Lost and Found

Good evening y’all

Tony Carter, lead pastor of The Rock Bible Church

We have been worshipping in song tonight…

Going to take a few minutes here and worship Jesus through His word!

We are going to continue in worship through the words of Jesus in Luke 15. (if you brought your Bible)

I want to start us off tonight with a question…

how many people in here know the story “the boy who cried wolf”?

Anybody's parents read this to them when they were a kid???

This is a tale about a shepherd boy who is lonely up in the hills guarding the flock, so he cries out wolf, even though there is no wolf, and villagers come rushing to his aid.

The boy is entertained for a while, then the next day he is bored and does it again.

The third day however, there actually is a wolf, and when the boy cries out “WOLF!”, no one shows up because they assume the boy is lying again, and the flock is eaten.

Our parents read this story to us to teach us what? DON’T LIE RIGHT?

My momma used to tell me “A liar will not be believed, even when he is speaking the truth”

So through this story, I learned a truth that I still carry with me today.

When we look in Gods word we see a ton of examples of stories just like this…

Stories that help us better understand truth…

What the Bible calls parables…

Now a parable, just like the story of the boy who cried wolf, is a story that is “cast alongside” a truth in order to illustrate that truth.

As we look in the gospels… we see that Jesus used parables as teaching aids and can be thought of as inspired comparisons.

Used to teach his followers more about the character of God and how to walk in a manner that glorifies the Him

In fact, the word parable is derived from a Greek word meaning “comparison”.

This is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning! 

And we will see that there is something specific that Jesus wants us to know about Him in this parable. 

So are y’all ready to dive into God’s Word this evening???

READ LUKE 15:8-10.

As the woman seeks what was lost, we are going to see in comparison is that Jesus also seeks what is lost.

Before we dig any deeper into the text, let me set up this scene, let’s look at who Jesus is telling this parable to, who is in the room while He is speaking.

Who is He talking to? look with me at vv1-2

The context of verses 1 and 2, Jesus is drawing in these tax collectors and sinners, these people far from God, it shows us that (BIG IDEAD).

BIG IDEA: Jesus relentlessly pursues you no matter how lost you are!

Since the day I started reading the Bible I’ve always been a why guy?

But why??? As we break down this text we are going to see 2 reasons why Jesus relentlessly pursues us…

Jesus relentlessly pursues you no matter how lost you are…

Because you are extremely valuable to Him

Look at the Coin (v8) she lost one silver coin

Drachma- which was a roman currency that came out to about a day’s wage for a common laborer

Often times 10 silver coins were apart of a woman’s dowry, which would have been given to her on her wedding day by her father for future financial security

so this one coin is extremely valuable…

Illustrate:

Have you ever lost something valuable?

How many of us have ever lost our car keys? Cellphone?

like really lost!

Ripping apart the house, sweating, getting angrier by the second

Look at the effort this woman puts into searching for this coin:  she lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and seeks diligently

Just like the woman, we also seek valuable things we lost diligently.

Jesus seeks the lost in the same way, because we are valuable to Him.

Apply:

There is so much evidence in Gods word, that you are of extreme value to Jesus

Lok at your value to God in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave his only son”

And He loves you so much that he left Heaven for you. As we see in Philippians 2, Jesus became a servant, and obedient even to the point of death FOR YOU!

The evidence of your value is in the effort Jesus put in to find and rescue you.

He came to earth, to dwell amongst sinners, be beaten and whipped, and hung on a cross, and die FOR YOU, THAT’S HOW VALUABLE YOU ARE TO HIM.

Some of us are saying to ourselves right now “I’m a sinner Tony, I’ve done terrible things, no way Jesus could see past what I’ve done, not a chance that He is seeking me!”

Understand you’ve done nothing to deserve this value God has given you.

But He still gave it to you all the same!

If you are struggling with this…like what I’ve done to horrible of things to be sought out by the Lord

Look again who Jesus surrounds himself with in vv1-2, tax collectors and sinners!

Mark 2:17 “Jesus said “I came NOT to call the righteous, but the sinners”

Even though we were sinners Christ still died for us…

He is seeking the people far from God! And what He seeks is so valuable to Him, that He gave His life for it!

So He is telling them…I am seeking you diligently!

Transition (In fact look what happens when what was being searched for is found)

Joy (vv9-10)

Jesus relentlessly pursues you no matter how lost you are…

Because of the Joy He gets when your back with Him

Look again, the text plainly states that “And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 

Illustrate:

What we see here is an event of rejoicing and joy, by definition this is a party ya’ll .

This woman has gathered together her friends and neighbors, she throws a party! they are celebrating the lost coin being found!

Apply:

Jesus tells us in verse 10 that this is what happens in heaven when one sinner repents. There is a celebration in heaven!

God is glorified when the lost are found, and it brings Him Joy to love and rescue you.

So where does this lead us?

If you’re a believer in the room, this truth, that Jesus never gave up on you…

This fact that we serve and follow a God who unconditionally loves us even though we are broken and lost, this leads to worship, it stimulates us lifting His name high in worship for who He is and what He does for us.

All of us crying out “GREAT ARE YOU LORD”

For anyone who does not know Jesus as Lord, know this, that none of us in here deserve God’s love. There is not a single human being today that deserves the value God places on them.

Again in Romans 5:8 says, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. “

Jesus treasures us and seeks us diligently. Even though we are broken and sinful and undeserving. We are still valuable to Him! So valuable that He laid down His life for us.

So if you’re sitting in this room today and you haven’t given your life over to Jesus

Repent! Confess those sins and believe in Jesus!

Call out to Him! Lord I am broken! I am lost! Jesus, I need you!

And Jesus tells us that Heaven will erupt in celebration with joy when you do!

Closing Prayer