Preached @ Metro 2nd April 2006 by Pastor Jeff Williams

People have said if only I could have known about the property boom before it happened.

In the movie "Back to the Future", Biff found a book of all the winners of sports compettions and horse races, took it back in time, and bet on those races and games, and won a fortune. Michael J Fox - Biff

We have an opportunity to have a share in the most exciting endeavour of all time.

Luke 14:15 “What a privilege it would be to have a share in the Kingdom of God.

We have been given an incredible privelege, an honour of sharing the love and message of Jesus with others!! 

Two characteristics of the servant’s mission of bringing others in to the party:

First, they are told to go “quickly into the street” (vs. 21) and invite others, which reminds us of the urgency of getting the message of the gospel out.

Second, they’re also told to “make them come in. . .” (vs. 23) which does not mean to use physical force or threats but rather to an attitude that will not take “no” for an answer. Keep asking, keep pleading, and keep encouraging people to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Luke 15:8-11 (The Message) The Story of the Lost Coin

"Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? 9And when she finds it you can be sure she'll call her friends and neighbors: "Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!' 10Count on it--that's the kind of party God's angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.".

One person is valuable 

Even the one is so important to God. Jesus tells the story of the shephard with 100 sheep, and how 1 was lost. The shepherd went in search of the one.

Search for those who are lost 

Look in every corner of the house, the woman doesn;t just have a casual look, but sweeps the house clean in search of that one lost coin. How much effort do we put into helping those who are lost, to find Jesus?   Luke 14: 23 Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges an urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. Not just the obvious t Don’t wait for them to come, but go to them.

Celebrates

When the coin is found she tells her neighbours and begins to celebrate. A party takes place in heaven, when a single person is born agian.

Tony Campollo 

Tony tells the story of a trip which he took to Hawaii. Jet lag kept him awake late into night and he went for a walk on the streets of Honolulu. At 2 in the morning, he found himself in a doughnut shop. Sitting at the counter, he overheard several prostitutes who were sharing a booth. One of the girls whose name was Agnes mentioned that it was her birthday. After she had left, Tony turned to the cook and the other prostitutes and said, “Let’s throw a party for Agnes.” The other girls agreed to bring decorations and the cook said that he would bake a cake. The next night, they all gathered at the shop and when Agnes walked in, they brought out the cake and began to sing, “Happy Birthday.” Tears streamed down Agnes’s face and, when it came time to cut the cake, she just stood there. Finally, she said, “Could I buy another cake and we eat that one? I want to take this one home and show it to my mother.” With that, she took the cake and left. In the sudden silence that filled the shop after she left, Tony bowed his head and began to pray. “Lord, we thank you for Agnes and for your love for her. You loved her enough to send Your Son to die for her on the cross. We thank you for the best present of all - the present of your own Son. Amen.” When he raised his head, he saw that all of the prostitutes had their heads bowed and had been praying with him. The cook looked at him and said, “You’re a preacher!” When Tony admitted that he was, the cook asked, “What kind of church do you have?” In a sudden flash of insight, Tony replied, “The kind that throws parties for prositutes and gives invitations to sinner".