Lost & Found

Welcome to Church Video

As we were getting ready for Church this morning, how many of us realized that we were coming here today to be a part of something that would be described like this? A “Revolution of Love and Freedom” Where peoples lives are transformed by the message of Jesus. Not just their spiritual lives, but the overflow of working of the Gospel in a person’s life draws them into caring for and reaching out to others like nothing else could.

Many years ago I was meeting with a teenager at the mall and as we were talking I happened to look over his shoulder and there was this older woman looking at me in the strangest way. The best description I can offer is that she was giving me the “stink eye”. I mean, she clearly did not like me for some reason, but I had never seen her before in my life. I don’t know how I realized it, but it suddenly dawned on me that she was taking offense at my t-shirt. It happened to be a cooler spring day so I was wearing a light jacket that was open in the front so the only part of my t-shirt that she could read was the part that read, “Don’t go to Church”. A rather striking t-shirt for a pastor to be wearing don’t you think. I figured it would start up conversations and get people thinking, especially when I turned around and revealed the rest of the sentence on on the back of the shirt. Well realizing that this is what was offending this woman, I stood up and took off my jacket and very intentionally turned around to place it on the back of my chair and reveal what it said on the back. The message of “Don’t go to Church” was further clarified with the message of “Be the Church” on the back. When I turned back around again to sit down I looked over at her direction and she had this big smile on her face and she was nodding her head as if to say, “Oh, I get it.”

It is true though that Church was never meant to be just something that we go to. It was designed to be something that we are. The Christian Church sits as one of the most influential forces in world history. As we were reminded in the video, the Church has played a major role in improving health care, providing education, caring for orphans, combatting slavery and many more offerings that have had world wide impact.

Why has the Christian Church been engaged in so many different things?

Because every aspect of our life is important to God, not just the zones that we have labeled “spiritual” or “religious”. If anything, any movement in a zone that we have labeled as “spiritual” should serve as a catalyst that prompts us to movement in the physical realm.

I was reading in the book of Acts this past week in my personal devotional time and I read this story in the early church where a man named Agabus, who was known to be a prophet came down to the Church in Antioch from Jerusalem and stood up and prophesied that there would be a great famine over all the world. What do you think was the response of the early Church?

in countless ways? In Health care, in Education, In protection of children, in combatting evils like slavery

Did you know all those things about the Church?

No single group in human history has contributed more to education than Christians have

Did they just pray that God would would intervene? No

No group in human history has contributed more to healthcare than Christians have

Did they cry out to God, “No God, let it not be? ” Nope

Christians, more than anyone else, have contributed to the welfare and protection of children

Did they grumble against, argue or dismiss the prophet because he brought bad news? God would never do that to us! Nope -

No other group in human history has fought the slave trade more than Christians have

No other single group in human history have contributed more to the cause of charity than Christians.

Listen to what it says that they did:

Acts 11:29–30 ESV

29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. 30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

had just become a Christian prophesied that there would be a famine, and they took up a collection right then and there. We have always been about helping people.

The famine hadn’t even started yet, and these early Christians were already sending relief to those brothers who would be the most affected by the upcoming disaster. The one that was only known about because a prophet stood up and told them it would happen.

Sometimes I wonder if we have so seperated the supernatural

One of the biggest dangers for a Christian is when they start building a divide in between the “spiritual” parts of our life and all the other ones. So many people have wandered from the truth because they thought that one need not affect the other.

Sometimes this looks like being very good at pretending when we come to Church on Sundays. We put on a good face, even while we are living the rest of our lives in rebellion against God and his commands. No one from our “Church World” really knows about the rest of our life so they think we have it all together.

Other times the difference is more of an external/internal thing. Maybe our friends at Church have access to the rest of our week and we like it this way. We live our lives in such a way that everything that someone might see on the outside appears honorable. Inside, however, our motives for our “right” behavior are all twisted, but it seems that we have it all together.

“It’s just business, ok”

“That is how things work out here in the real world”

“It’s a dog eat dog world, and if you can’t hang with the big dogs you better stay on the porch.

Sometimes it’s more of an external/internal thing. People have access to all of our doings inside and outside of the Church. We need them to be aware of such things. We pride ourselves on being morally disciplined as far as anyone else can tell on the outside, but inside we are doing it all for the wrong reasons. We are either motivated by the approval of those who see our good works, or we think that we have somehow earned some sway with “The big man upstairs” because we are putting in a lot of time an effort. Unlike some other people I can mention.

