Finding The Lost – Overflowing Outreach
Over the past few weeks we have been looking at how God wants to give us an overflowing life – an abundant life. A life so full of His joy, His peace, and His love – that it spills over into the lives of those who are around us. In John ten – ten it says:
“I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance.” John 10:10 (HCSB)
The word picture that the Greek paints for “abundance” actually means – an overflowing abundance. Not that your cup is full – but that it is flowing over the rim. The cup is so full that it is spilling out into the saucer. God wants our lives overflowing with is His love, His joy and His peace. He wants our lives so affected by all the gifts He has to give to us – that it overflows into the lives of other people around us. That’s called outflow.
If you were to picture your influence for Christ as a fountain it would look something like a four tiered fountain. God fills us up – that is the first level - the top tier. He fills you so full that you spill over into the next level – the second tier - and you have an influence on those who are closest to you – that would be your family and friends. The third tier that we are going to be looking at today is our community. God wants us to have an impact on – not just our family and friends – but also on our community. Today we want to talk about the people who live around you – your community.
Have you ever lost anything? I’m sure you have. The times I get the most frustrated are when I loose something and I have not moved one inch. I think you know what I am talking about. Your working on a project such as fixing the lawn mower – you have just taken something apart – you are ready to put it back together and you can’t find the screwdriver. You know you just had it because the screw in your hand didn’t come out without it. But you look around you and it’s not there. You feel all your pockets and you just can’t find it. So in desperation you go to the tool chest and get out another one – only to return to the lawn mower and see the screwdriver sitting in plain sight. You have found that which is lost.
I don’t think I am alone when it comes to loosing things. In fact I looked up on the internet and found that people can loose some interesting items. Here is a list of some items lost on subways and busses.
In New York City some of the most common items are: backpacks, books and cell phones. Gloves, keys and eyewear are also pretty common. Some of the more interesting items lost include: dentures, a bowling ball, undergarments, and a prosthetic leg. In Chicago one person lost their last will and testament, another lost a set of x-rays. In Los Angeles someone lost a human jawbone. (It seems it was a dental student.) In Sydney people have lost fishing rods, spear guns, a refrigerator and a life size blow up doll of Elvis.
New York City takes in around 11,000 lost items a year while Los Angles takes in about 12,000. All this is to say is that – people loose things. As Christians need to be concerned about lost items too – we need to be concerned about the people who are around us who are lost. Jesus said,
“For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.”
Matthew 18:11 (NKJV)
In Luke chapter fifteen we find three parables. Each parable talks of a lost item. In Luke chapter fifteen we have:
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
The Parable of the Lost Coin
The Parable of the Lost Son
We want to get a key point out of each of these parables to help us in seeking the lost. Let’s start out with:
THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP
"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.” Luke 15:4-7 (NKJV)
The key point I would like for us to examine is:
1. God wants us to seek those who are LOST.
Our priority needs to be on the lost around us – not on ourselves. The tendency in many churches is to look out for their own needs rather than the needs of the lost people around them. In some ways that makes sense doesn’t it?
If a sheep is worth, say, $100, does it really make economic sense to risk $9,900 in livestock to go and look for one that is lost? Wouldn’t it be better to let the lost one go? Couldn’t you just consider it part of the cost of doing business? The thinking is: "Let’s watch out for what we have." But Jesus didn’t think that way. He points out we should not think that way either.
I like the phrase that Jesus uses in the verse five, “What man of you…” In other words Jesus is saying, “Who among you…” - “Who in their right mind would consider such a thing?” How many of you if you lost a $100 would not go looking for it? If you dropped a hundred dollar bill on the ground – would you pick it up? Sure you would. It is worth something. It has value. Who in their right mind would ignore it?
In the parable we find that sheep were the shepherd’s livelihood. If he lost one sheep do think he would go look for it? You can bet he was going to look for it! But sometimes looking for one lost sheep is dangerous. Sometimes it is risky. Sometimes it is uncomfortable. Sometimes you have to leave your couch and go out in the rain and in the dark. Sometimes you have to leave a nice warm stove and go out in the cold. Sometimes you have to stick your neck out. I heard this phrase a long time ago but it is as true today as it was the day I heard it.
A turtle will not get anywhere unless it sticks its neck out.
Shepherd’s who loose their sheep going out of their way looking for them.
Church - do we really care about the lost people around us or are we focused on ourselves? Do we truly believe that there are people in our community who are in danger – spiritual danger – and we have been put here - at this location - at this time in history - to help them? The mission of Jesus was to seek and to save that which is lost. Jesus has passed that mission on to us. That is what the great commission is all about.
There is an ancient Middle Easter proverb which says:
A heart that loves finds a thousand ways; a heart that doesn’t finds a thousand excuses.
God has placed us here to carry on the mission of Jesus – to seek and to save that which is lost. That mission can be risky at times.
(At this point I plan to show a video of how one church is reaching out to their community.)
