Innocently

Lost #1 Luke 15:3-7

So this week we are diving into a new series that we’ve entitled “LOST”. We’re going to be camped out in Luke 15 for the next few weeks and in this passage, we see Jesus responding to the accusation of The Pharisee’s. He was accused of hanging out, or “receiving” sinners and eating with them… Jesus responds to them in a parable. Not 3 separate parables but 1 parable from 3 different perspectives. In this particular teaching we see Jesus describe 3 different types of LOST people that we will find and interact with in our world today. We see the working of God’s redemptive plan being carried out for the salvation of THE LOST and we find celebration of the lost being found! EACH PORTION OF THIS PARABLE PROCLAIMS THE SAME MAIN IDEA: LOST SOULS LOST. LOST SOULS SAVED. EARTH AND HEAVEN REJOICING OVER THE LOST BEING NO LONGER LOST. LOST. FOUND. REJOICE. repeat… Let’s look at the text… (TEXT LUKE 15:3-7 “And so He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” (PRAY)

Jesus spoke in parables often, connecting things of everyday life with eternity. Jesus starts this parable by making it clear to us all that He is the Good Shepherd. He is the one who gives His life for the sheep. Jesus is the shepherd and we are His sheep. Over and over again we see scripture referring to people as sheep and The Lord being the shepherd. In…

Isaiah 40 the Bible says, “The Lord tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart…”

Psalm 100:3 says, “God made us, we belong to Him, we are His people the sheep of His pasture..”

In John 10:11, Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep...” There're many more that reflect this idea of Shepherd and Sheep!

And then in one of the most pivotal verses of all found in Isaiah 53:6, we read these words… “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” 

QUICK HITTERS

WE WERE ALL INNOCENTLY LOST… What does this mean? We just mentioned that the prophet Isaiah said All we like sheep have gone astray… this is before Christ had come, but far after Adam and Eve had sinned in the garden of Eden. Our sinful nature, our human condition qualifies us all at one time or another as being a wandering, helpless, and really an innocent sheep. Before we are done preaching this series we will talk about sheep that are lost innocently, a coin that was lost carelessly, and a son that was lost willingly, so there are definitely pictures of us being about to protect against be lost, but Jesus wanted us to know that there are many who are in a place of needing a shepherd. Many who are in need of knowing the gospel, many who do not understand that it is safer to be in the folds of God the good shepherd, than out in the world among the predators and the elements of this culture and then sins which it offers. So if we are here today and we have come to Christ we are thankful for the good shepherd, but this morning my message to the church is one that is focused on our need to reach the lost sheep, the innocent wanderer, the ones who don’t understand and recognize the protection and the provision of the father.

Transition: I believe a great opportunity for the church today is to understand that more are innocently lost than we recognize.

WE FAIL TO SEE OTHERS AS INNOCENT… KEEP WORKING THIS POINT

From the oldest in the room today down to the younger, the greater our misconception is about our culture’s understanding of God. At the age of 40, at times I have taken for granted what it means that I was raised in the church, a pastor’s home, and a Christian school. But even if you weren’t afforded some of these opportunities, if you are older than me there is still a great likelihood that during your upbringing you had a reference point that included more Biblical principles and respect for Christianity than those who have been born in the last 20-30 years.

Proverbs 22 tells us to train up a child in the way they should go and when they get older they won’t depart from it because they will have a reference point, but this generation hasn’t been trained up so they have no reference point.

In the first chapter of John, John refers to Jesus as the light, and says that the light shined in the darkness but the darkness could not understand it, nor could they overcome it. So today we so much darkness because we are not being the carriers and distributors of light that we should be.

Psalm 33 says Blessed is a nation whose God is the Lord, but our nation has never been more Biblical illiterate than it is in 2023.

We have given this generation less tools, less training, condoned more sin, allowed more perversion, disrespect, and blasphemy than ever before, and then we turn around and blame them for growing up to become a picture of the culture which we created for them to live in.

Transition: This leads us to the next thought which is that...

WE EXPECT TOO MUCH OF THE INNOCENT…

Church, I’m afraid that too often we put a burden on the lost that is more than they can bear. I believe this stems from the fact that putting the burden on them, keeps us from admitting that we have failed them. This expectation of them then grows from our lack of desire to leave the farm and go to the places where they are. We might go serve them food or give them clothes and that’s all fantastic ministry, but bringing sheep into the fold, that are wandering in the world, requires doing the hard work of developing relationships, engaging with them even though they don’t understand how we think or believe. It means not just leaving our comfort zone from a demographic perspective that might involve race, financial status, or location. It means finding yourself developing relationships with people with people who have no understanding of Christianity and patiently leading them to the good shepherd.

Transition: Instead in 2023 America it has been said of us that we want the greatest amount of comfort for the least amount of work. If you haven’t noticed cruises and all inclusive vacations are more accessible than ever before. You might note that in Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler offered free and affordable vacations to the people of his country in order to keep them distracted from the incredible atrocities he was committing right under their noses. We have sat idly by in our comfort because ...

