July 14, 2001
Message Title
“Lost but Found”
Scripture Reading
Luke 19:10
(Read Aloud)
We will also be looking at the 3 parables in Luke chapter 15.
Over the past several years I have had the opportunity to serve on the foreign mission field. On one of my trips to Russia, July of 1998, I was invited along with the team I was with to a missionary’s home for some food and fellowship. These missionaries had 2 children, a boy who was 9 and a girl that was 6. We were sitting around having a time of fellowship when Josh, the nine year old son, wanted to join in. He wanted to tell us of an experience that he had while living in Moscow. He went on to tell us of what had turned into a nightmare. Josh and his dad were going into the center of the city of Moscow to do some shopping. They were travelling by public bus. The routine was that you count the number of stops that the bus makes and you know where to get off. Now, you have to realize something about Moscow, there are 10 million people that live in the city limits of Moscow and another 10 million that live in the outskirts. There are an estimated 10 million people that use the public transportation everyday. Well, it just so happened that Josh’s dad had changed the plans for where they were going to get off, but he had failed to tell Josh. The bus was getting crowded and Josh and his dad were separated on the bus, because everyone stands on the bus. Josh counted the number of stops for were they were going to get off and got off, thinking his dad was right behind him. Well, needless to say, his dad did not get off and did not realize that Josh had gotten off until several more stops down the road. Now, Josh is lost in a city of 20 million people, 9 years old and speaks very little Russian. Josh’s dad started calling all the missionaries in Moscow and asked them to start praying for Josh and for God to bring him home safely. Well, a little old lady saw Josh by himself and took him to the US Embassy where they were able to trace down his parents. Josh was lost for 4 hours. Can you imagine? Well, is that not how we are if we have not accepted Jesus Christ as our savior? Helpless, things look hopeless. Just as we built up a concern, feelings and emotions for this little boy as I told you the story, should we not have even a deeper concern for the ones that are lost from God?
We are going to look at 3 parables found in Luke chapter 15 to see just how God can seek and save that which is lost. It is significant here that we look at all 3 to get the full meaning as to why the parables were written and placed together. You see, there are 3 words that summarize the message of this chapter: lost, found and rejoice. Jesus wrote these parables to answer the accusations of the Pharisees and the scribes who were scandalized at His behavior. It was bad enough, they thought, that Jesus welcomes outcasts and taught them, but he even went so far as to eat with them. See, the Jewish religious leaders did not yet understand that the Son of Man had “come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Even more, they were still blind to the fact that they themselves were among the lost. This chapter makes it clear that there is one message of salvation. God welcomes and forgives repentant sinners. But these parables also reveal that there are two aspects to salvation. There is Gods part: the shepherd and the lost sheep; woman searches for the lost coin. But there is also mans part in salvation, for the wayward son willingly repented and returned home. To emphasize but one aspect is to give a false view of salvation, for both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man must both be considered. For the mans part look at the promise we have in Matthew 7:7-8 when Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
First we find the parable of the “Lost Sheep”
The sheep was lost out of foolishness. Sheep have a tendency to go astray and that is why we need a shepherd. Look at Isaiah 53:6 “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him iniquity of us all.” The scribes and Pharisees had no problem seeing the publicans as sinners, as “lost sheep.” But they would not apply this image to themselves. Doesn’t that sound familiar? We see Christians pointing fingers at Christians. We are pointing fingers at the government and people in the public eye and calling them sinners. But, the bible clearly says in Romans 3:23 “for ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And that means religious people, also. We are still sinners, we that are Christians are just sinners saved by grace. By the shepherd leaving the 99 sheep he was not saying that they were unimportant. They were safe, they were already taken care of, but the lost sheep was in danger. The lost sheep was in danger of being lost – forever. The shepherd could have been satisfied with the 99%, but the truth of the matter is, He isn’t, He longs for 100%. The fact that the shepherd would go after the one sheep is proof that each one was dear to him. All I can say is praise God he is going after all the lost. Because if He wasn’t concerned for all, we, you, I could have been that one that He said, oh well I have 99. Christ died for me. He died for each individual in this room. That is what makes it a personal relationship. Also, notice the emphasis on rejoicing when the lost one was found. The shepherd rejoiced, the neighbors rejoiced and the heavens rejoiced.
The second parable is the “Lost Coin”
The sheep was lost out of foolishness. But the coin was lost out of carelessness of another. It is a sobering thought that our carelessness in our homes, work and play could result in a soul being lost. The necklace of ten coins was a headband that signified that a woman was married. To lose one of these coins would be to ruin the necklace and embarrass the woman. Now, what was on the coin? There was an image of a ruler. And like that coin, man bears the image of God. It says in Ge 1:27 “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him;” And sin in mans life has marred that image of God in his life. Just as the image on a coin in your pocket after years and years of circulation starts to have that image rubbed off. But, when a lost sinner is found, God begins to restore that divine image through the power of the Holy Spirit; and one day, the believer will be like Christ.
Again, noticed how the woman is not satisfied until she has 100%. And notice how there was rejoicing when the coin was found.
The last parable is the “Lost Son”
We also know this as the Prodigal Son. The word “prodigal” means wasteful. We could also call this the parable of “the loving father”, because it emphasizes the graciousness of the father more than the sinfulness of the son. Unlike the shepherd and the woman in the previous parables, the father did not go out to seek the son. But it was the memory of the father’s goodness that brought the boy to repentance and forgiveness. Just as it says in Romans 2:3 “Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that Gods kindness leads you toward repentance.” I think that maybe we can use the word conviction here to describe this act.
This parable is actually about 2 sons and a father. There are 3 simple scenes in the parable. And each scene is about a father and his love. And, of course, the father here in the parable is God.
1. The first scene is about a father who loves you enough to let you go.
a.) we don’t see here that the father tried to talk his son out of going.
b.) He did not tell his son how bad of a mistake he was making, we call that “tough love” today.
c.) He gave his son his inheritance, which in fact was an insult to his father, and let the boy go.
d.) Sometimes God has to allow us to hit rock bottom for us to realize that we are lost.
e.) A Jewish boy working in a pigsty, not good, was considered unclean for life…. He had hit the bottom.
We have to realize that when we find ourselves far from God, in a far country, that we will find ourselves in a spiritual pig pen.
2. Scene 2: “The father loves you enough to let you come back home”
a.) v17 we see that the boy came to his senses. The father allowed him to hit rock bottom. No food, no friends, no home…etc….
b.) also, in v17 we see that the boy realized he was better off to be a slave in his fathers house than to be free in a pigsty.
c.) Another lesson to learn here is you cannot be found until you realize you are lost.
d.) In v19 we see that the boy was going to ask his father to be a servant, but in v21-22 the father did not allow the son to finish talking. The father wanted to celebrate.
e.) The father did not say “I told you so”
3. Scene 3: “the father loves you so much that he will let you make your own decision.” We see this in v25-32 dealing with the other son. In v29
the older son expressed his anger. (read v29) The father wants a relationship based on Grace, not performance. I am afraid there will be many in hell that never left home, yet are in a far country. See, you don’t have to go far to be in a “far country.” Believe it or not, there people sitting in churches all over this world today that are in a “far country.” Thinking they can work their way into heaven. They work in the field, but never knows the Father by His grace. They don’t have that personal relationship with the Father. Works will not get you into heaven. Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Also, notice the celebration here.
A couple other things I would like to point out. The father not only ran out to welcome his son home. But he embraced him and kissed him. This is a wonderful illustration of what Jesus does for each of us. You see, that boy was considered unclean after working in the pigsty. But that did not matter to the father. He embraced his son and allowed that uncleanliness to pass over to him, who was clean. Isn’t that what God has done for each of us that has accepted Him as Lord and Savior. And is willing to do for anyone that wants to be cleansed? He has taken our sin and has made us clean.
Another thing is that it was very uncommon for the men to run in this eastern land, yet the father ran to meet his son. Why? One obvious reason was his love for his son and his desire to show that love. But there is something else to consider here. This wayward son had brought disgrace to his family and the village and according to Deuteronomy 21:18-21, he should have been stoned to death. But, think of this, if the neighbors had started to stone the boy, they would have hit the father who was embracing him! Again, what a picture of what Jesus did for you and I at the cross.
Conclusion
As we talked about the 9 year old boy who was lost in the city of 20 million people, we saw there was an ending with rejoicing, for he found his way back home. As we learned in the “Parable of the Prodigal Son” he realized that the grass was not any greener on the other side of the fence and he came home to a time of rejoicing. Let me ask you: Will the angels in heaven have a reason to rejoice today? There is only one way to come to the Father, and it is through faith in Jesus Christ. Now, let me ask you, “Have you come home?”
Prayer
