LOST AND FOUND - a message

During the summer, I took a break, mostly, from preaching through the book of Exodus. One of th things that I could not shake from my mind, was the urgency I needed to have, and needed to pass on, about helping "lost" people (those who were not followers of Jesus Christ) to be "found". Although it is God's work, He has asked us to be a part of it. It, for different reasons, is one of the harder things Christians are asked to do. I find it challenging myself, even as a pastor. So, God brought to my heart the stories in Luke 15: a lost coin, a lost sheep, and a lost son. Jesus used those stories in response to complaints from the religious leaders that He was spending too much time with "sinners". He talked about the fact that He came to this Earth to save sinners. That was His main purpose. The Bible, of course, also tells all of us who are followers of Jesus that we are to be doing the same thing. This passage of Scripture was incredibly chalenging to me; and I wanted to share it with the rest of our congregation.

The ending challenge I gave in the message is that we would do something tangible to search for the lost like Jesus did. Basically the challenge was this: go and spend some time with people who are not yet followers of Jesus Christ. Build some relationships with them. And in order to allow people the time to do that, we cancelled an upcoming Sunday night service. As a church, if we give a challenge like that, we need to be prepared to help people accomplish it. And further, I knew that I, and my family needed to lead the way by doing something in our own neighborhood. This ended up being an great experience for our family, as we led a block party in our cul-de-sac, had all of our neighbors come, and made good strides in relationship with them.
I hope, as you read this message, even if you have alread heard it, that you might be challenged again, to do what Jesus did. If you would like to listen to the message instead, you can go to:
www.gbcwestlake.org click on an option for "online audio" and select: LOST AND FOUND.

LOST AND FOUND
Luke 15

Please turn in your Bible to Luke 15. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 874.

It was December 7,1988, in Armenia, which is bordered by Turkey to the West and Iran to the South. They called it the earthquake of 1989, even though it happened in December of 1988.This earthquake was off the Richter scales. Altogether 30,000 people died in 4 minutes. Established businesses lay demolished, dream homes into splinters of wood. Green parks blanketed in white rubble.
The father of 10 year old Armond could not drive to his son’s school to find him. Streets were closed. He finally arrives at the school and breaks through the crowds, shouting Armand’s name. There is no answer. He climbs on a rock pile of rubble, looking desperately for his son. He then climbs a tree and scans the skyline. He studies the layout of the rubble of a once thriving school. He tries to figure out where his son’s class would have been at the time of the earthquake.
He stands on the pile of rubble, where his son’s class would have been, and he begins to pull rock after rock, desk after desk, looking for his lost son. After 10 hours of digging, people told him to give up, but he continued searching for his son. A complete day, 24 hours passed and Armand’s father was still digging, searching. People told him that there was no hope and it was time to stop. He refused.

His hands were cracked, his knuckles bleeding, his heart racing; and he continued his desperate search for his son. But, after 38 hours of digging, he pulled a rock back and heard his son’s voice. They were faint cries of “papa , papa, papa…” And finally, with some help, Armond was returned to his father, who never gave up the search, until he found his son. His passion for what was lost was finally paid; as his son exclaimed: “papa, you found me, you found me”!

I don’t know if you have an experience anything like this. All of us have lost valuable things, but there is nothing like the thought that you might lose a child. Perhaps, you have been in a store, or out in public, and turned to find that your son or daughter had walked away; or atleast they were no longer there. Your heart races and there is nothing else that matters at that moment, until you find your son or daughter. And there is no greater feeling of relief or joy to find that your loved ones are safe and are returned to you!
This morning, that feeling is the emphasis of the verses in the Bible we are studying from Luke 15. But, I must tell you, at the beginning, that there is something greater, and brings more joy, than the physical experience of finding something that was lost and highly valued. There is even something greater than finding a person who had been lost. And all of us, this morning, fit into these stories in Luke 15. Let’s begin in:

Luke 15:1,2 – “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

Let me set the stage for you here in Luke 15. Jesus was travelling around, teaching all who would listen, about how to get to Heaven and live with God forever, by trusting in and following Him: Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, the Son of God. The people that loved to listen to Jesus the most were those who knew they needed help and knew they did not deserve to go to Heaven. These are those classified as tax collectors and sinners. The tax collectors were some of the most hated individuals of that day, and were known as deceivers, cheating people out of as much money as possible. The sinners would be anyone else who did not meet up to the religious leader’s standards.

The Pharisees and the scribes, that we are introduced to, here in verse 2, were the key religious leaders of that day. They knew how to play the religious game. They looked the righteous part on the outside, but on the inside, in the heart where it really counts, Jesus said they were full of dead men’s bones! They were religious but they refused to have a relationship with God by believing in Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah – the Savior of the world.

So, they were continually at odds with Jesus, and took all opportunities to criticism Him for something. Eventually, the religious leaders would be instrumental in having Jesus falsely accused and unjustly crucified. Of course, even these evil men, under the guise of spirituality, could not keep God from carrying out His plan: that Jesus Christ would die on the cross, and rise from the dead, so that every person who places their faith and trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior, would be able to have eternal life with God in Heaven.

So…the religious leaders grumbled and condemned Jesus for hanging out with people who were known to be terrible sinners. Little did they realize that God considered them to be the worse sinners, hiding behind their hypocrisy. Nevertheless, they were criticizing Jesus for who he spent his time with. They could not believe that He would even sit down for a meal with these sinners; which was considered to be an act of agreement with someone’s lifestyle, if you broke bread with them.

Jesus’ response to this criticism was to tell 3 stories, that would illustrate truth and what was supposed to be most important. Look at:

Luke 15:3 – “So he told them this parable:”

Based on the criticism and misunderstanding of the religious leaders, Jesus told this parable. A parable is a fictional story, but is based on what people experience, it is true to life; and is meant to give an eternal lesson to improve spiritual life. Jesus doesn’t just tell one parable, story, here, but a string of 3, in order to make His points. There are many lessons to learn from these stories, this morning, and some of you have heard teaching on these stories before. But, we are going to concentrate on just a few of the principles that come from Jesus’s stories; and I want to challenge you to allow these stories to change your own actions and attitudes concerning the most valuable thing that is lost, and needs to be found. Are you ready? Story #1:

Luke 15:4-7 – “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulder, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost. Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Story 1: A man searches for his 1 lost sheep, even though his other 99 sheep are safe and accounted for. And when he finds the lost sheep, he throws a party.

Why would Jesus tell a story about a lost sheep? That would not necessarily be a story we would choose in similar circumstances today. Well, Jesus chose the story of the sheep, because it was a story his listeners could all relate to. They knew the value of 1 lost sheep, even if 99 were still in hand. They could all agree, that the 1 sheep was so valuable, that they would do whatever it took to rescue that sheep.

Jesus’ point: These sinners, that I am sharing truth with, have as much value as the 1 lost sheep.

Remember, Jesus is responding to criticism that He was hanging out with the wrong crowd: with people who had sinful lives. Jesus told this story about the 1 lost sheep to make the point that these sinful people were the lost sheep; and He was desperately searching for them just like those people would search for the valuable lost sheep. Jesus was giving a earthly story, but He also gave the Heavenly or eternal perspective of this:

The eternal view: There is more joy in Heaven when a sinner turns to Jesus, than over all of those who have already done so.

That was in verse 7. There is joy in Heaven when we obey, no doubt. But, Jesus says: there is nothing like the joy in Heaven, when a sinner, which we all are, by the way, decides to repent of His sins, and turn His life over to Jesus Christ. Every time that happens, Heaven erupts in rejoicing. So, why is it, when a person gives their life to Jesus here on Earth, that we have such a hard time celebrating?

