WCB -MODERN DAY PARABLE- John and the Pastor 3-29-26

MODERN DAY PARABLE: John the Pastor and the Ambulance

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Good morning, everybody. Today's message is going to be a little different than our normal Bible prophecy studies. Today I want to share with you a story, I guess you could call it, or I like to look at it as a parable. You know, in the Bible, when Jesus was trying to make a point with folks, he would a lot of times use parables or stories that related to what was going on in his day. And this morning, Sunday morning, I got up with an old song on my mind, and it was Johnny Cash, and a lot of you heard it where he's talking about Sunday mornings. Different things happening. He's walking around the town Sunday mornings. And so I just started thinking about Johnny Cash basically. But the story went from Johnny Cash just to a man named John. And the way it went was he had just come out of a motel, a little hotel, nothing that you'd write home about, nothing that you'd really want to take your family to, but the kind of little place that most towns have got, uh just something affordable enough for maybe somebody that's down on their luck. Just something along those lines. So anyway, John had come out of this hotel and he was walking up the streets. It was early Sunday morning, and he had him a cup of coffee that he'd stopped and got, and he was just trying to get his head cleared from whatever. Whatever had happened the night before, the weeks before, whatever it was that had him out there by himself. Cool morning. And he wound up sitting down on a little bench across the road from a church. No particular church, just a pretty good sized church, and he was watching. The folks were coming in. The preacher was standing up on the steps. It was just a regular preacher, no, you know, big time looking something. But and he was watching as the preacher shook hands and everybody was smiling, everybody was dressed up, and and the preacher was welcome in. And as he was looking, he noticed the preacher looked over at him. He didn't say nothing, didn't wave. They just each one knew they had made eye contact. And it was almost time for the service. Sunday school already was over, and it was almost time for the church service. And John noticed the preacher leaned over and said something to one of his men, and he walked down the steps. And he was walking towards John. And John thought, well, he's going to come over here and try to tell me, you know, I'm a sinner and I'm going to hell. And he was just getting himself ready for this preacher to come over here with all his big words of how John is just an old sinner. You know, kind of like the woman at the well when Jesus was walking up and she was thinking, just great, another Jew coming to just bash me and tell me how no good I am. But just like that woman, she didn't have a clue what was coming her way. Well, neither did John. And so the preacher walked up and introduced himself, and uh his name was we're just gonna say Ralph. Asked, you know, I asked how he was doing, and they introduced his themselves. John said, you know, my name's John, and I'm just out here. I'm just out here this morning, just trying to get my head clear. And the preacher said, you know, John, I noticed you the past couple of Sundays sitting over here, and I was waiting about talking to you because I wasn't really sure what God was wanting. And John said, Yeah, I've watched you, I've watched your church, and you know, I see you every Sunday. Every Sunday, you're out there welcoming the people in. And, you know, I watch, and and everybody's dressed up and coming to church, and and and I've I've heard the through the microphones, the Sunday school messages. And John looked at his watch and he said, Preacher, it's about time for church. And you you probably need to be getting on back over to church, don't you? And the preacher said, No. John, I I think we got it under control. And he sat down beside John. And he said, I just want to talk to you for a few minutes. He said, I want to show you something. You're concerned about me not being at church on time. He said, Everybody's done winning, you see that. John said, Yeah. The preacher said, John, I want you to listen. In just a few minutes, you're going to hear the church singing start. And sure enough, it was starting up, and John said, Yeah, I sat here and I hear that singing just about every Sunday. Every time out this way, I hear that singing start up. And so they talked for a little bit more, and John said, Well, preacher, it's it's about time for the service to start. They they probably expecting you to be there. And the pastor said, John, just listen real close for a few minutes. You're gonna you're gonna hear a preacher start preaching. And it just like clockwork, there was a preacher started preaching, and the message was coming through the speakers, you know, for the community to hear, not blasting, not blaring, but just loud enough so anybody that couldn't have made it to church that happened to be outside could hear just loud enough where they could hear. And John said, Why are you not over there with your church? And the pastor said, Can I talk to you and just tell you a little story? And John said, Sure. And so, of course, the pastor had his Bible, and he opened his Bible up and he was looking at John, and John was just kind of taking a breath, like, well, here it comes. And the pastor said, Look, I'm not here to bash you. I just want to tell you a story. He opened his Bible up to Luke chapter 15, verses 1 through 7, and he started reading. He said, Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to him to hear him, talking about Jesus, and the Pharisees and the scribes complained, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. So he spoke this parable to them, saying, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it. And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing, and when he comes home he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance. And then he closed his Bible and he looked at John and he said, You know, John, there's a lot of people over there, and they are counting on me to be there, but we've got it covered, so if something happens and I need to leave, if there's an emergency, I can leave and the and the service will go on. And I just want you to know that I believe you're the one. God still has his eyes on you, John. And you know, while they was talking, a sirene and amlets come by, and it just kind of drowned out what they were talking about. And when the the amlets went on by, John said, you know, there's at least one of them every Sunday that comes through here. And it's just really loud because, see, there was a hospital right down the road from them. And the preacher said, John, you know, that hospital is for people that are hurt. You know, there's a call put out, there's been an accident, something's happened, and the paramedics or the medical team, they jump in an ambulance and they go through whatever they have to go through to go to the scene of the accident or whatever it was where the need is at, and they do their best to get the person or the persons, get them in the ambulance, and get them to the hospital. John said, Yeah, yeah, I understand that. And the preacher said, John, that building you're looking at across the road, that's not just a church. He said, That's a hospital, and I know all of y'all heard this scenario before, but that's a hospital for hurting people. I sure would like for you to come visit with us. And John said, Preacher, I've been out carousing all night. I don't exactly smell like a person that needs to come to church. He said, And besides that, you know, I've got these uh marital problems and I've got some other stuff going on. I I really, I really ain't the one you want walking into church. And the preacher just kind of looked at him. He said, John, let me tell you something. There's people in that building over there that's having problems with alcohol. Nobody knows it but them, God, and me. There's people over there that's having marriage problems. Nobody knows it but them, God, and me. There's people in there that's having addictions with drugs and lying and all kinds of pornography, all kinds of problems. But see, even though they're all dressed up, they're coming to a place trying to get help. Now a lot of people will call them hypocrites, a lot of people will call them just playing church, but these people are seriously trying to get some help from God to help them with what's happening in their their spiritual souls, the accidents, the self-inflicted wounds, they need that spiritual hospital, just like the folks in those ambulances need the hospital down the road. He said, John, I just want you to know that one day there was a call put out to heaven, and it said there's an emergency, there's a terrible accident that's happened, there's a situation, and somebody needs some help. And so the medical team, which was Jesus, he jumped in his amulets spiritually, and he went through all kind of hell, he went through torment, he went through all kind of terrible storms, he went through everything he could to get to you today. He said, John, I'm not a a a pastor, I'm not just uh he said, Today I'm an amlet, and the savior of the world has come to you and he's asking you to let him help you with the things that's going on in your life. You know, John just kind of had his head down because he he understood, he understood the the pastor wasn't putting him down, he wasn't trying to tell him hey he's going to hell. He wasn't just trying to make him feel like, you know, a piece of garbage. He was letting him know that the savior of the world got a message, which he knew, and he came to him today. Today the spiritual amulet came to John through a message that was put out from heaven. Folks, I don't want to just drag this out on and on, but sometimes we gotta allow God to use us like an ambulance. And that spirit that's inside of us, if God lays it on your heart, somebody that that needs help, somebody that needs a prayer or whatever, we're not their judge, but we're supposed to be willing to let the spirit move through us, an ambulance you could say, and go to the person or people that need help and let the medical team and the ambulance do the work. The ambulance is just a vehicle. It can't grab people, it can't put them in, it can't save their life, but it can get them to the place they need to be. It can it can haul them, I guess you could say, to the physical hospital. So the preacher talked with John there for a little bit longer and after explaining how Christ had left the ninety-nine, the righteous ones, the ones that are already born again, the ones that were safe, and he left all of those and went searching. And when he finally found that