are called to GO help those who are still lost.

Both types need to hear the Father today-

*   Some need quit wandering. 
*   Others need to forgive those who have been careless with your life and come to the Father who has never rejected you. 
*   And still others need to drop the pride, admit you miscalculated, and come back to the Father who has never given up on you and welcomes you with open arms.
*   Individually, we need to feel the Father’s heart for His kids who are lost.
*   As a church, we need to promise Him and each other we will always make this place a safe place for those trying to find their way home.