I hope you were able to be at our church at the beach celebration on July 26th. We saw 14 people get baptized, 7 from our church – all of which had already been saved – but were publicly demonstrating their desire to follow Christ, through the waters of baptism. There was applause and celebrating on the beach that day. And by the way, there were other people, not with our group, on the beach, and even some people on boats, in the water, who were able to not only witness the baptisms, but witness our response to people who had given their lives to Christ.

This morning, I want to give us an opportunity to think through a variety of responses we can have when we hear someone give a testimony of repenting of their sins (because they were “lost”, spiritually speaking) and then being found by God, they gave their lives to Jesus Christ. We are going to hear some very brief testimonies of that this morning, and I would like for us to practice some appropriate responses.

Let’s be like those in Heaven, who have an eternal perspective, every time a lost sheep is found! The first response is easy, because many people have used the expression for years. It means: So be it. It is a term of agreement with what has just been said or done. Let’s say it together: [on screen] AMEN.

The next response is the translation of the word Hallelujah, which most of us have heard before. Will you say this phrase with me? [on screen] PRAISE THE LORD! A 3rd appropriate response when we hear of someone being lost and then found is applause, just as we did at the baptisms a couple of weeks ago. It is not to lift up the one who has just given the testimony but to applaud for the great work God has done in that person’s life. [on the screen] Will you join me? [applause]

Another appropriate response is to say the word: Cool! It is from a past generation but seems to be used quite a bit today as well, to communicate an agreement with what has been said or done. Will you join me? [on the screen] COOL! And finally, another great response, to celebrate a lost person being found is to lift our fists in the air and say: YES! Will you try it with me? [on the screen] (lifting fists) YES!

The reason I share these with you, is so that we can learn, in whatever expression we choose, to celebrate whenever we hear of someone who has been found. That is one of the emphasis in Jesus’ 3 stories here in Luke 15. Let’s do it, as we hear some brief testimonies now; and then on the screen a suggested response:

TESTIMONIES:

· Ken Asher - AMEN
· Deb Tyson - PRAISE THE LORD
· Brian Malion - APPLAUD
· Martha Truchon - COOL
· Ken Pycraft - YES (with fists raised)

Jesus then went right into His 2nd story:

Luke 15:8-10 – “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Story 2: A woman searches for her lost coin, and once she finds it, throws a party.
Again, Jesus told a story that all of them could relate to. Now, we might first read this and think: If I lost just one coin, like a penny, or even a nickel, dime or quarter, I wouldn’t care that much, to search so diligently. Probably true. But, if we understand that the word for “coin” that was used here in verse 8, represents one full day’s worth of wages, it would make that coin much more valuable. If you worked a full day, were paid at the end of that day, and then misplaced the cash, would you look for it diligently? Of course you would.

And Jesus’ listeners, even the religious leaders, could relate to the story of the lost coin. But, remember, Jesus is using this story, just like the lost sheep, to make a point about the sinful people that were lost, that Jesus was seeking, just as everyone would for a valuable coin. Just as with the sheep, she had most of her money, 9 out of 10 coins were in hand. But, when she lost the 1 coin, she lit the lamp, swept through every inch of the house, and diligently searched until she found that one lost coin.

And once she found that one lost coin, she did the same thing the man did when he found the lost sheep: she called her friends and neighbors, had them come over, and threw a party!

Jesus’ point: These sinners, who I am sharing truth with, are valuable enough for me to search diligently for them.

Jesus was responding to the criticism coming from the religious leaders, about the time He was spending with sinful people. So, this story was to remind them of the value of these sinners, even just one of them; and His emphasis on how diligently the woman searched for the coin explained the passion of His search for these lost people.

Now, Jesus always talked about the value of people and why He had come to Earth. Would you read the words in bold lettering please?

Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

This was not the only time Jesus was confronted by the religious leaders about spending time with sinners; and in this case, Jesus explains further why he did it and why he came:

Mark 2:16,17 – “And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This is what Jesus came to do. He didn’t come to coddle the religious people, who thought they had it all together. He came to save those who were lost and sick and helpless; and would respond to the truth. If people rejected Him, He went to those who would receive His love. And He diligently searched for them, always spending time with people in true needs. And his 2nd story goes back to helping us have:

The eternal view: When one person turns to Jesus, the angels in Heaven erupt in praise.

