Sheep and Coin Luke 15:1-10

-Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott Wilson Carlile “Still Going for the Most Lost”

[There was a] Moody centenary meeting [in] 1937 in [The Royal] Albert Hall. Wilson Carlile [was] there, [the] only speaker who’d met Moody. “I am ninety,” he began. Carlile had helped him conduct [a] mission in Islington. Just before a meeting, Moody came in [and asked,] “Are all the seats taken?” “[There is] no room left.” He then spied two on [the] platform. [He was] told [they were] reserved for two important committee members. “Carlile, you are not a lover of souls, go out and find the worst men you can to occupy these seats.” [This] incident gave him a passion for the worst: “I am still going for the most lost” (p. 16).

“I fear theology more than drink. Theology divorced from a passion for souls produces spiritual dry rot” (p. 17).

This week, we are moving forward in the Gospel of Luke to another important conversation and confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees. Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem for His crucifixion and He is on the receiving end of the Pharisees’ criticism. It seems that Jesus attracts sinners and then willingly receives them, living in fellowship with them. The Pharisees grumble about the situation, but they fundamentally misunderstand the purpose of God. They reject the sinners that the Lord wants to receive and are opposed to the mission of God.

Jesus explains 3 principles in His parables:

I. Lost People are Separated from God

First, Jesus compares the sinner’s situation to the state of lostness

Why is lostness such a big deal?

It is a state of separation from your rightful owner

In the story, both the woman of the house and the shepherd are deprived of a meaningful relationship with their possessions

In our case, we are separated, relationally, from God by our sin; we cannot have the kind of relationship with Him that we ought to desire because of the sin in our lives

It both willful and helpless

There is a contrast here between the sheep and the coin that I think sort of illustrates our position:

The coin is lost because it just got lost; there is nothing it did to cause its situation

The sheep is lost because it wandered away; it willfully separated from the shepherd

Both of these things are true of us!

We are born in sin. We didn’t cause it but it is our reality

We are willing sinners. We are bent to sinning and are happy to wander from God’s intent

It is not something you can overcome on your own

Lost sheep and lost coins don’t just find themselves; someone has to find them

I think that this is noteworthy, because “finding your true self” is one of the buzz words of our generation

It turns out that your search for authenticity may be nothing more but a spiral into a deeper and a darker kind of lostness

300 Illustrations for Preachers Man Gets Lost on His Way to Get a Newspaper

Authorities in Australia say an 81-year-old man set out to get a morning newspaper and ended up driving 400 miles after he accidentally turned onto a major highway. Eric Steward drove for nine hours before he stopped and asked for directions. Steward eventually approached a policeman at a gas station and admitted he did not know where he was. He asked the officer to call his wife and talk to her for him. After he was reunited with his family, Steward said he took a wrong turn and just kept going. He told reporters he did not need a satellite navigation device because he had only been lost once before. Steward added, “I just went out on the road to have a drive, a nice peaceful drive.”

There are many people just like this man, lost and completely unaware of where they are in life. Jesus said he came to seek and save the lost.

II. Lost People are Sought by God

If lost people must be found, we need someone to do the finding. That is exactly what God is doing in and through Jesus

He is focused on seeking sinners rather than tending the righteous v. 4

He genuinely cares about them and goes after them

He never just leaves people alone in their lostness; His heart is their restoration

He is diligent and thorough in His pursuit v. 8

This not a casual or passing interest

The Lord leaves no stone unturned in His pursuit of the lost

If you wonder why we talk so much about missions around here, this is why!

It is in the character of God to seek the lost, so it must be a part of the character of His people!

He is personally invested in rescuing the lost v. 5

When the time comes to rescue the lost sheep, the shepherd places the sheep and the weight of its wandering on His own shoulders!

He bears the price of their sin and by His righteousness delivers them

This is exactly what God has been doing through the sacrifice of Jesus, rescuing the dying sheep and finding the lost coin

He makes it possible through His death for us to be restored to God

We are only found because there is a finder!

Isaiah 53:4–6

[4] Surely he has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.

[5] But he was pierced for our transgressions;

he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and with his wounds we are healed.

[6] 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. (ESV)

III. Found People are Celebrated by God

Finally, Jesus draws a major contrast between the attitude of the Savior with the attitude of the Pharisees

The Pharisees were disgruntled that Jesus would welcome sinners into His presence and share fellowship with them

The Lord, on the other hand, throws a party in heaven every time one of these sinners comes to Him

I think there’s two questions that we need to ask ourselves in light of this?

Do I celebrate what the Lord is celebrating? Am I excited to see the lost be found?

Could I cause a celebration? How much rejoicing would there be if I trusted my Savior?

Thirty five years ago was a different era. Kids had a much freer reign to wander wherever they wanted. Whether today is better or worse isn’t the point. But back then, a two year old, not-yet-pastor Davis could walk pretty much anywhere. It was a Spring in Oregon. My parents owned three acres of Oregon woodland just a few miles outside of Gresham. The rule was “don’t go down to the road.” And I obeyed that rule. But nobody said anything about the barbed wire fence.

It had been raining a lot, as it always does in the Spring. And the creek on the other side of that fence was running pretty fast for a two year old. Which was pretty cool. So I stomped towards it in my rubber galoshes to get a closer look. Mom had been out working in the flower beds. When she realized she hadn’t seen me in a while, she started looking. Front yard, back yard, up on the hill. But I was nowhere to be found. She called my grandparents. Both sets. She called my Dad home from work. I was lost. Not just “where did I set that down” lost. But seriously, life-threateningly lost.

About an hour an a half later, my grandma found me. Boots so stuck in the mud that I couldn’t move. Three feet away from the cold creek. She lifted me up out of my boots. Set me in cold mud that I had not wanted to step in. Pulled out my boots. And carried me home.

I don’t remember any of what happened next. And I may only remember this much from the stories told in later years. But I remember wondering why everyone came over. I had no idea how close they were to sorrow that day. And I had no idea about their joy. I was already off playing.

So what about you?

-Are you ready to be found?

-Are you ready to join the search?

-Are you ready to rejoice?