one that was lost, he rejoiced over it. About that time the preacher stood up, he looked over at the church and he looked back at John and he said, John, I sure would love for you to be my guest of honor at church today. And John said, Preacher, they they ain't gonna be they ain't gonna be in there much more longer. I mean, that wouldn't be really a whole lot of reason to go. And the preacher said, Well, you may be right uh about the the length of the service. He said, But I still would sure love to for you to just join me and be my guest of honor. John said, but I, and the preacher said, It don't matter. The only difference between you and a lot of the people that's in that building is they're all duty up and dressed up and they all got their hair combed just right and they all got on some smiles, but they all need Christ, just like you, just like me. We all need Christ. So would you be my guest of honor? And he held his hand out to John, and John reached up, took him by the hand, and stood up, and across the street they went into that spiritual hospital. Now, if you want to know how this story ends, once John got into the spiritual hospital, let me just say this. Let God use you as an ambulance. Let the Holy Spirit direct you to people that need him, not just people you think that need him. Don't be judgmental. Let the Spirit lead you to them. Invite them to come to church, invite them to come into a place of prayer, even if it's just you and them praying. Hold your hand out, let them know that they are so special to God that he left all the glory of heaven, all the splendor and wonder, and he came down to a place that was gonna hate him, to a people that was gonna kill him, turn their backs on him, deny him, and then try to bury him. But he came up out of that grave just for them. He made a way to God just for them, just for that one, the ninety-nine that are safe, he come to get that one. And folks, if we can get that understanding across to the lost and dying world, what a difference we can make for the kingdom of heaven. You know, the word tells us that broad is the way that leads to destruction. That tells me there are multitudes of people that's gonna miss heaven. Broad is the way, and many that are on there. A lot of people are traveling that way. And then it says, narrow is the way to the kingdom of God, basically. That's that's just paraphrasing. So what we have to do is realize it's our job to reach across from that narrow path that we're on if we're truly serving the kingdom of kings and the the God of gods, and we've got to reach over to that broad path and let those people know that there's a savior that died just for them. Just for them. Folks, again, if we can do that, man, what a difference, what a difference it will be when we get to the other side, when we get to be with our Lord and our Savior. Wouldn't it be awesome for Jesus when this stuff is all said and done and we're over there? Wherever there is, everybody's got their own thing, and they, you know, whatever, we're not gonna get into all that, but wherever there is with God, with Jesus, for the Lord to say, I want to show you something. Remember that one person that you prayed with out on the park bench or or under the bridge or in the grocery store or at the cancer center or at the hospital or wherever at the PTA meeting, that one person that just pricked your heart and you knew you had to talk to them. Look, there they stand. Them and their whole family, their kids, all brought into the fold, all brought into the kingdom of God because you wasn't afraid to let God use you as an ambulance in an emergency situation. Their souls going to hell, and I don't know any bigger emergency than that. We've got wars going on all around us, folks, and we got people getting hurt, but there's millions that are dying and going to hell every day. And it's up to us to reach out and let them know that Jesus has come to the one lost sheep, and that's them. I was that lost one at one time. Thank God somebody reached out to me. Thank God. So, folks, y'all be blessed. Hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day today. Just remember that we don't have much longer. Jesus really is coming very soon. He's coming very soon. Now, exactly how is he going to do that? Well, you'll have to talk to the Lord and and study your Bible because there's I don't know how many, I don't know how many different ways man's come up with that Jesus is coming. But the thing that is absolute for sure, however he does it, I want to be with him. I want him to call me when he comes. I don't want to miss him. I don't want to just go to heaven just to miss hell. I want to go not just to heaven, but into eternity, to spend eternity with the man that left the 99 and came after this one. Same with me. Friends, y'all be blessed. Have yourself an awesome, awesome. And let God speak to you and free. Thank you for joining with us here at the Watchman's Call. My friend, Jesus is coming back very soon. The signs for his return are showing up all over the world, even as we speak right now. Our job is to reach as many people as we can and warn them about his return. And you can help us do that by sharing these messages with everybody you know. That means the saint and the sinner. Everyone must be warned, and we don't have much time left. Y'all be blessed and keep watching. And remember, leave us a comment to let us know your thoughts and concerns.