Lost 2

LOST

Part 2

“Lost by Neglect”

Luke 15:1-2, 8-10 (LB) “Dishonest tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus’ sermons; 2 but this caused complaints from the Jewish religious leaders and the experts on Jewish law because he was associating with such despicable people—even eating with them! So Jesus used this illustration:

“A woman has ten valuable silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and look in every corner of the house and sweep every nook and cranny until she finds it? 9 And then won’t she call in her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her? 10 In the same way there is joy in the presence of the angels of God when one sinner repents.”

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Now, following on the heels of the Pharisees and Scribes slamming Jesus for eating with sinners and the social outcasts of His day, the Lord responds with a lengthy parable containing 4 things lost for 4 different reasons:

A sheep that is lost by straying, a coin that is lost by neglect, a son that is lost by rebellion, and an elder brother lost by religion.

Today I want to talk about the lost coin.

Before I deal with that, I want you to notice how...

I. Jesus was all about things lost

He once said to His disciples that the whole reason He had stepped out of glory to come to earth was to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10 NKJV).

We shared last time that the word “lost” that Jesus used in the Greek language is much stronger than what we think of when we hear “lost.”

It means to be utterly ruined, or thoroughly destroyed with no remedy—In other words, forever.

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But our world as a whole doesn’t really see itself as lost.

We are more like those in Noah’s day before the Great Flood who never took Noah’s warnings seriously, but went through life with no sense at all of their impending judgment.

Jesus said, “The Arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times just like Noah’s. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing—until the flood hit and swept everything away” (Matt 24:38-39 MSG).

They were utterly unaware they were lost, disconnected from God, and racing toward ruin.

Jesus said, This is how the world will be before I return.

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This is why Jesus talked about the infinite value of your soul.

He said, “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matt 16:26 NLT)

The answer is NO.

ILLUS: We often see a flashing sign on the highway with the words “silver alert.”

It means someone with Alzheimer’s or some other debilitating condition are lost, driving around in a vehicle not knowing where they’re going.

They’re unaware that the whole city is looking for them to save them from themselves.

So it is with lost humanity—we’re lost and don’t know it, driving down the road of life oblivious to our condition, unaware that all of heaven is looking for us!

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So to drive the point of our lostness home, Jesus talked about a lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son, and a lost older brother.

I believe He used the coin to illustrate lost humanity because:

II. The coin bore the image of the king

The “coin” in Jesus’ parable was a Drachma, which was a valuable silver coin worn in a ten piece garland by married women.

This was not junk jewelry...it was valuable, just as your soul is valuable.

And it bore the image of Caesar.

Remember, Jesus was once asked about paying taxes, and He asked the question, “Do you have a coin? Let me see it.” They handed him a silver piece.20 ‘This engraving—who does it look like? And whose name is on it?’ 21 They said, “Caesar.”

Just like the coin bore the image of the king, Caesar, our soul bears the image of our Creator!

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This is what makes your soul so valuable!

God said before creating man, “Let us make man in our image, according to Our likeness;” (Gen 1:26 NKJV)

We are made with the image of our Creator stamped on our soul!

No matter who you are or what you’ve done, whether you’re high up on the success ladder of this world, or have wound up in a ditch, you are VALUABLE because you bear the image of Creator God!

ILLUS: Hold up two ten dollar bills, one perfect, the other wrinkled.

Don’t let Satan tell you because of your sins—the places you’ve been and things you’ve done, the mistakes you’ve made in life—that you no longer have value to God.

You bear the image of your Creator, your soul is valuable enough to send Jesus to the Cross to save it!

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I also notice that the coin was...

III. Lost in the house

Think about it: The sheep was lost by straying from the fold, but the coin was lost in the house.

You will notice that, of the four things lost in Jesus’ parable, two are lost IN the house, and two are lost AWAY from the house or sheepfold.

The sheep and prodigal son stray AWAY from the house and the sheepfold, while the coin and elder brother are lost right IN the house.

The coin was lost IN the house.

This points to how people can so often be raised in church, hear all the teachings, hear the gospel, go to all the potluck dinners and fellowships, and sit right there in the pew for years and are never truly born again.

They are lost “in” the house.

Billy Graham once said that the greatest harvest field in the world is the church!

ILLUS: In 1879, there was an epidemic outbreak of chicken cholera that was wiping out the poultry population.

A French biologist named Louis Pasteur was trying to figure out how to stop this dread disease.

Needing to take a break, he ceased his investigation to go on vacation.

When he returned, he injected some chickens with cholera germs that were left in some flasks while he was on vacation.

To his surprise, the chickens didn't get sick.

Thinking the germs in the flasks had "spoiled," he collected some fresh germs and injected them into the same chickens and some new chickens he bought at a market.

All the new chickens died, while all of those injected with the "weakened cholera" survived.

He realized that the key to stopping the plague was to expose healthy chickens to a weaker form of cholera, which built in them a resistance to the disease.

This was the beginning of vaccinations.

But I believe its possible to be inoculated against the power of the Gospel by being exposed to a "weakened,” watered down gospel.

And there’s plenty of them out there and they’re very prominently displayed.

There’s the "self-help" gospel, or the gospel of "prosperity" or the "cheap grace" that calls people to Salvation without calling them to repent or to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

When people hear this watered down gospel, it inoculates them from the real thing!

This is how people are “lost in the house.”

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Finally, the coin was likely...

IV. Lost by neglect

The fitting the coin rested in likely loosened and the woman wasn’t paying attention.

It eventually fell out by neglect.

Likewise, so many people take the precarious state of their souls lightly.

We focus on our 401k,

We worry about the health of our bodies,

We take the time and trouble to work out and look good,

But we neglect caring for the one thing more valuable than all else—our eternal souls!

LET’S PRAY

The ten coins were set in fittings