We read that in verse 10. There aren’t too many things that get the angels excited; and there aren’t too many things the Bible mentions that the angels are doing while in Heaven. They worship and sing praises to God. They are His messengers, to do His bidding. But, one of the other things that we are told, that the angels are doing in heaven is this; when 1 person gives their life to Christ, they rejoice!

This is so important to God, that all of Heaven, and even the angels rejoice with the news of just one person being found and beginning to follow Jesus. It is our privilege to share in that joy as we hear testimonies of people who, in the past, were found by God, and began to follow Him. And let’s respond as we did before, prompted by the screen:

TESTIMONIES:

· Debb Webb - AMEN
· Chris Roth - PRAISE THE LORD
· Ron Kuntz - APPLAUD
· Patty Wills - COOL
· Jim Martin - YES (with fists raised)

Jesus told those 2 stories, but He had one more story to tell, in response to the religious leader’s disdain of His care for sinners. And this story was going to be the longest and most detailed of them all. But, it was going to point out the difference between those who were lost and knew it, and those who thought they had it all together and deserved something from God. Let’s listen in:

Luke 15:11-32 – “And he said, There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me. And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.

And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

But when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

But the father said to his servants, Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again, he was lost, and is found. And they began to celebrate.

Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.

But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!

And he said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”

Again, there are many things we can focus on here, but let’s limit ourselves to these 3 things. First, let’s summarize:

Story 3: A son squanders his inheritance with sinful living; and then returns to his father, who accepts him and throws a party. The other, more responsible son, responds with arrogance and bitterness.

There is so much in this story, but let’s focus on the context in which Jesus gave it to us. He was spending time with sinners, and the religious leaders, who thought they were fine with God, were criticizing Jesus for it. In this context, Jesus tells this story of the prodigal son. You see, the sinners that Jesus was hanging out with were just like the son who wasted his inheritance on riotous living. They, also, had “wasted” their lives, their money, their relationships, and they had nothing left to offer. But Jesus saw them as the father in the story saw his son. He loved him anyway, and when the son returned, he celebrated and expected everyone else to celebrate as well. So what was Jesus’ point?

Jesus’ point: These sinners, who I am sharing truth with, come to me and are fully accepted and celebrated.

The religious experts could have said of the prodigal son the same thing that they could have said about the sinners Jesus hung out with: the son didn’t deserve the father to open his arms to him, let alone have a party thrown in his honor. That’s ridiculous! He should have been shut out of the house for his reckless living and dishonor that he brought to his father and household. It should not have been tolerated. And yet, Jesus had the opposite view. Because the son did not deserve anything, the father had the authority to show grace and mercy anyway. You see: no one deserves the love of God. No one can earn it. It must be given even though we don’t deserve it. And when we come to God through Jesus, we are also fully accepted and celebrated, regardless of our particular sins, or how we have wasted our lives up to this point.

Now, Jesus was telling these stories about those who had never been saved: the sinners. But, the principles of this story also apply to those who have trusted in Christ, but have not lived like it. With repentance, there is always forgiveness, and a restoration of a relationship.

The eternal view: When a person turns to Jesus, God the Father celebrates and accepts him, despite his sins.

Now, you can probably imagine what the religious leaders were thinking. Who do you think they were, in Jesus’ final story? That’s right: they were like the brother, who thought he deserved a party, because he had kept the rules and been the responsible one. And He responded, not with happiness or love, with the return of his brother, but with pride, jealousy and bitterness. That response demonstrated that it was all a show to him and it was all about him. That is exactly what the religious leaders were doing. They were not committed to God, or they would have been committed to His Son. They were committed to religion, to themselves.

SO WHAT?
Based on these 3 stories, let me ask you 3 questions:
1. Are you the lost sheep, coin and son in these stories?

