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In the name of the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man who came to save the lost. Amen.

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The scripture that will engage us today is the latter portion of the gospel

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reading from Matthew chapter 18 read just previously. My dear sisters and

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brothers in Christ. Some time ago I listened to a recording of an interview

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of a man who had fallen out of the church and even testified that he had

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fallen from the faith for some time. He had been a professional church worker

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but he fell into sin, into moral failure and thus received the discipline for

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that but also the ostracization that oftentimes accompanies such. And he said

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that it was a very difficult time in his life but what was most difficult of all

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according to his experience was the way in which Christians detached themselves

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from him and ignored him and even rejected him and didn't even approach

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him to try to reach out for him. He described it as if he was out in the

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ocean drowning and his Christian friends and former associates were on the bank

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of the shore just watching him and some even condemning him. And it wasn't until

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another man, a pastor, approached him and confronted him with his sin, called him

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to repentance but offered the free forgiveness of Jesus Christ and his love

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and support for him that this man started taking this turn to return back

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into the fold of Christ. There are many in our world today who are wandering

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like this man, who are lost and I'm not just talking about those who were never

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Christians, I'm talking about those who were believers who have wandered from

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the fold, who have turned away from Christ. What is our response? What is our

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responsibility to them as brothers and sisters in Christ? Well one response can

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be one that he described of neglect and even rejection. You're probably familiar

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with the doctrine out there that claims once saved always saved. The idea that

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once you become a Christian, a real true Christian, you can't fall away from the

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faith. Of course we as Lutherans don't espouse that doctrine and if I did I

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wouldn't be preaching this sermon about reaching out to those who have fallen

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from the faith. So we disavow that teaching once saved always saved. But

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there's another switch on that or rephrasing that although we may not

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confess outright, our practice betrays us and that's the teaching of once lost,

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always lost. That once one moves away from the faith they cannot be restored

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to the faith. They're a lost cause and when we have this attitude of once lost,

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always lost to those brothers and sisters who have wandered from the faith,

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then we might think well it's not my business. I'm not getting involved. You

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know faith is a very private thing if that's their private inclination now

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that's for them. It's kind of the am I my brother's keeper philosophy. Or our

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response might be more of rejection of them like the elder brother in Jesus

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parable of the prodigal son who thought his prodigal brother is not worthy to be

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restored. And so our attitude towards them is they have disgraced themselves

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and disgraced the church. We cannot approach them. We cannot seek to restore

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them. Once lost, always lost. Well blessedly, Jesus in our text says that

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this is not the attitude or the approach of God. In verse 14 he says it is not the

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will of the Father that any of his little ones should perish. God wills that

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all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth and that includes those who

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have wandered from the faith, His desires for their restoration. This is why Jesus

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tells this parable, this story of the shepherd who had a hundred sheep and one

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of them wanders off. What does he do? Well if he took the once lost, always lost

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attitude he would say well it's not my business. I'm not getting involved. One

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percent loss isn't that bad in the big scheme of things. Or that sheep it's

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always a troublemaker, good riddance. Oh no, that's not the way this parable, this

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story goes. Jesus says he leaves the 99 on the hillside and goes and seeks after

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the lost sheep and when he finds it he brings it back rejoicing. There's great

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joy and Jesus says he rejoices more of over this one lost sheep that's now been

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found than the 99 who were never lost. That's the mind of God, that's the will

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of God, that's the heart of God and of course it was manifested in the one who

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told this story. God the Son who left the glory of heaven to come to this world of

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lost humanity and he was known as the friend of sinners. He sought out those

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who everyone else thought were lost causes, tax collectors, prostitutes, the

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sinners. He was the friend of sinners and He sought them out even to the depths of

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hell in His suffering and death to snatch them from the grasp of hell and

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not just them but us. For as Isaiah says we all like sheep have gone astray, we

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all have turned to our own way but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us

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all so that we who once were lost might be found, might be restored. Paul says God

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was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not counting men's sins against

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them. He has reconciled us to the Father restored us, sought us and found us. But

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Paul then adds also and he has given to us this ministry of reconciliation that

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is that we now are sent out to bring that reconciliation restoration to

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others as well. We now follow in the train of this good shepherd Jesus Christ

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in seeking out those brothers and sisters who have wandered from the faith.

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It's our response, it's our responsibility as well and that's why

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Jesus in the final words of our text gives us a kind of process for doing

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that, for reaching out to those who have fallen into sin and are falling from the

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faith. He says if your brother sins against you go and tell him his fault

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between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained a brother.

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That's the goal to gain a brother, to restore. We are sent to confront those

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who have sinned who have fallen and especially if they've sinned against us

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to speak to them, to confront them with the truth but also to extend to them

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God's invitation of reconciliation and restoration that they too might be

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restored that we gain brothers and sisters through the power of the Holy

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Spirit working through us. I'm an old guy and I like to listen to the oldies

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station play songs from the 70s and 80s and recently I heard a song that I

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haven't heard for a long time on the oldies station. This was a hit back in

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1978 and it was sung by Ann Murray. Some of you who are old like me might

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remember but as I heard these words with this text and sermon in my mind I said

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may these words express how we interact with one another as brothers and sisters

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of Christ in seeking them out as well. Ann Murray sang: I cried a tear you

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wiped it dry. I was confused you cleared my mind. I sold my soul you bought it

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back for me. You picked me up again and gave me dignity somehow you needed me.

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You needed me you held my hand when it was cold you took me home when I was

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lost, you gave me hope when I was at my end you turned my lies back into truth

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again. You even called me friend you needed me. How much more may those words

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express the response of people to whom we are sent that we need them we need

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them back in the fold we seek them we are the ambassadors of reconciliation.

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You took me home when I was lost. You gave me hope when I was at my end. You

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turned my lies back into truth again. You even called me friend. As we bring them

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back to the friend of sinners Jesus Christ the Son of Man who came to seek

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and to save the lost. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy

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Spirit. Amen.