Abounding Grace

Larry: The heart that seeks the broken, next on Abounding Grace.

Pastor Ed Taylor: I hope you have a heart for the lost church. It's the heart of Jesus. This is what God is fashioning in you. It's everywhere in his ministry and life. As real as it is for someone to wander away, it's equally or more real that God has a heart to restore them and to see them return, and that his heart becomes our heart.

Larry: Well, you can probably think of someone right now that isn't walking with the Lord like they once did. They've wandered away, no longer attending church or reading their Bible or expressing an interest in the things of the Lord. Today on Abounding Grace, we'll hear of God's heart for the broken or the wanderer. It's the same heart we're to have. Join us in Galatians chapter 6 as Pastor Ed Taylor starts us off today with a question.

Pastor Ed Taylor: Open your Bibles to Galatians chapter 6 and James chapter 5. We're going to start in Galatians 6, and we're going to land in James chapter 5. I've entitled our Bible study, "The Heart That Seeks the Broken." I want to begin our Bible study with a question. You don't need to answer it out loud, but you can answer it internally because we have to start somewhere. I think the best starting point for our Bible study today is this question. Ready? Do you have a heart for those that are broken? Do you have a heart for those that are broken?

Everything begins with the heart. The heart of the matter, it’s been said, is always a matter of the heart. And among us in the church and throughout the world in which we live, there are those that are wandering and have strayed away from God's will for their lives. We learned in Galatians chapter 6 in our study last time, notice with me in verse one, Paul is addressing the church and he said, "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."

Let me read that to you from the New Living Translation. They translate it this way: "Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right track. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself." Today we're going to learn that it's a good thing, that it's a great thing for those of us in the church, those of us here at Calvary, to go out and bring the strays back home. To have a heart for those that are broken. To have a heart for those that have wandered away.

It really starts within the church. You think of, as you're sitting here today, the empty chairs that are scattered among us. You know, the empty chairs that are scattered among us are not just because we aren't evangelistic, because we are very evangelistic. And it's not just because there is a certain football team playing right now during this time. Some of those empty chairs were filled by believers that are no longer walking with the Lord. They were filled with believers who were once passionate and pressing in. Some your daughters, some your sons, some your moms and dads, and your friends and your coworkers. They were once vibrantly following God, and now they're not. Why? Because they've strayed away. They've wandered away.

You know the Bible describes Christians as sheep? That's one of the descriptions that God uses to describe us. There's a lot of great qualities among sheep that are good to reflect on for us as believers, but there's a few negative qualities that sheep have that are not so beautiful as they describe us. One of them is sheep are prone to wander. There's always one or two sheep that want to wander away, want to do their own thing, want to butt heads with other sheep, and that's just the way it is.

Let me ask you another question. Not only do you have a heart for the broken, but here's a second question: What kind of church do you want to be? What kind of church do you want to be a part of? I mean, this is your church. This is the church you've committed to. This is the church where you're raising your family, where you're worshipping, where you're growing. This is the church where I've committed to. This is where I've raised my family into adulthood, where I've chosen and I believe God has chosen for me to exercise my gifts here. This is our church. So what kind of church do you want to be? Especially as it relates to those that have fallen away. Especially to those that are prodigals. Especially to those that are hyper-resistant to the things of God today.

Do we want to be a critical, condemning, fault-finding, judgmental group of Christians? Sometimes that's just the way it is, but do you want that? I mean, can you imagine with our Christmas invites here? We have "Oh come here Christmas at Calvary," and on the back, "Join us, we're the most hyper-critical, condemning, finger-pointing, mean people in all of Aurora. Yippee! Come and worship with us." No, nobody puts that on their invite cards. Nobody would ever come. I don't even know that there would be people here today that would say that's the kind of church I want to be. But at times, that's exactly the kind of church that we become when we're not walking in the spirit, especially to those that have fallen away.

Typically the people you're thinking of—and I hope by now names are coming to your mind and faces because these are real people. These are people that are close to you, people you know personally, people you do life with, people that are super close, being in your family. We're not talking about nameless people here. We're not talking about massive crowds here. We're talking about one by one. And usually, if they were here and they're not here anymore, that is a very painful experience for you, and you're hurt by it, rightly so.

But you know what happens with pain? If you're not careful, hurting people hurt people. And typically, hurting people have a tendency to hurt the people that hurt them. Are you guys with me? Don't let me lose you on this. Hurting people usually hurt the people that hurt them, and that's just not God's heart for us. We don't want to be a critical, condemning, fault-finding, judgmental, sin-sniffing church where we don't consider ourselves in the whole matter. No, we want to be a grace-filled, merciful, forgiving, loving, covering, encouraging flock. Don't misunderstand me. That doesn't mean we abandon truth, and it doesn't mean we don't deal with the difficulties. The question is how, and it starts with the heart. The question is how do we step in?

As you study through the Bible as a born-again believer, God is working in your life. It's not all dependent on you and me. The more you study, the more you become like Christ. No, the Holy Spirit's working in your life, and he is conforming you and me into the image of Christ. He's giving us the mind of Christ. And one of the things, whether you recognize it or not, whether you see it yet or not, one of the things that's happening is the heart of Jesus is becoming your heart. It's a fascinating thing. You may have a background where you were very unkind as an unbeliever before you started following Jesus, but now you're different.

It's not just because you made some behavior changes. It's because God is in you, giving you the fruit of the Spirit, kindness, and gentleness. People actually trip out on it. They're like, "What happened to you?" "Well, I go to church." No, church can't do that. Going to church doesn't make that kind of change. What I mean is God lives in me. I'm born again. I'm a new creation in Christ. I have changed. It's real. I'm not just trying to change my behavior around you. I'm not just biting my tongue. I am living a full life where Christ is in me, the hope of glory.

And one of the things in particular that God has given you, that you need to pay attention to and nurture and grow and feed, is this. Ready? God is giving you a heart to seek and save the lost. It's brand new. A heart to seek and to save the lost. That's what Jesus said in Luke chapter 19. Listen to what he says in verse 9: "And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.'"

James, the half-brother of Jesus, who now turned to James chapter 5, James, the author of this letter, he understood this. He learned it, not only I believe growing up with Jesus but also through the ministry of Jesus. Notice with me in verse 19 of chapter 5. James says, "Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins."

"If anyone among you wanders." Notice who he's talking to in verse 19. He says, "Brethren." So he's addressing Christians. He's addressing us today, the Holy Spirit saying if anyone among you wanders. You know what that tells me? Anyone among us can wander. We can't look down at someone that's fallen, that's caved into some temptation, been trapped by some sin, and they're in a backslidden state right now. We can't look down on them as if that will never happen to me. You can't say that. You're an anyone. I'm an anyone. Given the right circumstances, a weak moment, a perfectly timed temptation, every single one of us can make a really bad decision that we'll regret in sin. Anyone of us can wander. That's what he says. Anyone among you wanders from the truth.

Then he says in verse 19, "and someone turns him back." So all of us are anyone, and all of us can be someone. We can help bring people back to the truth. We can help bring people back to the Lord, back to the Father. That's what we're going to learn today. We're going to learn not only do people wander, but we can also help the wandering come home. Straying or falling into sin or backsliding happens for a lot of reasons. If you're taking notes, I'll give you a few. It happens for a lot of reasons. First of all, most people backslide for this reason: deliberate rebellion. They make the decision. I don't want to follow God anymore. I want to do my own thing. I want to go back into sin. I want to—I don't like the restrictions, whatever. It's deliberate rebellion. That happens very often, but that's not the singular purpose, though it is a most popular one.

Number two, falling and backsliding can also happen from external pressures and forces. You hear this all the time. I'll warn you as a pastor and as a friend, as a fellow brother, over and over and over and over again until the Lord comes back, I'll warn you. Evil company corrupts good habits. That's what the Bible says. So you need to be careful with who you spend your time with. Of course, that can relate to your friends and the connections for sure. Your friend group, the peer pressure you get from your friend group, absolutely. But with the invention of social media, you have a whole new level of pressure in your life, of influence in your life, of computerized, almost demonically inspired computerized algorithms trying to change your mind. If you think it's not real, you are deliberately closing your eyes to the reality. Sometimes it's just these external forces. That doesn't take your responsibility away, but if you're going in the wrong direction hanging with the wrong people, what do you think is going to happen? Wrong things.

The third thing I see people fall away and stray away is a temptation or a snare, a trap. I mean, think of traps. Nobody walks into a trap willingly. That's why it's a trap. Nobody sees a trap and goes, "Oh, I think I'll have my foot cut off. Let me go check that trap out." Nobody does that. An animal doesn't do that. How does an animal get trapped? It's the bait. It's the bait. No fish wakes up in the morning going, "I hope I get eaten today." But they see something shiny and they see a little bait, and boom, it's the end of their life. That's how believers—they just get the bait. You're deceived. You see something. You maybe have a past with addiction and you just believe a lie. And the lie with addiction is I can't live without it. You can live without it. You can live a much better life without your past addictions. Let me tell you, it's absolutely true. But if you believe the lie, you'll go back to the bar when things hurt. When you believe the lie, you'll pull out the weed when things get stressful. When you believe lies, you're going to live a life apart from God. You're going to live a life that goes away from God, and that would be a backslidden life.

For those that were raised in the church environment, you'll remember there was a hymn, many of you have memorized it. But for some of you, it might be the first time you're hearing this beautiful song that's been sung by Christians for a couple hundred years. It goes like this: "Come thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing, calls for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount, I’m fixed upon it, mount of thy redeeming love."

If that was the only part of the song, isn't that beautiful? It’s so good. Your eyes are up on the Lord. Oh, I’m going to sing loudest praise, flaming tongues, redeeming love. But the song goes on, and here's the next stanza: "O to grace how great a debtor, daily I’m constrained to be. Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here’s my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above." Such a beautiful song, admitting our own weaknesses and crying out to God to help us.

It’s interesting, I received an email just recently as I was reviewing the notes for this weekend and the person is describing their family and someone who used to come to church here and they're not here anymore, exactly what we’re talking about today. The way they described it is "life happens." That's how she described it, life happens. And this person she loves very dearly doesn't walk with the Lord anymore, isn't pressing in for the things of God because life happens.

I think that's just a fitting way to describe all of the different ways that the spiritual warfare in our lives is just getting our eyes off God, away from the Lord. We're not reading the Bible every day, we're not praying every day, we're not loving our spouse, we're not living a single life that's pure and holy, all these things and more. You have your own story, some of you. We're so glad you're back. But maybe you're on the radio right now and you're kind of thinking about it. You're watching online, clicking through YouTube, and you're down this rabbit hole of Christianity, and it's a great place to be. But you've got to come home and you've got to be real with the situation the way it is.

I hope you have a heart for the lost church. It's the heart of Jesus. This is what God is fashioning in you. It's everywhere in his ministry and life. As real as it is for someone to wander away, it's equally or more real that God has a heart to restore them and to see them return, and that his heart becomes our heart. Jot it down: Matthew chapter 9, verse 36. It says when Jesus saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd.

Turn over, would you, to Luke chapter 15 now. When Jesus sees the crowd, what he sees is their weariness. What he sees is how they’re scattered. What he sees is how they're separate from the shepherd. And then in Luke 15, I pulled this out this morning for my devotions because I knew I’d be using it. As I was rereading it, I’m like, "Oh, the way Luke 15 starts is so beautiful." It is the heart of our Savior. His heart, our heart.

Notice in Luke 15 how the chapter begins: "Then all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to him to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, 'This man receives sinners and eats with them.'" So get the scene. This is one of the high points in the teaching of Jesus, Luke 15. It's all about that which was lost being found. Parables about the kingdom. And when the kingdom invades reality, when the kingdom invades the earth, something happens. And one of the things that happens is those that are lost are found. Aren't you grateful that you were lost and now you're found? I mean, that’s your testimony. Whether you were born into a Christian home or you got saved later in life like I did, it doesn't matter. We were all lost, and the Lord found us. There's a lot of talk about us finding the Lord; it's more important to be found by the Lord and to be a part of his family, born again.

