Sermon Idea
Jesus seeks the lost, saves the lost, and shouts for the found.
Introduction
Max
Misty and I lost our dear old dog, Max, a couple of years ago. It was terrible. He was very sick and we had to put him down. We stood by with our hands on him while the vet put Max to sleep. It was horrible. Then we took him home, I dug a deep hole in our flowerbed, and buried him. It was one of the most difficult days of my life. I lost a friend. He was one of our kids! We had him for 17 years. He was Blake’s growing up. Now he was gone.
Well, after several months Misty saw a German Shephard at the OKC Animal Shelter, so I went to inquire about him. That dog wasn’t available, but there were so many that were! Blake had met me up there and we found a few dogs that we liked.
On a Sunday after church I took Misty to see some of them. They had this room where you could get to know the dogs. We met several, but none quite fit. Then we came to an older, brown lab. He was so sweet. The other dogs would go crazy, jumping and running all over the place, but this dog was a gentleman. So sweet and nice. We could not figure out why he was there. Who would give up or lose such a sweet dog?
We went back home and, on Monday, I went back after work and adopted our Zeus.
We found the perfect dog for us.
He had been in and out of the OKC shelter multiple times. We found out his last owner moved and could not have a dog so returned him…returned him? That was crazy! We could not believe what we just heard. How could someone do that?
We told Zeus, you are in your forever home!
Please turn in your Bible to Luke 19:10
“The Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Let us pray…
Jesus said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Who is the “Son of Man”?
Jesus is referred to as the Son of Man 88 times in the New Testament. In the old Testament, Daniel prophesies about the Son of Man in Dan 7:13-14. “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Jesus is the God-Man.
Jesus was fully man
When Jesus was born on earth he became fully man. He became thirsty and hungry. He became tired. He had an earthly father, mother, brothers, and sisters. He grew up as a carpenter’s son. His hometown was Nazareth and he was Jewish. When he was flogged and beaten, it hurt. He felt every blow. He suffered an agonizing, horrifying death.
Jesus is fully God
Jesus is also fully God. Jesus is the second person in the Holy trinity, “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” He has lived and will live for all eternity…he is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. He has all authority in heaven and on earth. He sits at the right hand of the father in heaven.
There is power in the very name of Jesus.
In Jesus name, the lame walk, the blind see, and the dead are raised.
In Jesus name, water is turned into new wine.
Even the wind and the waves obey Jesus’ name.
In Jesus’ name…
…the drug addict is clean,
…the drunk becomes sober,
…the tax collector becomes a disciple,
…the fisherman becomes a fisher of men,
…the terrorist becomes a peacemaker,
…the murderer becomes a life giver,
…the hatful become kind,
…the depressed become joyous,
…the bad become good,
…the dark become light givers, and
…the dead become alive!
All people are born lost in sin
The Bible says, “All have sinned and fallen short…” Rom 3:23
Problem is, most people don’t realize that they are lost and are in need of a savior. Yet, there is a void inside of everyone. They know something is missing and try to fill that void with all sorts of things. For some it is the love of money, for others it is the love of sex and pornography, for others it is drugs or alcohol, for others it is…fill in the blank.
Everyone is lost and in need of a savior.
Now turn to Luke 15:1-7.
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
What is a parable?
Jesus’ parables are stories that were “cast alongside” a spiritual/moral truth in order to illustrate and illuminate the truth. They are teaching aids used as analogies or inspired comparisons. One writer said the parable is, “An earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” Jesus used parables heavily. There are about 35 unique parables recorded in the four gospels, many repeated in multiple books. He did this so often, his disciples asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” (Mat 13:10)
Why did Jesus speak so much in parables?
Jesus explained that parables have a two-fold purpose: to reveal the truth to those who really wanted to know the truth and to conceal the truth from those who were indifferent about learning the truth. See, the Pharisees had publicly and repeatedly rejected Jesus, the Messiah, and blasphemed the Holy Spirit. In doing this, they hardened their heart to the truth and became spiritually blind to the truth. They dismissed these powerful parables as nonsense. However, those who sought the truth clearly understood.
I. Jesus Seeks the Lost
The Parable of the Lost Sheep.
Luke 15:3-4 says, “Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the opern country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”
Back to my story about our dog, Zeus.
Some of you have met Zeus if you’ve been to our house. Again, he is the kindest, sweetest, most loyal dog.
