God’s Heart For Restoration

God’s Heart For Restoration
Luke 15:1-32
Pastor Terry Wilcox

Luke 15:1-2 – Religious people were stressed that Jesus:

Luke 15:3-7 – The Lost Sheep

1. The effort begins with God.
2. The shepherd’s priority was the lost one.
3. Restoration is the reason for the celebration.

Luke 15:8-10 – The Lost Coin

Living like Jesus is about both quality and quantity.

40 healings by Jesus; 34 needed help. Who helped you?

“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them…”
-John 6:44

Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
-Matthew 22:37-39

Luke 15:9 – Another celebration!

Luke 15:11-31 – The Prodigal God and His Lost Son

1. The Father’s love is patient.
2. The Father waited expectantly. (Luke 15:20)

Personal Notes:

THREE KINDS OF LOST PEOPLE

1. The Coin = those who are lost and don’t know it.
2. The Sheep = those who know they’re lost but don’t know what to do.
3. The Lost Son = those who know it, but…

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.”
-Luke 15:17-18

How this becomes a core value at Restoration Fellowship Church:

1. A willful decision.
2. It takes planning. (1 Peter 3:15)
3. Hold ourselves accountable.

The Scriptures share SEVEN THINGS WE CAN PRAY for people who do not know the Lord:

1. That God would convict them of sin. (John 16:8)
2. That their eyes would be opened to the truth. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
3. That laborers would be sent to them. (Matthew 9:38)
4. That their hearts would soften to the Gospel. (Hebrews 3:12-13)
5. That they would be protected from the enemy. (John 17:15)
6. That they would have no peace until they find Christ. (John 14:27)
7. That God would draw them to Himself. (John 6:44)

Personal Notes: