St. Matthew, Chapter 18, verse: 14, The Lost Sheep: The will of the Father.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The lost Sheep) Part 5.

There will be rejoicing in heaven over the return of a lost one.  For the lost sheep are just as precious in the eyes of the Father as all the others.  They are the little ones.  They are the children that Christ placed before the disciples as an example of what they must become.  For the key to entering the kingdom of heaven is to turn and become like little children who do not worry about the cares of the world, who are not concerned about what tomorrow may bring, who rejoice in the here and now because their father will provide for them.

Christ wanted to teach them about the things of heaven.  He wanted them to know what heaven was like.  He wanted them to have all that heaven has to offer.  But first they must rid themselves of worldly ideas, worldly mindsets, and worldly passions that would prevent them from entering into the kingdom.  For it is not the will of the Father that anyone should perish.  It is not the will of the Father that anyone should be lost.  It is not the will of the Father that anyone should not be with him in heaven.  That decision is ours, given us by our father.  So Christ told his disciples the will of the Father.  Even so, it is not the will of your Father in heaven that a single one of these little ones should perish.

The little ones should not perish, this is what Christ told his disciples.  That is the will of the Father in heaven.  So each and every little one is protected, provided for, and cared for.  But there is evil in the world.  There is desire in the world.  There is lust in the world.  There is scandal in the world and all work towards turning the little ones away from the Father.  For the Father gave man free will.  The Father allowed man to decide.  The Father did not command that we choose.  He gave us the opportunity to make up our own minds, to decide what we wanted. 

Do we know what we want?  Do we see the results of our wants?  Do we understand the consequences of our wants?  For there will be consequences.  There will be repercussions.  There will be judgments.  There will be payments that must be made as a result of the decisions that we make of our own free will.  What do we know?  We believe that we can decide.  We believe that we have the capacity.  We believe that we know.  And we follow what we know.  We follow what we are told.  We follow what we are led to believe based on what we see in the world, what we feel about the world, what we hear in the world. 

We follow the path that is before us, the path that is given us.  And for those that lay out the path, those that create the path, they are driven by what they think is good and right and just in the mind of the market.  But the market is led by greed.  The market is led by desires and passions.  The market is led by the forces of commerce that are driven by the influences of the world.  And there is evil in the world.  Do we believe?  Do we see?  Do we know?  The choice is ours. 

We can sleep in the world or we can awake from the drugged slumber that the world offers.  Christ knocks at the door.  Christ holds your hand.  Christ lives in your heart.  Do not turn him away.  Do not close the door on him.  Do not go back to sleep when he talks to you.  Wake up!  See the being that you are in Christ.  Wake up!  See the light within you.  Wake up!  Know the truth that is within you.  For the Holy Spirit wants to visit you.  The Holy Spirit wants to live with you.  The Holy Spirit wants to know you.  The Holy Spirit wants you to know him.  Wake up and see!  Wake up and know!  Wake up and live in Christ! For it is not the Father's will that a single little one should perish.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in. 

St. Matthew, Chapter 18, verse: 13, The Lost Sheep: Rejoicing over the one.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The lost sheep) Part 4.  

The Son of Man came.  He came to reclaim what was lost.  He came to save.  He came to take back the little ones.  For they are the lost sheep, scattered by the evil one.  They are the ones without a shepherd.  They are the loved ones of the Father.  Even though he had many, he came to reclaim the one.  Even though he loved all, he came to find the lost.  Even though he is all powerful, he has mercy.  Even though he passed judgment, he is forgiving.  Even though he issues wrath on those who trespass, he is compassionate.  For Christ came to carry out his father's will, to bring back the lost, to save the little ones.

There will be rejoicing.  There will be happiness.  There will be sorrow.  There will be sadness for each little one that is lost.  But there will be rejoicing at each little one that is saved.  The choice was given to each.  The decision is ours to make.  But the influence leads us in a direction that we do not know.  The turn of the head, the blink of the eye, the sound of the music can lead astray, away from the flock and into lost territory.  But Christ came to save.  Christ came to restore.  Christ came to take back what was lost.  He came to pay the price that we may have life.  And there will be rejoicing for each that returns to the flock, for each that returns to the Father.  "And if he happen to find it, amen I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray." 

And if he happens to find it, the lost one, he rejoices.  Christ tells this parable to demonstrate to his disciples and to us the depth of love that the Father has for his little ones.  For they were created from his heart.  They were created from his love.  They were brought forth from nothing into life that his love and his passion may be shared.  We have a God and Father that loves us deeply.  We have a God and Father that protects us totally.  We have a God and Father that provides for us completely.  The question is will we let him.  Will we seek him?  Will we open our hearts to him?  Will we allow our minds to comprehend that which is incomprehensible to the mind but lies hidden in the heart?

We have all the documentation in history.  We have the facts laid before us.  We have the institutions that help us to understand.  We have the grace of Christ, the love of the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit to provide for us, if we believe, if we seek, if we desire to know, if we love, if.  And it is that if that deters us.  It is that if that delays us.  It is that if that causes us to pause.  It is that if that turns us away.  For that if, is what is used against us in the world. 

Can we not believe?  Can we not see with the eye that was given us, the key to the soul?  Can we not understand that which is within us, within our nature, within our being, within our soul?  If we are told otherwise, we can not.  If we are fed lies, we can not.  If we are deceived, we will not believe.  For deception is the tool of evil.  Deception is the blindfold that allows us to continue to sleep, to turn away, to follow the path of destruction.  But Christ came to save.  Christ came to take back.  Christ came to give new life.  Will you accept it?  Will you believe in it?  Will you be open to it?  Or will you be deceived?  Come!  Follow the path before you.  Seek the truth that is within you that you will know the truth of who you are in Christ.  Believe and you will see.  For he told us how to find the truth that is within us.  He gave us a path to follow.  Will you follow it?  Will you seek to know it?  Will you find you?  Christ awaits.  The Holy Spirit beckons.  The Father will rejoice at your coming.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in. 

St. Matthew, Chapter 18, verse: 12, The Lost Sheep: Searching for those that have strayed.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The lost sheep) Part 3.   

What do you think, Christ asked his disciples?  Why do you think that he came to earth?  He wanted to have them speak what was in their minds.  He wanted his disciples to understand the true reason of his coming.  Though they did not know, he told them.  He gave them the key to opening the doors of heaven.  He told them how they should turn from the ways of the world and seek the knowledge held by little children.  For the little children were the example that Christ put before his disciples that they could see who they were to become.

Little ones, he said.  Precious ones, he knew them as.  Loved ones, as he saw them through the eyes of the father.  Protected ones, by the angels themselves in heaven, guarded by the knowledge of God himself.  For Christ came to collect.  He came to return what was lost.  He came to reclaim that which did not belong here on earth but belong in heaven and he wanted his disciples to know.  He told them.  He gave them examples.  And he demonstrated the love for them through a parable.   "What do you think?", he asked his disciples.  And he continued to demonstrate his passion:  "If a man have a hundred sheep, and one of them stray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the mountains, and go in search of the one that has strayed?  And if he happen to find it, amen I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray."

And so it was given to the disciples to understand the tremendous love that a man has for his one lost sheep.  And they understood the love that the Father has for mankind, his lost sheep, his lost little ones, his lost children.  For we are the ones that were lost.  We are the ones that strayed.  We are the ones that he loves so dearly that he sent his son to reclaim us.  For Our Father is a merciful father.  Our Father is a loving father.  Our Father is a forgiving father.  For he understands who are his children and he understands the mistakes that they will make.  And despite our mistakes, our errors, our downfalls, he still loves us.

We are brought into this world to experience life.  For we were not.  We knew not.  We did not until we were given life.  But there are those who came before us.  Those that had life before we were.  Those that would steal us away from the Father.  So the choice is ours to make.  But we must understand clearly the choice that we make.  We must know the truth of our actions.  We must know the truth of who we are.  For without the truth we are misled.  Without the truth we are swayed.  Without the truth we are stolen, not knowing who we are, not knowing the life that we have, not knowing the destiny that is ours in the Father. 

We live in a world but are not of the world.  We see ourselves as physical but we are not physical.  We believe in the things of the world but we are in disbelief of who we are because this is the misinformation that we are given, the misinformation that we are fed, the misinformation that programs us from birth.  But God is with us.  Christ came for us.  The Holy Spirit will be with us, if we choose. 

Wake up from your sleep and see the truth before you.  Let not the influence of the mind stop you.  For the evil of the world will invade the mind.  The evil of the world will persuade the mind.  The evil of the world will turn the mind away from the truth that is in the heart.  Open the heart to Christ and you will find all that the heart desires.  For Christ is our truth.  Christ is our satisfaction.  Christ is our peace.  Christ is our love, and our protection, our provider.  He will give all.  He will show all.  He will lead you and guide you so that there is nothing that will sway you again to the world.  Come!  Open the heart to Christ and receive the Holy Spirit.  For Christ loves you.  The Father adores you.  And the Holy Spirit will be with you all the days of your life.  Amen.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in. 

St. Matthew, Chapter 18, verse: 11, The Lost Sheep: Why the Son of Man came.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The lost sheep) Part 2.    

The little ones have angels in heaven.  The little ones have a direct connection to God our Father.  The little ones are protected.  The little ones are provided for.  The little ones are special in the eyes of God.  But the little ones were lost.  The little ones were divided.  The little ones were without a shepherd.  And then Christ came. 

Christ came to take back what was lost.  Christ came to redeem.  Christ came that all was not lost and all the little ones would not face the justice of God.  For man had sinned.  Man had disobeyed the command of God.  And man must face the justice of God, for God is the ultimate judge and justice must be served.  There was a contest.  There was a battle.  There was a test between man and Satan, between physical and spiritual, between the lowly flesh and the spiritual cunning of a fallen angel.  Man lost.  The punishment was pronounced.  The sin was committed and the judgment was enacted.  And Christ came.  He came to renew.  He came to take back.  He came to be tested.  He came to pay the price.  He came to be the sacrifice.  He came to save.  And Christ told his disciples:  "For the Son of Man came to save what was lost."

What was lost?  Where can it be found?  Is it something that is worth finding, something of value, something that we should waste time thinking about finding?  Christ thought so.  God thought that it was worth getting back.  He gave a precious gift to have it returned.  He wanted it returned.  He did not want to loose it. 

Our Father is a loving father, so much so that he forgives, he loves deeply, he has mercy, he understands, he is compassionate.  The Son of Man came to save what was lost.  He came to be tested.  Adam was tested and he failed the test.  Christ came and he passed the test.  He came and he was tried.  He came and he would not bend, he would not relent, he would not give up, he would not yield to the temptations, and they killed him because he could not be broken.  He paid the price.  He was the sacrifice.  He was the restitution for the injustice.

I was lost.  I was asleep in the world.  I was committed to the world, even though I had been given the truth as a child.  I was raised in the church.  I was committed to the church and yet I left the church and went out into the world.  I wanted to be a part of the world.  I wanted to be accepted in the world.  I wanted to be successful in the world.  And I committed myself to it.  The world used me.  The world abused me.  The world tore me down.  And the world took me to the crossroads of temptation. 

The world said to me, in order to be successful you must be ruthless.  It said to me, in order to be successful you must be cunning.  It said to me that in order to be successful you must be vengeful, you must be murderous.  I was lost.  I was on the verge of stepping off that cliff.  And then, out of desperation, I sought help.  I called out to my father for help.  I cried for relief. And he reached out and held my hand.  He reached out and lifted me up.  He reached out and pulled me from the brink of destruction. 

He gave me hope.  He gave me faith.  He showed me compassion.  He opened my eyes and allowed me to see the truth of who I am.  I am no longer lost.  I am no longer wandering.  I am no longer asleep.  I am here and I am now.  I am in him and he is in me.  I am a light in the darkness because I know who I am.  Christ came to save me.  Christ came to save you.  Christ came to save all that want to be saved.  Do you want to be saved?  Do you want to know the truth of who you are?  Ask him to save you.  Ask to know him.  Ask to believe in him.  Ask to seek him and he will seek you.  He saved me and gave me a new life.  He will save you!  

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.