The Good Shepherd And The Lost Sheep Series

“The Good Shepherd and the Lost Sheep”

TEXT: Luke 15:1-7 (Verses 3-7 Main Focus)

Luke 15:1-7 (KJV)

1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.

2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

3 And he spake this parable unto them, saying,

4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Introduction:

A. Last week we looked at the first two verses of this chapter -- and we focused on the statement found in verse two, speaking of Jesus the Savior, it says, “This man receiveth sinnners, and eateth with them.”

1) Jesus – the Holy One, the Son of God, receives sinners – He doesn’t turn them away.

2) That is GREAT NEWS!!

3) We talked about the difference between the Publicans (Tax Collectors), the Sinners, and the Pharisees.

• The most wretched of sinners, the most despised of the earth-- sought out Jesus and He received them.

• The Pharisees – were deeply religious, keepers of the law, dogmatic, judgmental of others, shunned sinners, and wanted nothing to do with Jesus. They would not receive Him.

B. Jesus cannot help those who are bound by religion and feel no need to accept Christ as Lord.

C. But now, we look a litter deeper into LUKE CHAPTER 15.

D. Jesus in His teaching , is going deeper and deeper, teaching some great lessons about the TRUE PATH to SALVATION.

1) He gives us an illustrated lesson, a parable of the LOST SHEEP.

I. The Lost Sheep

A. “What man of you haing one hundred sheep if one of them is missing does not leave the 99 to go search for the one lost sheep.”

1) He searches until he finds it.

2) He then carries it on his shoulders, back to safety, rejoicing that he has found the one that was lost.

B. It is quite Obvious that in this story, Jesus is the Shepherd who goes out to search for the lost sheep.

C. In this Parable, Jesus is revealing to us, His Part in the Salvation of Man.

1) In the first two verses, the publicans and the sinners (harlots, adulterers , liars, thieves, etc…. they sought out Jesus and Jesus received them.

2) In the Parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus seeks out the sinner --- the lost sheep.

3) One of the greatest truths from God’s Word is; Luke 19:10 (KJV) “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

But none of the ransomed ever knew,

How deep were the waters crossed,

Nor how dark was the night that the Lord

passed through, Ere He found His sheep

that was lost.

Out in the desert He heard it's cry,

Sick and helpless and ready to die,

"Lord, whence are these blood drops all

the way, That mark out the mountains

track?

They were shed for one who had gone

astray,

Ere the shepherd could bring him back,

Lord whence are Thy hands so rent and

torn?

They're pierced tonight by many a thorn.

D. Who could deny that fact that the world around us is like a wilderness.

1) We are taught the Word of God, many of us, from the time we are a child.

2) The Word of God reveals to us the commandments of God which list so “DO NOTS” as well as some commands to “DO.”

3) My parents and grandparents always told me, “Don’t ride your bike in the road, you have plenty of land to ride on, stay out of the road.”

a. But something in me just had to try it. I had to see what it was like to ride that bike out in the road.

b. It ended up being a costly ride – one week without a bike.

c. Adam and Eve – the forbidden fruit.

d. Satan comes to lead God’s children astray --- he leaves things in our path that are designed at leading us off the path of righteousness and into the path of death and destruction.

E. We can end up lost in the wilderness – where there is danger and the potential of death, eternal separation from God, Our Father.