The God Who Searches
The Upside Down Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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ENGAGE
The Crisis
Late June, 2014, a woman named Kristin Campbell was driving in Vermont with her golden retriever, Murphy, when she was in a serious car crash.
After the crash, Murphy ran from the wreck into the woods.
In a moment of trauma and pain, her beloved pet was gone..
The Relentless Search
What followed was one of the most incredible searches you've ever heard of.
The family never gave up hope.
They set up facebook posts in lost and found groups, and posters
The community joined the effort. People would spot the elusive dog and leave out food for him—even steak sometimes. They set up humane traps and used a trail camera to track his movements.
For more than a year, a trail cameras had captured shots of the elusive dog.
An animal control officer later explained that a spooked dog like Murphy can go into a "wilderness survival mode," becoming so evasive that he wouldn't even know that he wanted to be caught.
The Reunion and Celebration
Finally, after 559 days, that's over a year and a half— she got the call.
Someone had caught Murphy.
AMAZON SHOW AND BOOK
Imagine that moment of overwhelming relief and joy when they were finally reunited.
The joy of finding the one lost thing eclipsed everything else.
Transition:
That feeling—that focused, desperate, almost reckless search for the one that is lost—is a powerful human emotion.
But the tension for us is that while we feel it for our own precious things, we rarely feel it for people.
TENSION
The Logic of the Crowd
We live in a world that is obsessed with the majority.
Our value system is built around the insiders, the crowd, the people who are safe and respectable.
Its acceptable to lose one thing as long as we have others.
Drawing the Lines
Because we live in that world, we become experts at categorizing people.
We have our "in-group" and our "out-group." We have the "good people" and the "messy people."
The Acceptable Loss
And if we're honest, the tragic result of this is that we learn to write off the "one."
We see the person struggling with addiction, the one with the broken marriage, the one who is on the margins, and our instinct isn't to search for them; it's to keep our distance.
We see them as a problem to be managed, not a treasure to be found.
Transition:
This tendency to value the respectable and write off the messy is a core part of our human condition.
And it's a value system that in our scripture today, is about to be completely demolished.
TRUTH
Setting the Scene (vv. 1-2)
Alright, church, grab your Bibles or open your bible apps. Turn to Luke chapter 15.
Before Jesus even tells a story, Luke sets the stage. This is the conflict that ignites the entire chapter.
1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.
Who is drawing near?
The outcasts.
The "tax collectors" were seen as traitors working for Rome.
The "sinners" were the ritually unclean, the morally bankrupt.
They knew they were sick, and they were drawn to the Great Physician.
2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Who are the critics?
The religious insiders,
the ones who should have known God's heart.
What's their complaint?
Jesus is sharing a table with these people.
In their culture, eating together was an act of acceptance, fellowship, and intimacy.
Their grumbling is a direct accusation:
Jesus is making himself unclean and is condoning sin.
In response, Jesus tells two stories that are a direct, theological rebuke.
A. The Parable of the Reckless Shepherd (vv. 3-7):
3 So he told them this parable:
Jesus doesn't argue with them;
He tells them a story to reveal their own hearts and the heart of God.
4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
The Search:
He leaves the ninety-nine because they are safe in the familiar pasture.
They are already safe.
This frees him to focus all his energy on the one who is in peril.
The Action:
He doesn't just wait; he "goes after" the one.
This is a picture of a God who actively pursues, who initiates the rescue.
5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
The Rescue:
The sheep is too weak and helpless to return on its own.
The shepherd doesn't scold it or drag it; he tenderly lays it on his shoulders and carries it home.
This is a rescue of honor, not shame.
6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’
The Celebration:
The shepherd's first instinct is to invite others into his joy.
The finding of the lost is a cause for a communal party.
7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
The Punchline:
Jesus contrasts the party in heaven with the grumbling on earth.
And that phrase "righteous persons who need no repentance" is pure irony.
He's looking right at the Pharisees and saying, "...than over ninety-nine people who think they're righteous and don't believe they need to change."
B. The Parable of the Meticulous Woman (vv. 8-10):
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?
The Second Story:
Jesus tells another story to drive the point home.
A "drachma" was a day's wage; this was a significant loss.
The Search:
Look at her response.
She lights a lamp (bringing light into darkness), sweeps the house (an active, disruptive search), and seeks diligently.
This is a picture of a God who is not passive;
He is active, meticulous, and relentless.
9 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.’
The Celebration Repeated:
And when she finds it?
The same thing as the shepherd. A party.
She brings her community into her joy.
10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
The Punchline Repeated:
...And Jesus repeats the punchline, making it crystal clear in verse 10: 'There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.'
He's telling the religious leaders, 'The very people you are disgusted by are the ones all of heaven throws a party for when they come home.'"
Transition (with Series Intro):
So Jesus tells these two stories, and they both end the same way: with a party.