The problem with coming across as if you don’t need anything, as if you got this all together is that:

The problem with coming across as if you don’t need any help, as if you got this all together is that:

Have you ever thought about that. The only thing that qualifies a person for being saved by Jesus is that you are lost without him. The only thing that makes us “worthy” of being saved by Jesus is the fact that we are sinners in need of being saved. We bring nothing to the table but our need for salvation.

But often we like to pretend that all the sinners are out there, outside the Church, but in here we are the saints.

Now we could make a case for that label, as the New Testament often refers to Christians as “the Saints” but I don’t see any where in Scripture where it tells us that we should forget that we were once sinners.

In fact, the Apostle Paul says it this way:

1 Timothy 1:15 ESV

15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

Some translations say, “Worse”. Notice Paul didn’t say that he “was” the worst sinner but that “I am the Worse”. Clearly, he has not forgotten how he once acted in open rebellion against God, even though at this very moment he stands in a right relationship with Him.

Some people would say that when a Christian says that he is still a “sinner” when he has been saved by God’s grace then it lessens the fullness of what Christ has done for you. I can understand that perspective. As “New Creations in Christ” we need to both recognize and live in our new identity. I get that. So consistently referring to ourselves as sinners might not be the best practice. maybe the best thing would be to just remember that we were once sinners. So we were previously sinners, now becoming saints by God’s grace.

To the Church in Corinth Paul wrote:

1 Corinthians 6:9–11 ESV

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

You were these things, but now you are not.

I wonder though, if we are going to qualify ourselves with a reference to what we once were, would it be appropriate then to reference others by what they may become? At times, I have become fond of using the term “Pre-Christian”. How does that sit with us?

Or do we prefer to just call them sinners?

15 minutes into my sermon and I haven’t even gotten to our text yet. Don’t panic, It is part of a plan. I felt the need this morning to lay a solid foundation because we are going to tackle a very well known parable of Jesus. I wanted us to start with some personal reflection to help orient or position ourselves in such a way that we could better understand what Jesus is trying to say.

If 15 minutes is all the attention span you have this morning, then let me give you the rest of the sermon in just one verse:

Luke 19:10 NIV

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

One of Jesus’ favorite ways of refereing to himself is “the Son of Man” so here he is saying that this is the reason that he has come - to seek and save the lost. That is the big truth for today, that Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.

That is the basis for the rest of Jesus’ teaching this morning, the only questions that I am going to ask is as followers of Jesus, how are we doing following Him into this?

The New International Version. (2011). (Lk 19:10). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

That leaves us with some follow up questions doesn’t it? Questions like, who is the lost, how did they get lost and how will they be found. These are the questions that we will continue to tackle this morning, if you are still with me.

ThatThat is the basis for the rest of Jesus’ teaching this morning, the only questions that I am going to ask is as followers of Jesus, how are we doing following Him into this?

For the cliff noters, that might be enough, but for the rest of us it leaves us with some follow up questions doesn’t it? Most importantly who is the lost and how will they be found. These are the questions that we will continue to tackle this morning, if you are still with me.

That is the basis for the rest of Jesus’ teaching this morning, the only questions that I am going to ask is as followers of Jesus, how are we doing following Him into this?

So if you haven’t already, turn with me to (p 874) in the Bibles in the Chairs and I’ll pray and we will continue to learn from Jesus together.

This has been true for 2,000 years. I was reading in the book of Acts this past week in my personal devotional time and I read this story in the early church where a man who had just become a Christian prophesied that there would be a famine, and they took up a collection right then and there. We have always been about helping people.

How are we doing today?

I want to “really” help people! Not enable them to continue in poor decision making processes that destroy themeslves and their families.

Are we turning people away because they are not_____________ enough? Isn’t

God is in the business of seeking the lost, how are we doing as a Church in our part of doing that?

If you were here last week then you might remember how Jesus had just spoken some of the severest things about the cost of being his disciple. If you truly want to follow after Jesus then it will come at a cost. That cost will be “Up to everything that you have”. That we have given everything we have to Jesus, and we will trust him to use it anyway he see fits.

If he asks us to continue to manage all the stuff in our life that we have been managing then we will manage it now for his glory.

If he wants to take some of His stuff that we have been managing and give it to someone else to manage, then we will trust him with that. It was a hard teaching.

