Lessons On The Lost

INTRODUCTION

MARK 2:16-17 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?" And hearing this, Jesus *said to them, "it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

LUKE 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

These are the statements of Jesus concerning the thrust of His ministry. There are many more that say the same thing. Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

The religious leaders of His day could not understand why He did not pal around with them. They could not understand why He would eat in the houses of the one’s that they deemed unrighteous.

In the first verse of Luke 15 we have a narrative that begins with the religious leaders talking about Jesus behind His back. The narrative ends with the religious leaders being scolded for their attitude toward the lost. READ VERSES 1-2

Explain tax collectors and sinners.

The religious leaders did not care enough for these two groups of people to try to reach them and introduce them to God.

Jesus is going to share three parables with the people who were gathered. The first two are aimed at vindicating His conduct and the third one is rebuke of the Pharisee’s criticism of Him.

Jesus is going to share three truths in these parables that show us why we are to try to reach out to all people with the gospel.

If the church is going to grow, we must make sure that we don’t get stuck in a comfort zone to the point that we don’t try to reach people for Jesus. EXAMPLE OF CHURCH WANTING TO STAY SMALL.

When Jesus dealt with people He usually did not refer to them a sinners in a nasty sense of the word, but He said that people were lost. If we do not have the same attitude toward people, then we will not grow as a church. We will not grow as a body and more people will die a go to hell every day!

In these parables, Jesus will reveal some things about God’s concern for lost man.

SERMON

GOD WANTS US TO SEEK…..

THOSE WHO HAVE WANDERED OFF VERSES 4-7

A. The lost sheep. READ VERSES 4-7

1. Explain the Shepherds job.

2. The sheep strayed off because it was not thinking or paying attention to what was going on around him.

3. Nibbling away living life, and then he was lost.

4. The sheep represents the person who foolishly wanders from God. The person who really has not given any thought to life and its questions.

B. The Shepherd.

1. God’s concern for the lost one. He left the 99 to find the one.

2. He did not just write off the sheep.

3. He did not beat the sheep when He found it either.

4. The shepherd tenderly carries home the lost sheep.

C. Conclusion

1. Losing a sheep was a serious matter. The Shepherds reputation was at stake. If he lost the sheep, he would have to pay for it. Jesus already paid the price for the lost sheep, God wants us to try to round them up!

2. A sheep was valuable, but ……

GOD WANTS US TO SEEK…..

THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN CAUSED TO STUMBLE. Verses 8-10.

A. The Lost coin.

1. The coin was lost because it was mishandled. It was misplaced.

2. It was lost because it was badly mishandled

3. The coin’s lost condition caused the coin no discomfort.

4. It could symbolize the lost who are ignorant of their condition.

B. The Woman

1. The coin was worth about one day’s wage. This would be a lot of money for a poor person.

2. The coin could have come from the head band that married women wore. It consisted of ten coins. It could never be taken away from them. It would have been a disgrace for her to loose a coin from it. It was like a wedding ring.

3. The represents the efforts that God went to so that man could be reconciled to Himself.

4. God has done all that He can for man. We are to look for the lost.

5. It was bad to lose a sheep, it was worse to lose money, but it would even be worse to lose a son.

GOD WANTS US TO SEEK…..

Those who have decided to follow the world. Verses 11-32.

A. The Rejection of Home 12-16.

1. This is a willful and conscience effort to leave the home.