The community that the lady in the video is speaking about has special needs. That community needs a special touch – but so does our community. She was placed in her community to touch it. We are placed in our community to touch it also. We as Christians all have one thing in common – we have been saved by God to continue on God’s work. He wants us to seek those who are lost.
Let’s move on to point two.
THE PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN
"Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ’Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:8-10 (NKJV)
2. God wants us to rejoice when the lost have been FOUND.
God has great joy when the lost are found. We should too. Both the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin, highlight the need to be moved with emotion when one who was lost – is found. God is the life change business, He takes that which is broken and fixes it. He takes that which is bent and straightens it out. He takes that which is lost and finds it. And – Praise God – sometimes He allows us to be involved in the process. How many of you remember Romans chapter twelve and verse fifteen? It says:
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.” Romans 12:15 (HCSB)
For a long time I considered that verse to refer to the people around me. When someone is happy I should be happy with them. When someone is sad I should be sad with them. I should be so connected with people that when they feel an emotion I should feel it too. Shouldn’t we be that connected with God? We should weep over the things that God weeps over and we should rejoice over the things that God rejoices over. Do you think God rejoices over a lost person being found? You bet He does! There is a party in Heaven when that happens. We should rejoice too.
Let me give you a little more insight into the parable of the lost coin – how much should we rejoice? The coin that is lost is worth a day wages. Do you know how much the average person in American makes today? On adverage an American earns $161.00 dollars a day. Now that is the average wages of a worker in American today. Earlier we talked about loosing a hundred dollar bill – and unless math has changed - $161.00 dollars is still more than a hundred dollars. Wouldn’t you put some energy into finding $161.00 dollars? Wouldn’t you search high and low to find $161.00 dollars if you lost it? You bet you would! That’s what the woman in the parable was looking for - a days wages. She searched high and low. And guess what - she found it. No wonder she had a party.
God gets excited when a lost sheep is found. God gets excited when a lost coin is found. God gets so excited He throws a party – in fact He throws a party here every Sunday – we call it worship. Like the shepherd who found his sheep and the woman who found the lost coin, we can share in the excitement. We can invite people to the celebration. The music, the singing, the fellowship we have at church each Sunday is an extension of God’s celebration. God wants us to celebrate when the lost is found.
Our third point comes from:
THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SON
"A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ’Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, ’How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ’ And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” Luke 15:11-20 (NKJV)
The main point I get today from is passage of scripture is that:
3. God wants us to keep LOOKING for the lost.
Did you notice in the passage that we just read that the father always kept an eye out for the son to return? Look at what the scripture says again, “when he was still a great way off, his father saw him” Don’t you think that the father was looking for him every day? I can just picture him getting up every morning – going out on the porch – standing there – straining his eyes – looking to see if his son was walking down the road. At noon he would go out and look. In the evening he would go out and look. The father watched for his son’s return. He was hoping, wishing, praying for it. The father practiced love as we find it in 1 Corinthians chapter thirteen. He was patient. He was kind. He kept no record of wrongs. But he stood there day after day hoping, praying, never giving up and one day he saw someone come over the horizon. Could it be? Was it possible? Yes! Yes!! It’s him. It’s my son. What a day of rejoicing. What a day of reunion. That’s the good news. The son who was lost has come home. The son who was lost has been found. The son who had left had returned. What a great day.
But let me give you some bad news. Not everyone has come home yet. There are still empty places at the table. No one is sitting there. There are rooms in the house that are still vacant. There are still those who are lost. And I think the Father is still standing on the porch looking, waiting, praying, hoping. Are we? Are we as concerned about the lost as he is?
Pastor Steve Sjogren was frustrated with the pressures of trying to encourage his church to reach out to their community. At the end of a long day he pulled into a Taco Bell drive-through to get something to eat. In the silence between shouting his order into the microphone and picking up his food, God spoke to Steve. It was not an audible voice; it was a mental whisper.
“Steve,” God said, “open your door. I have a present for you.”
Feeling a little silly, Steve stopped the car and opened his door. There grounded into the pavement was a scarred and tarnished penny. “Gee...thanks..” was the sarcastic thought that went through his head as he picked up the practically worthless coin from the ground. But then God’s quiet voice spoke to him again.
“In the world’s eyes, a lot of people in this community you are trying to reach are like this penny. They’re dirty, flawed, imperfect, and forgotten. Even churches don’t see much value in them. Through some eyes, they may look shabby and worthless, but not to me. Steve, to me - they look just like you. They’re precious beyond measure.”
Tears streamed down his face that day. Steve experienced God’s love that day. Steve drove home with a bag of burritos, a penny, and a new understanding of the value that God puts on people.
(From the Book “Outflow – Message Guide.”)
How valable are the people around you?
1. God wants us to seek those who are LOST.
2. God wants us to rejoice when the lost have been FOUND.
3. God wants us to keep LOOKING.
Let us pray.
