The Extra Bird

Matthew chapter 10 verse 29 — Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing, and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

Luke chapter 12 verse 6 — Are not 5 sparrows sold for two farthings and  not one of them is forgotten before God.?

1. The sparrow

A. Sparrows are all around us. Sparrows are those little brown birds that seem to be everywhere, ever present, UNIMPORTANT, UNIMPRESSIVE, AND UNASSUMING.

B. Sparrows do not draw attention to themselves, they are not majestic like the eagle, nor are they elegant like the blue heron, nor graceful like a seagull gliding on the wind.

C. We notice these birds because of their beauty and characteristics, but we do not notice the sparrow. WE OVERLOOK THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE ORDINARY.

2. Have you ever felt ordinary?

·        Have you ever felt worthless?

·        Have you ever felt like a problem or a burden to others?

·        Where are you at tonight? Are you feeling like a loser, a reject?

3. HEY LET ME PREACH TO YOU RIGHT NOW     [elaborate]

A. Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars  a cage. We all inhabit prisons of one kind or another, often entrapped by fear, or insecurities.  [ WE ALL FIGHT OUR OWN DEMONS WE ALL COME WITH OUR OWN BAGGAGE WE ALL HAVE JUNK IN THE TRUNK]

B. You may be suffering in silence while those around you don’t appreciate the depth of your pain, but if you are…

C. Just as God’s eye is on the sparrow, his eye is on you and he has given you the power of a promise. THE PROMISE OF THE EXTRA BIRD

D. don’t be afraid you are worth more than many sparrows

4. Sparrows fly in and out of the old testament.

A. Psalms 84 says the sparrow has found a house or a family in the tabernacle]

B. YOU BELONG IN GOD’S FAMILY

C. YOU BELONG IN THE CHURCH

1. It’s a place of permanent dwelling  [the sparrows house]

2. It’s a place of rest for the weary [the word nest implies a place of rest]

3. It’s a place where  you can come lay down the burdens of life and find peace to worship

4. Not all birds could have found a dwelling in the tabernacle

A. the eagle -to ambitious

B. the vulture- to foul

C. the owl – to fond of darkness

D. the hawk – to warlike

E. but the sparrow is keenly aware of their needs, simply appropriated by faith that which the Lord provided at the tabernacle

5. David’s mighty men were,

·        socially unacceptable,

·        undesirables,

·        beggars,

·        thieves,

·        vagabonds,

·        [WANDERING SPARROWS]

·        but God made them a great family and a mighty army.

6. We all have our shortcomings, our own little ways

A. swallows are a nuisance, they get in the way, they set up home anywhere, getting stuck in stoves, flues, vents

7. THEY SIMPLY ARE A PROBLEM

A. do you feel like a problem?

B. do you even feel at times that God doesn’t even care?

8. Lets look at the extra bird

A. sparrows were so common and bothersome that even Jesus referred  to them as worthless

B. Two sparrows sold for 1 farthing or ¼ of a penny

C. But don’t be discouraged Jesus’ eye is on the sparrow  [the worthless, the unloved, the no good]

9. That’s why he threw in the extra bird

A. in Luke chapter 12 verse 6 it says are not 5 sparrows sold for 2  farthings [2 birds cost a farthing] [2 more birds were a total of 4 birds at 2 farthings]

B. BUT YOU HAVE 1 BIRD THAT IS UNACCOUNTED FOR

10. There is a story of a young boy who had recently became a Christian.  A  man asked him why he chose to be a Christian. The young boy said because of the extra bird. The man said, but I don’t understand. What extra bird? The young boy said, a man gave me a copy of the New Testament and in it I read where 2 sparrows were sold for a farthing, and again I read where 5 sparrows sold for 2 farthings, and I said to myself, Jesus knew well our custom of selling birds. As you know sir we trap birds, and get 1 cent for 2 birds, but for 2 cents you get 4 birds and we throw in an extra sparrow. It’s of no account at all, a make weight, a gift of mercy so to speak. Now I think to myself, that I am so insignificant, so poor, no one would think of me, I am the extra sparrow. But God said not one of them is forgotten of me. I have never heard anything like it sir. No one but Jesus thought of not forgetting me.

11. An extra sparrow thrown in for nothing  [it’s free]

12. You may feel worthless, but God has given you the promise of the extra sparrow.   

13. In Leviticus, chapter 14, verses 4-7 it says Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds [ TRANSLATED FROM THE HEBREW AS SPARROWS] alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: And the priest shall command that one of he birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

14. Here we have two birds that represent a beautiful picture of the cross.

A. We have the wood, the blood, the water, even the hyssop

B. The fate of the one bird shows us how he was mangled for our sins, and brought down to the depths of the earth. The other bird coming up out of the earthen vessel out of the blood, and water  shows us Jesus rising  from the rocky sepulcher, and ascending up out of death and captivity, scattering as he went precious drops of cleansing salvation.

C. The This shows that our salvation and cleansing can only come from the cross.

 

15. NOW LETS LOOK AT THE CROSS

A. there are three crosses on the hill not two.

B. HERE IS THE PROMISE OF THE EXTRA BIRD

C. there were 2 executions already scheduled for that day. They had been tried and found guilty. Thieves, they deserved to die. Jesus was railroaded, and thrown into the mix….BUT HE WAS NOT THE EXTRA BIRD BECAUSE HE WAS WORTH SOMETHING

D. Sold for the price of a slave, but there was something added into the bargain… AN EXTRA SPARROW

16. So here they are on Calvary.

·        3 broken sparrows, one they said claimed to be a king, he was a carpenters son turned preacher [In their eyes a troublemaker] BUT THEIR WAS ONE PROBLEM WITH HIM…THE COMMON PEOPLE LOVED HIM

A. One of the thieves as is so typical with people could not see the power of the cross

1. They are like so many today…I am the way I am because I was done wrong…I was used…I was cheated….Come on Save us…you say you are God GIVE ME MY HAND OUT

17. Here is the extra bird

A. See, it’s the  sparrow that’s worthless, unwanted, unloved, full of mistakes…HE IS OUR HOPE

B. Lord, you don’t deserve anything they have done to you…but I am worthless…I deserve what I am getting….I am  guilty as charged….LORD REMEMBER ME when thou comest into thy kingdom   [LORD REMEMBER ME]

Are not 5 sparrows sold for 2 farthings and not one of them is FORGOTTEN BEFORE GOD

18. And Jesus said unto him Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

A. My eye is on you … HIS EYE IS ON YOU…YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS