Segment 3
Please take a moment to place your vote. If you have an idea for an improvement, I am very teachable. My e-Mail is pastorbrian@greenrivernazarene.com
Daniel Boone explored the great wilderness of Tennessee and Kentucky. It was Boone who marked the Wilderness Road that brought settlers into the new land. He often wandered over vast areas of forest, living off the land and dodging arrows.
Once he was asked if he had ever been lost. He replied, “No.” He said that he had never been lost, but he did admit that he was “a mite confused once for about three or four days though!”
Perhaps it matters little that Boone’s pride would not allow him to admit that he’d ever been lost, in need of guidance.
But it does matter a lot if our pride keeps us from admitting that we are lost without Christ.
One of the things that I recently learned in Wyoming’s hunter safety course, is that if you are in the wilderness and find that you are lost, the first thing to do, is STOP! Stop and admit that you are lost! If you don’t do that, you very well may find your self walking deeper and deeper into the woods!
We are going to finish our series by seeing what happens when the lost are found!
Won’t you join with me once again as we look at God’s word?
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
Lk 15:3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
Lk 15:4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
Lk 15:5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders
Lk 15:6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’
Lk 15:7 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
The Parable of the Lost Coin
Lk 15:8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?
Lk 15:9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’
Lk 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
May the Lord bless the reading of His word,
n In both of these parables, we see that There was a celebration when the lost was found!
o The lost was valuable
o The loss warranted an all out search!
o And we see that finally there was a celebration then finally the lost was lost no more!
§ Have you ever been there? Something dear to you was lost, and then at last you found it?
· A Sense of relief that begins to set in.
· You draw an easy breath, and exhale with a sigh
· Another one
· Then joy begins to fill your mind and soul.
· And finally it is time to celebrate!
o When the lost was found, it was time to celebrate personally and corporately!
§ You see good news is for sharing!
§ I found it, I found it, I found it!
· You see the Word to express what you are feeling at a moment like this, comes from the Greek! Eureka! Eureka!
o It comes from the exclamation attributed to Archimedes when he discovered a method for determining the purity of gold
o I think of the Gold minors of Californian who labored and toiled under the sun.
§ 1st day… nothing
§ 2nd day nothing
§ 3rd week
§ 7th month
§ then one day, they catch a glimps of something sniney out of the corner of their eye….
§ Upon closer examination! Eureka!
§ when the struck it rich shouted Eureka!
· Eureka! I have found it! It is used to express triumph when you make a discovery
· Good news is for sharing,
· (Tell the story of the lady that burst out of the hospital room shouting He’s gonna make it, he’s gonna make it! )
· Good news is for sharing, the Gospel is good news! Share it every chance that you get!
o When the lost is found there is a Personal Rejoicing!
§ There is a personal rejoicing that takes place when (the lost) are found (an person who does not know Jesus, is said to be lost!)
· I was lost, my heart was empty, and I needed a savior! I remember the how I felt in the days that followed my own conversion.
· I was lost and I knew it! I admitted it, I believed in Jesus Christ, I confessed my sin, committed my life to Him and received Him as lord and Savior!
· O what joy filled my soul!
o There was an Excitement that began to well up within me,
o There was a Joy unspeakable that showed through!
o There was a feeling of Relief that my sins had been forgiven, and I was no longer alone!
o There was an Overflowing, I’ve just got to get it out, on fire, vision, testimony and happiness!
.
there is another man in history that felt this way. When he wrote these words, …
· Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now I am found, was blind but now I see!
o Not only is there a personal rejoicing when the lost is found, but there is a There is a rejoicing and celebration in heaven when the lost is found as well
§ Lk 15:9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ Lk 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
§ There’s a gospel song entitled, “That’s When The Angels Rejoice” written by Larry Bryant:
When the Model T first hit the street,
It didn’t bring all heaven to its feet.
And when the first computer was born,
They didn’t blow Old Gabriel’s horn.
There’s only one thing that we’re sure about
That can make those angels jump and shout:
It’s when a sinner makes the Lord his choice;
That’s when the angels rejoice.
Now heaven doesn’t strike up a band
For any old occasion at hand;
It’s got to be a special thing,
To make those angels smile and sing.
Now when the United States became a nation,
There was no angelic celebration.
But when one lost sinner comes back home,
They jump for joy around the throne
n There is a rejoicing because sin’s are forgiven
o Ps 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
n Because the old is new and you can have a changed life!
o Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away and behold all things become new!
n Because of a full and abundant life
o That is why Jesus came to seek and to save the lost! He says that he has come that you might have life, and have it to the full!
n Because of an eternal life!
o When you find the Good Shepherd, and He finds you, you will have life in His Name! 1Jn 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
o
Closing remarks
I invite you to turn your eye upon Jesus who is the good shepherd! His word shall not fail you he promised, believe him and all will be well, then go to a world that is dying, his perfect salvation to tell!
(I’m Brian Byers with 1st church of the Nazarene in Green River, you can find us on the web at greenrivernazarene.com… our worship services begins at 11am this morning, I look forward to seeing you soon May The Lord Bless you and keep you! Amen)