WE DEMAND TOO MUCH FOR OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS… Jesus rejoices more over 1 than 99. Can this be said of us? Since I’ve been the pastor here we have baptized more than 20 people. I wonder how many of them that you know? I wonder how many of them you have developed a relationship with? I wonder if you recognize whether or not they are still attending? How you answer these questions would signify which you value more… the 1 or the 99? We celebrate the 1 for a moment but then quickly go back to the 99, not recognizing that the most likely sheep to wander off is the one that was just brought into the fold. I’m looking to lead a church who believes our greatest attention should always be given to the sinner first, the new Christian second, and the spiritual growth of everyone, and if you have been attending church for any length of time that you would consider “a long time” you should be walking in a place of maturity that is more interested in the 1 sheep than the 99. Unfortunately I’m afraid our excitement over the 1 isn’t as great as our expectation as part of the 99. REPEAT. Jesus said in Luke 5 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And the Apostle Paul wrote to his protege Timothy that this saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom i am the greatest. When we focus more on our status and privilege as part of the 99 than the lost, we have forgotten the reality of our lostness, which leads to pride, self-righteousness, and entitlement that believes that church leadership exist to meet the needs of the righteous rather than training Christians to care for one another, and evangelize the lost.

Transition: This leads me to what I believe is one of the central themes of this passage...

WE MUST TAKE ON THE HEART OF THE SHEPHERD...

??? jesus tired needed rest but moved with compassion because he saw sheep without a shepherd???

Michelle along with our thrive group leaders, Scott and Tara, and our children’s workers have all done a great job at developing groups, ministries, and classes designed to help us take care of one another. We are trying to equip you to “be a pastor”. Every one of you can shepherd someone, or multiple someones. Plenty of you already are, and I couldn’t be more proud of you. We need shepherds with an eye for the lost sheep.... to know, feel, and see that there are sheep that aren’t in the fold yet, that are innocently lost, and they need to be loved, nurtured, and rescued from the evil of this world.

Are the lost important to us Church???  EVERY lost “sheep” is valuable in God’s eyes. That includes those who frustrate us, those we’ve turned our backs on, those we’ve overlooked, even those who have betrayed us. If you are praying for God’s will for your life, let me help you find a great place to start. God said it is His will that not one lost soul would perish, so how are you participating in God’s will in the relationships that are in your life to do everything that you can to make sure that they don’t perish in a devil’s hell.

Just as the shepherd in the parable searched for the lost, lifted the lost up and saved the lost sheep, that’s exactly what Christ does for those who will trust Him for salvation! He came seeking me! He came seeking you! It is not His desire that any would perish but that all will come to repentance. He is seeking every single lost person in this world right now! Nobody is being overlooked, nobody is unknown to Him. He is calling them. He is searching for them no matter how lost they are, no matter how far in sin they have wandered. Jesus knows each and every one of them, and He cares!

If you are lost today, Jesus knows you are lost and He is here looking to find you. This is why Jesus came to the earth! To seek and to save that which was lost! Jesus left His home in Heaven, took upon Himself the form of man, and came into this world to lay His life down for those who were and are… LOST!

RESPONSE: (INVITE TEAM)

DRILL, WESLEY STORY

Wesley illustration, upset that it was lost but we had never said were it was supposed to go. How can we be upset with lost, when we've never told them what found means?

Church we’ve told the lost to find a destination without a map, explain how every young person and maybe some of you use google maps or a gps app to go anywhere, we use to have maps, we used to have people that led us on those roads when we were young and we didn’t need this. But church today more than ever before, the world needs a roadmap to Jesus. And He has called you to lead them on the journey home.

You know there’s a couple times in my parenting career that my children have had horrible accidents, they involved alot of blood, stitches, pain, screaming and crying, and in both cases, within a few seconds they were in my arms and you know what I said to them. I said why did you do this? Why did you get hurt? Why didn’t you know better? I hope you learned your lesson… Of course I didn’t. I wanted to do everything that I could to get them the medical attention they needed. My heart was broken for them, I remember thinking, God why couldn’t it have been me? Church I’m not sure we are showing that kind of compassion for the lost, but it’s the love that God showed each one of us when we were lost.

STAND

The love of God is in hot-pursuit of the lost.

It’s only by the power of that gospel that a lost soul can be saved. There is only one true gospel. But how can anyone be saved if they don’t hear the gospel? The gospel is this: that God loved you in such a deep and unfathomable way, that he was willing to drop everything to chase after you in hot-pursuit to bring you back to Him. The love of God is displayed by the person, the life, the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus really wants you to be saved, but He also wants the Lost around you to be saved too. Will you come this morning and ask God to renew the passion you once had to see the lost come to Christ?

THE Challenge: Lost be found, found seek lost. Repeat over and over

post response prayer cards???