And you see, when Jesus is about to teach this epic chapter, he teaches about a sheep that was lost, it came back and they rejoiced. They found him. He talks about a coin that was lost and it was found, and there was rejoicing. And of course, he taught in Luke 15 about the son, the prodigal son. Like your prodigal son and your prodigal daughter, Jesus taught us that the son was lost, he was dead, but now he's alive because he came home to the father. Who did he teach this to? The sinners and the tax collectors. They weren't the only sinners there, you know. The Pharisee sinners were there and the scribe sinners were there. But I love how he was accused of being friends with sinners. You want to know why he was accused? That was actually an accurate statement. It wasn't actually an accusation; it was the facts. Why was he such a friend to sinners? Why was he such a friend to those that were outcasts and on the fringes of society and completely neglected by the religious elite of the day? You want to know why? Because he came to seek and to save the lost. This is fundamental. This is a fundamental principle for every single Christian that's hearing me. Do you have a heart for those that are broken?

Larry: Pastor Ed Taylor on Abounding Grace describing the heart we are to have for the broken. This is one part of a study in Galatians and you can hear it again at aboundinggraceradio.com, oneplace.com, or wherever you get your podcasts. Pastor Ed, perhaps there is someone listening right now that's got a prodigal son or daughter or maybe a friend that's wandered away. They have this heart that seeks the broken. I know you'll touch on this next time, but what are some next steps they might take in helping them get back on the right track?

Pastor Ed Taylor: Well first I just want to acknowledge, Larry, to everyone listening that has a prodigal son or daughter or a prodigal dad or someone that's super close, I'm sorry. It is a very painful experience and you just need to know that the feelings that you're having right now are very normal for someone experiencing what you're experiencing. And it's hard and it seems almost impossible to bridge that gap between you and your son or daughter.

I just want you to know prayer really does matter. So number one, we can't stop praying for them. And the prayer, if you're not here yet, this is where you want to get to as you're praying for them. You want to get to the place where, "Lord, do whatever it takes to bring them back." That phrase, "whatever it takes." Or like Jesus taught us in the parable, that they would come to their senses. Whatever it takes for them to come to their senses and come home.

I believe Jesus loves us so much that he included that parable just because of his love and for every prodigal parent out there that's waiting and waiting. You know, maybe you have a prodigal that's left and you have a prodigal that's home, but don't stop praying. Make yourself available. And for any conversation, I would say, and I would add this and then I've got some resources at the end, but listen and don't be too quick to be defensive. As a parent, while I haven't experienced anything with the prodigal, I've dealt with some difficult things with my kids and I just know listening and not becoming defensive is very helpful, not only in valuing my son or daughter that's in front of me but also being open to the Holy Spirit of what to say. And so listen and don't be defensive and just be in prayer like Nehemiah. Just pray in your heart that you might have the words to express your love for your kids because I know you do.

I have collected some resources. This is such a common thing that I've collected some resources. If you email me directly, ed@edtaylor.org, and ask for the prodigal kid resource, it doesn't take me long at all to respond to that email, send you a link. If you want to look them up yourself, you can just go to my website edtaylor.org and put "prodigal" in the search bar and you can find it that way as well.

Larry: Thanks for sharing that, Pastor Ed. And we'd really like to hear from you this summer. It's helpful to know how these studies are impacting your life and that would be a real encouragement to Pastor Ed and the team. And if you're in need of prayer, please leave your prayer requests as well. There's a place to contact us at aboundinggraceradio.com.

Abounding Grace is supported by listeners just like you and we're grateful for those that come alongside us with either a one-time gift or ongoing support. We'd like to say thanks today for a gift of $25 or more by sending you the "Jesus Person Promise Book" by David Wilkerson. When you're dealing with a personal or spiritual problem, where do you turn? If you're wise, you'll open the word. The "Jesus Person Promise Book" highlights over 800 promises in the word arranged topically. That makes it super easy to find the specific promise that relates to the problem you're experiencing. It's available to our Abounding Grace listeners when you support the ministry with a gift of $25 or more. So call us at 877-30-GRACE or visit our e-store at calvaryco.store. Then come back next time when we'll continue our study of God's word with Pastor Ed. That's right here on Abounding Grace.

Abounding Grace is brought to you by Calvary Church Colorado here in Aurora.