That just like there is no such thing as salt that isn’t “salty” there is no such thing as a follower of Jesus that isn’t following Jesus... even if that means following him into difficult times. We could lose relationships, our possessions, our reputation, everything up to our own life - but a true disciple knows the value of Jesus is greater than anything that we might be asked to give up for him. The specifics of each sacrifice might look different, but the willingness to give up to anything is common among all Jesus’ disciples.

Then Jesus closes this teaching with a poetic statement that he has used before. He said:

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

In other words, if you are able to understand what I am saying, if you can receive it and understand it then I welcome you to do so. This is particularly interesting when we read the description that Luke uses to introduce us to our text for today.

This is particularly interesting when we read the description that Luke uses to introduce us to the next three parables.

Luke 14:34–35 ESV

34 “Salt is good, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? 35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Then we find the tax collectors and sinners drawing near to “hear” him, but the Pharisees just complaining because Jesus is violating their traditions again.

Luke 15:1–2 ESV

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

The use of the word “all” here tells us that Luke is not just speaking of a one time event, but something that Jesus was known for. Sinners and Tax Collectors were constantly drawing near to Jesus, why? In order to HEAR him. He who has ears, let him hear.

Notice how Luke puts that up against the response of the Pharisees and the scribes. Not only were they not interested in hearing Jesus, they were grumbling about those who were. It wasn’t just that these “sinners” were listening to Jesus, but that Jesus was eating with them. That meant that they were welcomed in Jesus’ company.

So Jesus begins to teach them all about how God feels about those who were drawing in to hear him. He shares two stories, the first one was aimed at the men in the crowd, and the second seems to be have directed more toward any women who might have been listening that day.

The first one was aimed at the men in the crowd, and the second seems to be have directed more toward the ladies.

Luke 15:3–6 ESV

3 So he told them this parable: 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? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 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.’

Luke 15:3–7 ESV

3 So he told them this parable: 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? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 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.’ 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.

It appears that Jesus knows that these men would have related to this story, as He begins with “What man of you...” This was a common enough experience that most all the men there would have connected with it.

The idea was that even though you had 99 sheep safe and sound, it was not ok to have lost even one. Sheep are heard animals, so they typically will travel with the rest of the flock, but every once in while one of them gets curious, or spooked or just gets turned around and then can’t find their way back. They get lost.

So the Shepherd has to determine if the one sheep is worth leaving the rest of the flock unattended while he goes and looks for the wandering sheep. The way Jesus tells this story indicates that all the men listening would have agreed that the clear answer was that the one sheep was worth going after.

Not only does he decide to go after the sheep, when he finds it, there is a lot of rejoicing that happens because this Shepherd found the lost sheep.

I am not a sheep farmer, so I can’t relate to that directly, but I figure the best way for us to understand it is to consider what I might do if my dog wandered off. I could see myself stopping what I was doing and going after him. I would walk through our woods for as long as it takes and then I can imagine my relief to finally have found him. I can image the relief of my family and even my friends as I tell them the story. We certainly would rejoice over my lost dog being found.

This seems to be close to what this Shepherd was experiencing and what would have been expected by the men who were listening to the story.

Now that Jesus has them thinking about the joy of a Shepherd over the return of a lost sheep, he connects it to how God feels about sinners.

Luke 15:7 ESV

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 Parable of the Prodigal Son

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. When lost sinners are found, God rejoices

Clearly Jesus intended for the “lost sheep” to represent the “sinners” who he had welcomed into his company and who the Pharisees were complaining about. He wanted them to hear how God rejoices over their coming to hear from Jesus.

What is less clear is who is the 99 who need no repentance. Of course the religious leaders would have gladly assumed that description for themselves, but as we have been studying the book of Luke, we know that has not been a part of Jesus’ message.

While most of our Bibles label these three stories as three separate parables, there are some good reasons to see these three stories as all a parts of one Parable. One reason is that the text itself in verse 3 only mentions the word “parable” in the singular tense, but I think even more important than that is how much of the message you will miss if you only take on of three stories to heart. These first two stories are focused on how much one rejoices when something that was lost is now found.

There are really three stories involved in this one parable, so we should go on to hear from the other two before we try sumize the full message that Jesus is after in this. So lets take a look at the second story in this parable, this time Jesus appears to be working toward a connection with the women listening that day:

So lets take a look at the second story in this parable, this time Jesus appears to be working toward a connection with the women listening that day:

Luke 15:8–10 ESV

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? 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.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:8–9 ESV

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? 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.’