When we first got Zeus, I would take him on walks every morning. We would go before the sun came up. I would take him in our greenbelt area that runs behind our house. We have a nice path through huge pecan trees. Zeus loved it.
I decide to let him off the leash so he could run some. He would go explore around the trees and sometimes chase a squirrel up a tree. He never went too far from me and would come right to me if I called his name. It was great.
This went on for a couple of months until one morning when things changed. On this particular morning, it was still dark and we had reached the end of the path in the greenbelt where we turn around. As usually, he would do his business around there. I always brought plastic back to clean up after him. I bent down and cleaned up the mess.
When I looked up, I did not see Zeus. It was dark and he is dark brown, so I figured I just couldn’t make him out. The sun was just peeking out but it was still fairly dark. I called out “Zeus” but he did not come. Where did he go? I bet he is behind that tree over there. Nope. “Zeus”…”Zeus.” How long has it been? Where could he have gone? I walked out of the greenbelt to the street to see if he might have gone up to one of my neighbors’ houses. “Zeus!” “Zeus!” I was starting to freak out. I had lost Zeus! How could that be! He was right here! How long had it been? The sun was now just over the horizon so I could see better, but no Zeus! I decided, maybe he headed back towards our house, so I ran that way hollering, “Zeus! Zeus!” I looked and listened. I could hear dogs barking in the distance. I went home but no Zeus! In just a matter of seconds Zeus was there and now 30 minutes later, he was gone!
Shepherding sheep abounded in Palestine and the Israelite culture.
When the flock had to pass through a flowing stream of water, the shepherd would go first, leading the flock through the hazard.
The more mature, favored sheep would plunge boldly into the water and soon cross. Others would enter the stream with hesitation and alarm, may miss the shepherd’s fording place, be carried downstream, but eventually are able to reach the shore. The little lambs may have to be driven into the stream by dogs. They are heard bleating pitifully as they leap and plunge into the stream. Some may manage to cross, but some are swept away. The Shepherd leaps quickly into the stream. The shepherd rescues these, carrying them to shore. When the sheep make it to the shore, they gambol about with joy and gather around their shepherd.
It was very important that a sheep not wander and stray away from the flock. Sheep are helpless and in grave danger when they find themselves lost. They become bewildered and have no sense of where they are or how to get back to the flock on their own. If they go astray, the Shepherd must rescue them before they are injured or devoured by an animal. Even fowl my pluck out their eyes and eventually devour a lost lamb.
The shepherd is an expert in gathering scattered sheep. This is especially necessary when the sheep must be led to a better pastor or one straying sheep must be led back to the fold. The shepherd stands in the middle of the scattered sheep and gives them a call in which all his sheep knows. He may use a slingshot to shoot a pebble at those who do not heed his call or who have strayed beyond his call. He does not lead the flock away until he knows all of his sheep have gathered.
Like the shepherd in the parable, Jesus is our Good Shepherd seeks the lost!
When difficult times come and we must pass through a fast flowing stream or river, Jesus leads us through to greener pastors. The more mature Christians plunge boldly in, knowing the Good Shepherd will never leave them astray. The younger Christians will enter with hesitation and alarm and may miss the Good Shepherd’s path and end up being carried downstream, eventually getting across with the help of the Good Shepherd. The youngest little lamb Christians usually have to be driven into the stream. They don’t initially enter until something starts driving them into the steam. A few many manage to cross, but some are swept away. The Good Shepherd leaves the 99 on the other side, plunges after this lost sheep, rescuing him from certain death, and carries this one to safety.
First, Jesus came to seek for the lost, much like the shepherd in the parable who left the 99 to find the lost sheep. Second, Jesus saves the lost.
II. Jesus saves the lost
Explanation
Look back at Vs 5. “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.”
What did the shepherd do?
THE GRACIOUS LIFT -- He lifted this poor sheep up and put it on his shoulders!
There it was, with all its weight, carried by powerful shoulders. That is what the Savior does for poor weary sinners. He carries the weight of our sin, the weight of us entirely. He takes us just as we are, and instead of driving us back, prodding us by his law, he carries us home by his grace and love. Instead of urging us to go home or prodding us to do better, he becomes the great burden-bearer of his redeemed, and bears them on his shoulders. And now you have before you one of the loveliest of portraits that ever imagination can sketch - that great crowned Shepherd of the sheep, King of kings and Lord of lords, bearing on his shoulders, as a burden he delights to carry, the sheep that had gone astray. Oh, I pray God that you may lie on those broad shoulders if you never have been so favored. The shoulders of omnipotence bearing up our weakness - the mighty Savior bearing us and all our sin and all our care, and our whole being upon the shoulders of his strength - this is a sight for angels.