The Bible teaches us that it is all of us who are lost and God is the one who does the finding. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and to offer us salvation. We must believe in who Jesus was, and in His death, burial and resurrection. And we must do what the religious leaders refused to do…not only accept the free gift of eternal life from Jesus, believing He died for us; but allowing Him to be who He is: the Lord, the master of our lives.

If you have been trying to do it your own way, hoping that you might be good enough to get to Heaven, then you are lost. If you have been a religious person, counting on your knowledge and morality to get you to heaven, then you are lost. If you are the one who is lost, then be found today, by trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. You can make that decision in your own heart; but we would like to pray for you, and help you better understand this truth. So, please let me know, or let someone here at Grace know that you would like to make sure that you are no longer lost, when it comes to your relationship with Jesus Christ.

Challenge: Talk to someone at Grace about how to be “found” in Jesus.

Romans 10:9 – “…If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

2. Are you searching for the lost?

If you have already been found by God, do you have the heart for those who are still lost that God had for you? Are you isolating yourself from those who need the love of Jesus, or are you making yourself available to communicate Jesus’ love to them? Do you have friends that are lost? Do you have people that you deal with in business that need Jesus? Are you making efforts to get to know lost people, developing relationships with them, so that you can show them Jesus’ love?

Yes, we need Christian friends, who will help us live rightly before God. But, we also need to be around people who are spiritually lost, so that we can have the heart Jesus has for us and that Jesus has for them: a humble heart, a compassionate and loving heart: a desire to see them found in Jesus. Because this is so important; and because it is difficult for many of us to make the time to begin, we are going to cancel church.

Now, hear me out. We are not cancelling church tonight. We have a service, will be celebrating the Lord’s table and talking about the application of this message. We will not be canceling all our future services or any of our morning services. We are cancelling church on Sunday NIGHT, August 30th. It is just prior to us moving into September and all the activities that it brings. But, here is the reason for not having church that night. It is because of this challenge:

Challenge: Spend time with someone who is “lost”, to show them the love of Jesus.

Let me be clear. There is no evening service planned for August 30th (2 weeks from tonight). If you normally come to our evening services, the challenge is for you to spend time with people who are still spiritually lost, even if they may be religious. They might be friends, family, neighbors or acquaintances. And the challenge is not, necessarily, to preach to them, or even share the specifics of the gospel that night. The challenge is just to do something with them, and in doing so, you will be showing them that you care. Do whatever you want: invite them over. Take over a gift of some kind. Invite them to go do something with you. Many times we want to do something like this but have a hard time finding the time. Well, we are giving you that time to do just that.

What if you weren’t planning on coming on that Sunday night? Well, maybe Sunday nights don’t work well for you. You can do it the day before, Saturday, or on Friday, or whenever it works in your schedule. What we are going to do, is to invite everyone in our little circle, to come over for a cookout on the 30th; and then just enjoy whomever is able to come. The important thing is not the day and time; but that you are putting effort into searching for those who are lost; even though you are busy. And there is one more question:

3. Are you rejoicing with God and all of Heaven when a person is found and trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation?

Believe it or not, we can easily be like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. We can criticize, doubt and condemn other people, who are making decisions for Jesus; or who are trying to search for and reach those who are lost. The other brother did not rejoice; but whenever someone turns to God, or back to Him, we should be the first ones to celebrate. Right?

Challenge: The next time you hear of someone who was lost, but then found by Jesus, respond enthusiastically

Let’s practice our 5 responses one more time, just one after the other. So, the next time, you hear a testimony of someone who has followed Christ, you can give a variety of expressions of celebration. Ready?
· AMEN
· PRAISE THE LORD
· APPLAUD
· COOL
· YES (fists in the air)

Please pray with me.

Let’s close with one more response of praise and celebration, to God, who promises to continue seeking and saving those who are lost. Let’s sing, with a sense of celebration and thanksgiving, the song Your Grace is Enough.