While the characters and setting has changed, many of the themes remain in this second story. This time it is a woman who has lost 1 out of 10 coins and it seems again to be understood that any woman listening that day could have related to the urgency involved in finding the lost coin.

There are varied understandings of the significance of the coin. It is thought to have probably been a drachma, so it would have been worth about a days wages, or about $200 today. That would definately be worth searching for in my house. Some have postulated that their was more involved than just monetary value, as the coin might have been a part of a set of 10 coins that were part of a headress worn by married women. That would make it equivalent to something like losing a wedding ring today. I imagine most every woman in the room can relate to that idea of seeking urgently for a lost wedding ring. There are probably a lot of stories about this among us.

Jesus is telling these first two stories of this parable to help the men and the women connect with the feeling of joy that they would experience when something they greatly valued was lost, and then it was found, so that they could better understand God feels when something he values, lost sinners, are found.

For at the end of the story of the lost coin he says:

Luke 15:10 ESV

10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The main characters in these first two stories are not the lost sheep and the lost coin. The main character is the one who has felt the weight of the loss, and then felt the joy of that particular item of value being found again. That is what Jesus is trying to get his audience to connect with. In these stories it was the shepherd and the woman over a sheep and coin, but in the summaries it is the God of heaven who rejoices over the return of a lost sinner.

But that still leaves us with our question of who is the lost and how are they found. It is the third story that leads us into these answers.

Then in each story Jesus quickly summarizes with the truth that the lost item of value is a sinner who,

But that still leaves us with our question of who is the lost and how are they found. It is the third story that leads us into these answers.

Jesus reached out to the Lost

Parable of Lost Sheep

Luke 15:11–13 ESV

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.

The third story that Jesus tells moves beyond just deepen our understanding of God’s heart for lost sinners, as it introduces us to two other characters. In this story we can more clearly see Jesus teaching about the “sinners” and the “religious leaders” that were listening that day.

Parable of Lost Coin

We call these stories the parables , We might have labled these first two stories wrong because they are really more about the one se...

Luke 15:11–16 ESV

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

Luke 15:11–32 ESV

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

Luke 15:11–14 ESV

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.

Luke 15:11–32 ESV

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

Last week we talked about some of the differences between how the people in Jesus’ day saw family and how we see it today. What we would call our “Extended Family” was more like your immediate family in Jesus’ day. So here we see the Patriarch, the Father, having the authority over the finances for the entire family, including that of his two sons. They would get to control their share of the finances, after their father has died. The younger rebellious son, however, wanted his part of the estate right now.

So in the F

The younger rebellious son, however, wanted his part of the estate right now.

It’s important to understand what the Son was saying in this demand. It was not just that he was greedy and wanted money, it was that he wanted his share of the money so that he could leave. In other words, this Son was saying to the Father, I want your money, I just don’t need you anymore. I don’t need your guidance. I don’t need your wisdom. I don’t need your protection or provision and I certainly don’t need your rules or authority. I will do just fine on my own without you. And the Father gives him the freedom to do with his life as he has asked.

Last week we talked about some of the differences between how the people in Jesus’ day saw family and how we see it today. What we would call our “Extended Family” was more like your immediate family in Jesus’ day. So here we see the Patriarch, the Father, having the authority over the finances for the entire family, including his two sons. The typical way that this would happen is that that sons “share” of the property would have been given him upon the Father’s death, but this rebellious son wanted his part of the estate right now. And not only that, he wanted his share so that he could leave the Family. In other words, the Son was saying, I want your money, I just don’t want you anymore. I don’t want your rules. I don’t want your authority. I don’t want your correction or your guidance, I don’t want to have anything to do with you, I want to live my own life in my own way without you telling me what I can and cannot do.

Sounds familiar doesn’t it? It rings of the rebellious heart found in every man and woman. And just like many of the lies that we believe, things seemed to be going well for a while - until they didn’t.

Luke 15:11–32 NIV

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ “ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”

Luke 15:14–16 ESV

And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

The end result of this young man’s “reckless” living was that he had now sunk as low as you can go. You and I can understand how degrading it is for a man to be so hungry that he wanted to eat pig slop, but this was much lower than that for a Jewish young man. The Jewish law specifically forbid even touching pigs, so working for a pig farmer was out of the question. We can know that he didn’t go from living large, to going broke and then working for the farmer. He would tried many other corrupt options before he would ended up here.

It’s interesting to me how many times I have overlooked the major plot twist of the famine. It is probably because I am have never experienced a famine, but I guarantee you that anyone who has gone through a legitimate famine would not read over that word so quickly. You see it was not just that he ran out of money. He probably “bought” a lot of favors from people in that season, but it was money poorly invested. Even money doesn’t mean as much when the entire country is in a famine.

Have you ever met someone with a story like this? Maybe part of your story is like this. You make some bad decision and for a season things seem fine so you just keep going on that path, until something you never expected hits.

You make some bad decision and for a season things seem fine so you just keep going on that path, until something you never expected hits. We tend to overlook that part of this story as we relate more easily to the “reckless” living part. He went to a pagan land, wasted all his money, we get that - but then a natural disaster hits and he has nothing and no one to turn to. So now all he sees to do is to follow his last bad choices with another then another until they found themselves somewhere they never would have imagined, seeing themselves do things they never would have dared even think about doing not too long ago.

We tend to overlook that part of this story as we relate more easily to the “reckless” living part. He went to a pagan land, wasted all his money, we get that - but then a natural disaster hits and he has nothing and no one to turn to. We distance ourselves from the young man plight because if we ran away we would be wiser with our money - but money doesn’t stop Famines.

This young man in now just trying to survive in a pagan land that is just trying to survive - if that doesn’t paint a picture of our world without Jesus. It is a dog eat dog world so you better have an even bigger bite than your bark. And on bad choice follows another after another and another - until he finds himself somewhere he never would have imagined, doing things he would never would have done.

This is what being lost is. You no longer know the truth about who you are, where you belong, or why you are here. You just keep doing the only things available to you to survive, and even though you know that what you are doing is not working, it is all you can see to do - unless something comes along to show you the truth again.

You no longer know who you are, where you belong, or why you are here. You just keep doing the only things available to you to survive, and all you have is this ever fading hope that there is something better, but you can’t figure out how to get there.

all you have is this ever fading hope that there might be something better, but you can’t figure out how to get there.

There is a old saying that when you hit rock bottom, look up.

Luke 15:17–19 ESV

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’

Here we see one of the major distinctives between this “lost” story and the other two. The turning point in the other two stories came when the seeker found the lost item. In this story, it is the memory of goodness and kindness of his Father that brings him to be found. In the summaries of the first two stories when does it say that God rejoices? When one sinner repents.

Look at the summations of the two other stories in this parable - when does it say that God rejoices? When one sinner repents.

Do you know what the word “Repentance” means? The Greek Word for Repentance is μετανοέω metah-no-a-o and along with to repent it means to “change ones mind”. It is not just that you are sorry about something, but that you have changed what you believe about that something.

The Greek Word for Repentance is μετανοέω metah-no-a-o and along with repent it means to “change ones mind”. It is not just that you are sorry that you have done something, but that you have changed what you believe about that something, or someone.

-

This young man had changed his mind about what he believed about his Father, and he changed his mind about what he believed about himself.

What did the young man change his mind about? His Father

When he first left home it was

Remember at the beginning of the story, how the son thought that he was better off without his Father. That he didn’t need him or want him in any way. He left and decided to do things his own way - and then realized how wrong he was. He remembered the goodness of his Father, how even his servants were treated well. He left thinking he was too good for His Father, but now he hopes that he is just good enough to be allowed to serve him as a lowly servant.

But now he has changed his mind about his father hasn’t he, and he has changed his mind about himself. While he once believed he was worthy of having his inheritance given to him so that he could rule his own fate, he now believed that even being a hired hand in his fathers house would be better than living without him.

But he has changed his mind hadn’t he. So much so that he believed that even being a hired hand in his fathers house would be better than being without him. He no longer claimed the rights of a son, but just to return to any place in his Fathers household would be enough for him.

Now, if all he had was the realization that things would be better if he was back home he would only have regret, not repentance. Repentance is not just thinking different, it is believing differently. And when we truly believe differently, we act differently.

If all he had was the realization that things would be better if he was back home he would only have regret, not repentance. Repentance is not just thinking differenty, it is believing differently. And when we truly believe differently, we act differently.

He realiz

Worthy!

Notice his resolve as he declares that I will arise. I will go to my Father. I will humbly repent before him, admitting my sin and folly and asking to become a part of his household again. His belief was proven not in new thoughts, but in new actions. So he left for home…and this is the part of the story that we all love:

Notice how much initiative is not being taken by this son in his repentance. Since he believes differently, he is acting differently. I will arise. I will go to my Father. I will humbly repent before him, admitting my sin and folly and asking to become a part of his household again.

Luke 15:20–24 ESV

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

But that was only because he did not understand the heart of his Father toward his returning son.

We love this part! It so accurately describes the extravagant love of the Father for his son, just as it describes God’s extravagant love for his Children. The son knew he was hardly worth being called a lowly servant, and yet his Father honored him as His Son. He was lost, but now is found. And the repeated theme of rejoicing returns.

Luke 15:20–25 ESV

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.

Luke 15:20–24 ESV

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Jesus could have stopped here. These three stories solidly establish God’s love for lost sinners. But Jesus wanted to do more. The Religious leaders might have gotten the picture so far, but Jesus wanted to make sure that they knew their place in this teaching. So he adds another scene to the last story.

Had his Father been waiting for him? Straining his eyes down the road every day to see if maybe this was the day that his son would change his mind and come home? We don’t really know, but it certainly would seem a possibility in the extravagant way in which he welcomed home his son. His son didn’t even get all the way through his rehearsed speach when his father publically declared him as His Son. Not only did he use the words but he commanded his servants to honor him as the Son that he is.

But Jesus wanted to do more. The Religious leaders might have gotten the picture so far, but Jesus wanted to make sure that they knew their place in this teaching. So he adds another scene to the last story.

Luke 15:25–27 ESV

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’

Now if Jesus had stopped here then he would have three well spoken parables that would have taught well about how much God loves lost sinners. They all some similarities.

Something was Lost

It was worth looking for

It was Sought After

It was Found

There was great rejoicing.

The Religious Leaders could have gotten the picture so far. God even loves these filthy sinners that Jesus has welcomed and they have despised. But Jesus isn’t finished yet, He wants these Religious leaders to also see themselves in his Parable. So he adds one more scene.

But Jesus didn’t stop here, he added another scene to this last story that

At first we see the older son in a somewhat positive light don’t we. While the younger son was out being reckless, the older son was home being responsible. He was out working in the field. There is something to be said for this, isn’t there, but his response to his Fathers decision reveals something of his heart.

Luke 15:25–32 ESV

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

Luke 15:28–30 ESV

But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’

If the first part of this story is about the Prodigal son, then this part is about the Prideful Son. He is doing all these things that his Father expects of him and where is his party. What does this show us about the heart of the Prideful Son? Has he been obeying his Fathers command out of love for his Father, understanding that his Father is leading him into good things...or has he been obeying for some other reason. Did you hear the pride in the words of the older son - I have have never disobeyed your command…so where is my party?

Still, the Father shows compassion to both of his Sons as he answers the Prideful one:

Luke 15:31–32 ESV

And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

What Jesus seems to be telling the Religious leaders that day is that both sons were lost in different ways. One in a very physical, outward and reckless way where it was easy to tell that his heart was not right with his Father and the second one in an inward way.

In some ways the second one is much more dangerous. You look good on the outside. You look responsible. You look disciplined. You look like you have it all together - but you know how you can tell that you don’t. How do you feel about people who are “recklessly” lost? Do you find great joy when they come in to hear about Jesus, or do you really wish that they would keep their problems, issues and hang ups outside the boundaries of your “responsible” life?

And we don’t know the rest of the Prideful son’s story. We are basically left hanging. Did the older son repent? Did he eventually join the celebration? Or in his anger did he leave, and maybe head down a path just as destructive or even more so than his younger brother.

The Prodigal Son displayed his pride outwardly, as he abandon his family and chose an openly reckless life. But when he saw how lost he was, he repented and humbly returned to serve his Father in whatever way He would allow.

The Prideful Son hid his pride behind diligent service to the family. He faithfully continued serving the family and chose what would have been seen as “the responsible life”. But when his Father welcomed home his sinful brother, prideful was revealed.

And we don’t know the rest of the Prideful son’s story. We are basically left hanging. Did the older son repent? Did he eventually join the celebration? Or did he leave, and maybe head down a path just as destructive or even more so than his younger brother.