THE IMMEDIATE RETURN – And as he thus carries the weight, observe that the distance is removed. We read in the next verse, "And goes home," but there is nothing said about the road; for somehow our Master has the knack of being at home at once. The sinner may weary himself by twenty years of sin, but in five minutes that may all be gone. It may have taken you fifty years to make yourself such a hell-deserving sinner as you are, but it will not take Jesus fifty ticks of the clock to wash you and make you whiter than snow, and to get you back into the great Father's house. Truth to tell, the Shepherd's redeeming work is done already… By that redeeming process he brought us near to God. There is no weary journey back for Shepherd or sheep. He grasps the sheep; he puts it on his shoulders, and they are both back at the fold.
Back to my lost dog, Zeus.
I went back home in the hopes he found his own way, but he wasn’t there. I woke up Misty, told her I had lost Zeus, and went back out looking for him. I went back where I lost him, calling his name. “Zeus, Zeus!” I started trotting down the streets of the neighborhood towards dogs barking. Up and down the streets. No Zeus. Misty showed up in the truck and I jumped in. We drove every street, calling for him. “Zeus, Zeus!” Misty posted on the neighborhood Facebook page that we had lost a chocolate lab. We did everything we could do to find this lost dog. My mind was racing. Could he be in trouble? Did he leave the neighborhood? Could he be gone forever?
After over an hour, someone posted they sighted a big, brown dog running down one of the streets on the other side of the pond. We went over there, but no sign of Zeus. As we were driving along, we could see Zeus running through the greenbelt. I jumped out, pulled him in the truck, and drove home. Zeus was found and he was safe!
If you are lost today in sin, like the Good Shepherd, Jesus is looking for you.
He is looking for you to just call out his name. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life.” (Jn 3:16)
You don’t clean up first.
You don’t have to do anything to earn eternal life. It is a free gift! He gave his life that you could have eternal life. Call out His name! He will hear your cry, lift you up out of your sin, and put all of the weight on his broad, mighty shoulders!
We’ve established that Jesus (1) seeks the lost and (2) saves the lost. Next, (3) he shouts for the saved.
III. Jesus shouts for the saved.
Look back at Vs 6-7. “Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
Zeus was found!
Misty and I were so excited to find him! We kissed him and hugged him! We drove him home…not with a leash, but in the truck! We took him directly home. Of course, we wondered where he had been. Did a squirrel or rabbit distract him away from his master? Did he just make a wrong turn behind a fence? Did he pick up a scent? We never really knew where Zeus had gone, but he was lost and now he is found and back home! Everyone at home was happy! We posted it on Facebook so all our neighbors and friends could rejoice with us. Zeus was home!
Much like Misty, our neighbors, and friends rejoiced when Zeus was found and back home, so did the shepherd in the parable.
THE JOYFUL REUNION -- What does the shepherd do when the lost is found?
Does the shepherd remind the sheep of the great sorrow caused?
Does the shepherd show any signs of growing weary?
Does the shepherd make any mention of the suffering the sheep caused? NO!
When the shepherd finds the sheep, “He joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.””
The shepherd does not remember all the weariness that he has had to suffer. He does not think of the great folly of the lost sheep losing past good pastor, in having caused himself great danger and suffering, costing him so much wasted time and labor.
Our Good Shepherd does not remember the great cost of sin.
He does not remind us of the beating, the stripes on his back, the crown of thorns, the mocking, or the great suffering. He took all of our sins upon himself, never to mention them again.
Our sin is separated from us as far as the East is from the West. They are thrown into the sea of forgetfulness, never to be remembered. Jesus Christ saves us rejoicing! Not grudgingly or wearily, but with great joy! Just look into the face of the Savior and you will see his tenderness, kindness, and love. He looks at you like you are His and only His. He loves His work and does it joyfully. For many workers, their heart is not in their work. They do it grudgingly, tired and weary of the long hours. Not so with Christ. He is like a worker who loves his life’s calling. He is a joyful workman happy to be doing it. He puts all of his might into the work.
Conclusion
Jesus (1) Seeks the lost, (2) Saves the lost, and (3) Shouts over the found!
