1.) When you are the one lost

2.) When you are the one searching

3.) When you are the one saved

I thank our God for my experience at Parker Chapel Church because this has been an important experience for me, and you are indeed preparing yourselves and me for a greater work in Christ Jesus. That work will begin some day in the not so distant future, the important work today is Parker Chapel not when, but here and right now. The biggest mistake that I have made the last couple of years is that I got ahead of the Lord plan for me, and on a couple of occasions, I reacted instead of responding. I look at myself and I'm not happy, but I'm not defeated. If I depend upon myself and if I make the decision based upon solely myself, then I will surely fail; I most depend -- I will depend upon the Holy Spirit to move my superiors and myself in the right direction. Furthermore, I stand here today on the promises of the Lord because this is not an easy church to Pastor or shepherd. There are problems here that must be eliminated and if it is God's will; I shall return next week determined to lead this church through prayer and fasting to where God would have us be. During this ensuing conference year we shall be selfish in our prayer life because there is nothing wrong with asking God for what your church needs. Does not the scripture say, "Ask and you shall receive, knock and the door will be opened, and seek and you shall find." Finally, we shall explore powerful prayer like the prayer of Jabez, "Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm! [1 Chronicles 4:10]" I urge you to consider the effects of dedicated fervent prayer upon the lives of believers.

Christ used an analogy concerning two young men and both at different times in the parable are lost; further, we discover that one seemingly has the ability to find his way home by himself, but the other is seemingly not able to find his way home by himself through his own faculty, capacity, or even ingenuity. I cannot point out more emphatically that’s only the way it seems. In actuality neither of those two men could find his way home alone, and neither could qualify for re-admittance except for the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. Beloved, we must be willing to ask the difficult questions about one's self. Stop looking at the other person; you are the focus. Stop watching out for the other person; you are the focus. You, the individual, are not the driver; the Holy Spirit is supposed to be doing the driving. The Holy Spirit can only do the driving when you, the individual, submit yourself to the control of the Holy Spirit. Today, we want to consider a person's options when they realize that he or she is himself or herself own worst problem. The very first thing we must do is confess and admit your mistakes to the Lord and the Lord will right it. No one has the right to bring it up after the Lord rights it. For instance, no one should be upset with Jonah even in his disobedience to the Word because when the storm winds came and rocked that tiny ship Jonah stood up and said, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you [Jonah 1: 12]." How do you respond to God when God pronounces judgement and you are the guilty one? Nathan the prophet said to King David, "You are the man…You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites [2 Samuel 12: 7,9]." Finally, Beloved, both of the brothers in our text were lost each in his own individual way, but one through his own assertiveness was able to find himself as a result of the grace of God. What do you do Beloved, when you discover that you are the troublemaker? What do you do beloved when you discover that you are drunk or dope addict? What do you do when realize that you, yourself are the cause of the trouble? What do you do beloved when you discover that you are the jealous or envious one? What do you do beloved when you discover that you are the church's greatest stumbling block?

We live in a highly technological fast paced world and it seems as if everyone is on the move, but unfortunately it does not seem that most people are moving in the right direction. God placed the church in the world to be a Missionary Outpost, a great and mighty fortress to protect his children. The church's mission is to seek out and to save the lost, the poor, and the oppressed, to proclaim release to captives and to declare the acceptable year and the day of the Lord. The shepherd of our text endangered the lives of 99 sheep because he was concerned about the one lost sheep. It was part of the Shepherd's responsibility to keep up with his sheep because the Shepherd developed an intimate relationship with his sheep and the sheep knew their Shepherd's voice. In Palestine during the days of Christ cities were littered with Sheepfolds, a Sheepfold was a place where traveling herdsmen could leave their sheep. At time several different shepherds would have their flocks in a common sheepfold. When it was time to move on the Chief Shepherd would step up to the gate entering the sheepfold and walk around the sheep and just start shouting words non discernable to most humans, but the sheep would recognize the voice of his shepherd and they followed him through the gate out of the sheepfold unto pasture --of course where there was confusion they used the brand. The majority followed the voice of their Shepherd. The Shepherd is representative of the Pastor of the church assembly, the Father in the home, and Christ in the kingdom of God. Furthermore, the Shepherd is called to put his life on the line for the sheep. The Shepherd must compassionately lift up the poor little sheep that has wandered away from the flock unto his shoulders and genitally restore it to the rest of the flock. The old lady of our text lit a lamp and grabbed a broom to search for her lost coin. Seeking the lost is a very fine art when it comes to the likes of humankind, and I guess that is probably the reason no one left in search of the lost sons because it demands an exact science where non exist for matters of the heart.

When you are the one in search of the lost you most stay prayed up because sometimes the lost don't want to be found. Lost sons, lost daughters, lost mothers, and lost fathers are not easy to find, especially when they don't want to be found. In fact sometime specific circumstance will render conventional methods and techniques used for seeking the lost obsolete. When you are the one in search of the lost you must begin each day with prayer and confession, so that the Holy Spirit may lead, guide, and direct you in your search. Moreover, when the lost want to be found the Lord will lead them to you. The prodigal son is the classic example because when he came to himself he said, "How many of my Father's hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger [Luke 15: 17]!" Only when the lost are convicted by the error of their way will they seek to find the Lord of their life. The bottom line is you cannot help those who don't want to be helped.

The overriding theme of the fifteenth chapter of Luke's gospel is the fact that our Lord delights in assisting believers in finding their lost resources, treasures, and family members. The Lord delights in having persons receive the gospel and respond to its message of grace. I truly thank God for the great Christian warriors of old who were willing to and in many instances gave of themselves, their souls and bodies to ensure that all whom desired to hear the gospel message could indeed hear it. I thank God for the great missionaries of old that braved whatever to spread the gospel message that was initiated in an obscure Palestinian village, and has since spread across the world. For instance, there is a story of a young man on a Virginia beach that was walking along and it seemed as if he were throwing rocks into the sea. An old man noticed the young man for a while, and then he approached the young man and asked him, "What are you doing?" The young man responds, "I am throwing these starfish back into the sea because if they continue to lay in the sun they will surely die." The old man responded, "There are so many how will your puny efforts make any real difference?" The young man looked down at the starfish in his hand and then he drew back and threw it unto the sea and he looked at the old man and said, "It makes a difference to that one."

That's all I have tried to do over the last 24-months is to make a difference. I think it is important that the gospel message be presented to all that will receive it, and that the powerful assets that are inherent in the gospel message and the treasures of its gift must be made plain. God chose to save all persons whom desire to be delivered through individual faith in the gospel message concerning the expiatory aspects of the work of Christ Jesus. This is a concept as old as time, but it is still as misunderstood as Einstein's Theory of relativity by laypersons. Salvation is a gift; it cannot be earned, worked for, or purchased. Moreover, salvation is a one time only experience because humankind cannot undo what the God has done. Salvation is a personal interactive experience between four persons, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the individual human person. The Holy Trinity performs its work on the individual and the new convert just believes in the promises of the Lord as recorded in His word. There is absolutely no work to perform for the new believer in the Lord Jesus Christ the work is the walk because the believers walk is a walk of, a walk by, and a walk through faith. When you are the one saved; you shall be victorious in Christ Jesus.

Our purpose for today was to look one final time at the revelatory effects of Luke 15, which has forced each of us to reflect upon our individual and personal commitment to the Lord. It is my prayer that you and I shall use the criteria that I have put forth here in analyzing our individual efforts on behalf of the Body of Christ in determining whether our efforts are acceptable to the Lord. Beloved, do you know for a fact and beyond the shadow of a reasonable doubt that you have been saved. You know we are going into the Annual conference this evening, even though, and despite all that I have endured over this last year that has been the most difficult in my life; I want to return as your Pastor for one more year. However, let me say that it is really not important to me whether I come back or not or go nowhere at all; all, I want to do is to do God's will, and God has allowed me to serve with you for a while; I'm thankful for that. You know I believe that every person alive wants to be loved, but nobody it seems want to do what it takes to express that they love their significant others. Moreover, most humans enter the world and are allowed to grow up with selfish tendencies and we have a hidden desire to be noticed and to feel that we are important. A lot of people have this defect and they don't realize they have it, but listen, one day some day, you will be the one. My mother had a saying when I was a child, mama would say, "Old Timer, just keep on living!" Yeah, one day you are going to be the most important person in the universe. When your time is; when your life crucial moment comes, how will you respond?

When Adam was the one, he gave in to the temptation of his wife; I pray that you will yield not to temptation. When Abraham was the one, he gave in to his own fears; I pray that you will remember that if God be for you, then no one can stand against you. When Moses was the one, he gave in to anger by the waters of Meribar; I pray that you will remember that greater is he that in you than that is in the world. When Joshua was the one, the Bible reports that Joshua challenged the nation, "To choose whom you will serve, as for me and my house we shall serve the Lord;" In the concluding notices to the Book of Joshua, it is recorded that Joshua died at 110 years old and was buried in his inheritance in the hills of Ephraim. When Samson was the one, he was found fooling around with his feelings, which left him feeling like a fool. When David was the one, the Bible said of him, "here is a man after God's own heart;" later the Prophet Nathan reports, he saw it, he wanted it, and he got it! Moreover, Beloved, we must put our trust in the Lord because man will let you down. When Matthew was the one, he got up and left his tax collection table. When Mark was the one, he dropped his nets to become fisherman of men. When Luke was the one, he gave up his lucrative medical practice to follow the Lord. When Peter was the one, he said he would go anywhere with the Lord; however, later we see him warming himself at the enemies fire and ultimately denying the Lord's name three times.

What will be your epitaph be when you have passed on from this existence to the next? When you are the one that is standing before the judgement seat of Christ, what will be the defense that you offer for a sin stricken life? Will you say these words, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income." Will you cling to your good works or will you cling to His grace. Beloved, we don't know what this next year will bring and we don't know whether any of us will make it to this time next year, but we do know who holds the future in his hand. I don't know what going to happen this week, but I do know that God is concerned about you and me. Finally, I may never see some of you again on this side of the great divide; I say to you keep the faith! I leave you with the precious words that you have given me, "Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from hurt and harm! [1 Chronicles 4:10]" Know this, I shall begin everyday for the rest of my life with these words. Remember that your life is God's gift to you, but what you make of it is your gift to God. Keep the faith and be encouraged, never forget that God desires each of us to ask for direction when we can't seem to find our way. Keep the faith and be encouraged for our God is still on the throne; began each day with prayer, meet God early and carry Him throughout your days. Keep the faith and be encouraged, even if the Bishop and the cabinet decide that it would be better for the CME Church if we part ways. Keep the faith and be encouraged not because I love you or you love me, but because the God loves both you and me. I know that two or three of you don't want me back, I say to you keep the faith and be encouraged; pray that God's will is done and not yours. I suggest that we all pray that God's will be done. Is not that the way we are instructed to pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."