Heaven rejoices, the angels celebrate, all over one lost person being found.
Now, think about how this chapter started.
The religious insiders, the respectable people, were on earth grumbling.
At the exact same moment that they were complaining about who Jesus was eating with, all of heaven was getting ready to throw a party for those very same people.
That contrast puts a hard question right in front of each of us:
Whose attitude do we have?
Do we have the heart of the grumbling insiders, who are more concerned with protecting the purity of the flock?
Or do we have the heart of the searching, celebrating God, who is obsessed with finding the one?
These two stories aren't just a nice description of what God is like.
They are a window into His very heart, and they are a commission for His people.
They reveal the core values of the Upside-Down Kingdom.
So, if that's the heart of our God and the nature of His kingdom, what does that mean for us, right here, right now, at New Beginnings?
APPLICATION
1. We Need to See People Like God Sees Them.
1. We Need to See People Like God Sees Them.
The Pharisees saw sinners. God sees lost sons and daughters.
We have to train our spiritual eyes to see the immense value that God places on every single person, no matter how far they have wandered.
This is why a daily time in the Word and prayer is so crucial—it recalibrates our hearts to beat in rhythm with His.
2. We need to Join the Search Party.
2. We need to Join the Search Party.
The Christian life is not a spectator sport. We are not called to stay safely in the fold with the ninety-nine.
We are called to join the Shepherd in His search for the one.
This means being willing to go into messy places, to build relationships with people who are far from God, and to be the hands and feet of the relentless, searching love of God.
3. We Need to Learn to Throw a Party.
3. We Need to Learn to Throw a Party.
How does our church react when a messy, broken person finds their way home to God? Do we grumble like the Pharisees, worried that they'll disrupt our neat and tidy community?
Or do we rejoice like heaven?
A church called New Beginnings ought to be the best party-throwers in town for every single person who finds their new beginning in Christ.
Transition:
When a church truly grasps the heart of the searching God, it stops being an exclusive club for the found and starts being a rescue mission for the lost.
INSPIRATION/REFLECTION
Imagine a church that is known not for its perfect people, but for its passionate pursuit of the lost.
Imagine a church that is willing to leave the comfort of the ninety-nine to go out into the wilderness of our community to find the one.
Imagine a church where the sound of rejoicing over a repentant sinner is the loudest and most familiar sound we hear.
That's not just a healthy church; that's a church that has the very heart of God.
NEXT STEPS
This is how we put this into practice.
Your assignment this week has three parts that flow directly from what we've learned.
1. See Your "One."
1. See Your "One."
The first step is to see people like God sees them.
This week, I want you to ask God to open your eyes to the one person in your life—a family member, a coworker, a neighbor—who is far from Him.
Don't just identify them; pray, "God, help me see them the way you see them—as a priceless treasure worth finding." Write their name down.
2. Join the Search.
2. Join the Search.
The second step is to join the search party.
The search begins with prayer, but it must lead to action.
This week, take one small, intentional step to move toward your "one." Send an encouraging text, buy them a coffee, or simply ask them how they're really doing. Start closing the distance.
3. Plan the Party.
3. Plan the Party.
The third step is to learn to throw a party.
Heaven throws a party when a lost person is found, and that celebration starts with the prayers of God's people.
This week, tell one trusted Christian friend or your small group about your "one."
Ask them to pray with you and hold you accountable to join the search, so you'll have a party ready to go when that person comes home.
Wrap-Up Statement:
We who are found, the ninety-nine, are safe and secure in the Shepherd's care.
But our security was never meant for our comfort; it was meant for our commission.
An intentional church, a church that wants to be like Jesus, grows in two ways.
It grows deeper, as the ninety-nine are discipled to be more like the Shepherd.
And it grows wider, as those ninety-nine join the search for the one.
Our job isn't to stay in the fold. Our job is to join the search party.
So let's close by praying for the heart and the courage to be that kind of church.
Closing Prayer (The Disciple's Prayer)
Praise
Father, we praise You as the God who relentlessly searches for the lost.
We praise You for the joy of heaven that erupts when one lost soul is found.
Purpose
May our purpose be to join You in the search party for the one.
Give us Your reckless, shepherd's heart that values every single person You have made.
Provision
Provide for us Your eyes to see the value in every person we meet.
Equip us with the diligence to light a lamp and sweep the house for the ones we are called to reach.
Pardon
Forgive us for the times we have grumbled instead of rejoiced.
Forgive us for prioritizing the comfort of the ninety-nine over the rescue of the one.
Protection
Protect us from the pride that keeps us comfortable and the fear that keeps us from the mission.
Guard our hearts from the self-righteousness that writes people off.
Praise
For Yours is the Kingdom, the joy of heaven, and the glory for every lost soul that is found.
And we praise You that our own new beginning is a part of that joyful story. Amen.