The p

At the point that Jesus leaves us in the story all we know is that the Repentant Prodigal son is inside celebrating with the Father, and the Responsible Prideful son is outside of the celebration and distant from his Father.

Lost and Found. One was Lost and now is Found. The other, just found out He is Lost and we don’t know what he is going to do with that yet.

One was Lost and now is Found.

The other, just found out He is Lost

Which one of these two sons do you best relate to this morning?

I would venture to guess that each of us has a tendency to relate better to one of these two sons over the other.

Some of us are here this morning and we are we are doing a pretty good job in hiding our “reckless” life. People here don’t really know what we have been up to last month, last week, last night...and we are doing our best to make sure they don’t find out. We started doing some things that we knew weren’t “great” but things seem to be going fine, so we just keep going on that path. If that is us, then we need to ask ourselves, “What happens when the “Famine” hits?”. Let me encourage you to rething what you believe about God. Why does he forbid us from doing certain things, is it because he wants us to be miserable and tortured? Or is it because he loves us and wants us to thrive in the only way possible for people who were made in his image. He loves you, he doesn’t want you to suffer the harm of the reckless life that you are living. If you have ears to hear, know that Jesus welcomes you home and rejoices over your return.

Others of us are here today and we have never wandered away from the straight and narrow. We are more the responsible types. We would say along with the Older Son, “I never disobeyed” but if we are honest, our loyalty is more to keeping our track record clean then it is about obeying the God who so extravagantly loves us. I am convinced that one of the surefire tests about whether your heart is right with God is to ask yourself if you love what God loves. God loves when “recklessly” lost people return to him. Do we?

Even as a Church are we willing to ourselves up to people who have checkered pasts but have ears to hear what Jesus says about him. What would that look like for us? How could we be that kind of Church? Jesus came to see and save the lost, are we getting that message out to them, wherever they may be?

our response to the Love of God. Pride is a tricky thing, that is why it is one of Satan’s favorite tactics. It can so easily be dressed up to look like diligence, responsibility, and honor. Unless those things are aimed at pleasing God, then they are being done in Pride.

Lastly, I think we need to consider how we look at those who are not yet a part of the Church. Dare we call them “Pre-Christins”? It was the known sinners that were drawn to Jesus. Those whose sin was evident on the outside. Do we hope for those people to be drawn in to our Church to hear the message of hope found in Jesus Christ? Or are we more interested in reaching out to those who appear to be “responsible” “diligent” “stable”. It’s possible that those traits only go skin deep.

So what can we each personally take away from Jesus’ teaching today?

Which one of the two sons in the last story do you relate better to? So what can we each personally take away from Jesus’ teaching today?

Well remember that Jesus has told these stories in response to the grumblings of the Pharisees and Scribes. They saw “sinners” being welcomed by Jesus and it made them angry. Much like the Older Prideful Son. Jesus wanted them to see how much God rejoices when sinners repent and come back to God, and that God the Father is calling them to rejoice with Him over their repentance.

Is that what we do?

One was Lost and now is Found.

Well individually, we need to take a look at our own lives and discover where we are when it comes to

The other one just found our He is Lost

The Religious

Father came out for both ??????

In closing this morning I just want to remind us of the character of God the Father, as Jesus revealed it in this last story. The Father went out to both his sons. Whether you find yourself close to the prodigal son, or closer to the prideful one - God is lovingly patient with you and desires for you to believe the right things about him, and about his love for you. It is his kindness that leads us to repentance, to changing our mind about how much we are lost without him.

If something today has struck you and you want to talk to someone about it, I would love to talk to you...

Day for heaven to rejoice over even one person who was lost and now is found.

Lost & Found

Introduction

Tension

Jesus only rescues lost people!

Transitional Statement

God is in the business of seeking the lost, how are we doing as a Church in our part of doing that?

Truth

God rejoices when lost sinners are found.

God rejoices when lost sinners are found

Lost sinners are found in Repentance

Repentance requires admitting you are lost.

God Rejoices when Lost are found

Gospel Application

Landing

Lost & Found

Introduction

Tension

Jesus only rescues lost people!

Transitional Statement

God is in the business of seeking the lost, how are we doing as a Church in our part of doing that?

Truth

​

God rejoices when lost sinners are found.

God rejoices when lost sinners are found

Lost sinners are found in Repentance

Repentance requires admitting you are lost.

God Rejoices when Lost are found

​

Gospel Application

Landing