The last stanza of the hymn, ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus reads: “I’m so glad I learned to trust him, Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend; And I know that he is with me, Will be with me to the end.”

Jesus is our friend. He’s the best friend we could ever have.

In John’s gospel, Jesus told his disciples, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. 14 Ye are my friends . . .” (John 15:13-14) KJV

This morning’s message is the second part of one message that I began preaching last Sunday. It is based on three parables that Jesus told about things that get lost—a lost sheep, a lost coin, and a lost boy. They are parables that illustrate to what lengths a loving heavenly Father will go to in order to seek and to save lost people. After all, Jesus told his disciples that was the reason for his coming. In Luke 19:10 “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” KJV

If you remember, the Jewish religious leaders are agitated about the company that Jesus has been keeping. Luke 15:1-2 "Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” NIV

In answer to their criticism, our Lord tells a parable. It's a parable with three stories that reveal just how great friend to sinners and outcasts Jesus is.

Why do we need a friend like Jesus?

I. WE NEED A FRIEND LIKE JESUS BECAUSE WE ARE ALL LIKE LOST COINS

the second story of this parable reminds us that we are worthless without Christ

Luke 15:8-10 "Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."

what are coins made to do?

coins are created with a purpose – they are made to be spent

they are not made to be lost

if a coin is lost, it is out of circulation
if it is lost, it is not doing the thing it was minted to do – it has become worthless

By September of 1857, the Central America had completed 43 round trips and had once again set sail from Panama for New York City. According to the stories reported in the newspapers of that day, there were 476 passengers and 102 crewmen aboard the ship. The ship also carried approximately three tons of gold bound for New York banks and businesses – gold bars and freshly minted gold dollars. In addition to the gold bound for New York, there were many individual prospectors on board carrying the gold they had found. Off the coast of North Carolina, the ship was battered by a hurricane. She ultimately sank in over 8,000 feet of ocean with all of her gold and most of her passengers. Just think of it, all that gold just sitting on the bottom of the ocean. In the depths of the sea it's worthless – just yellow metal sitting in the mud. In 1988 a team of treasure hunters from Columbus, Ohio, located the wreck and in 1998 they began bringing the gold to the surface using a remote controlled robot named `Nemo.’ For an investment of about $4 million dollars a billion dollars worth of gold was recovered. But as long as all that gold was lost in the blackness of the ocean it was worthless. Only after is was recovered was it worth anything once more.

A. MAN IS WORTHLESS UNLESS HE IS DOING WHAT HE WAS CREATED FOR

just as a coin was created for a purpose so were you

what is that purpose you ask?

you were created to bring glory and honor to God with your life

"he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— "to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." (Ephesians 1:5-6,NIV)
"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, "in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:11-12,NIV)
"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, "who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14,NIV)
"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, "so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11,NIV)
"for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." (1 Corinthians 6:20,ESV)
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31,ESV)
"Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation." (1 Peter 2:12,ESV)

understanding why God created you is the most important thing in life

knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life – because without purpose your life has no meaning
knowing your purpose simplifies your life – it defines what you do and what you don’t do
knowing your purpose focuses your life – it helps concentrate your effort and energy on what’s truly important
knowing your purpose motivates your life – purpose always produces passion, and energizes us
knowing your purpose prepares you for eternity – what ultimately matters most will not be what others say about your life but what God says

in your sinful and lost condition, however, you can never bring praise and glory to God

in this second story, Jesus speaks of the worthlessness of man without Christ
the Bible describes the unsaved person in these words, "All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:12,NIV)

but God treasures all those who belong to Him

we know this because of God’s diligent searching for us

like a Shepherd seeking one lost sheep, God searches for us
like a woman searching for one lost coin, God combs the house for us
like a father searching for one lost son, God throws His arms around us when we repent and come home

that is why God sent His Son into the world

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

B. THE CONDITION OF THE LOST COIN REPRESENTS THE CONDITION OF THE LOST MAN

it was lost in darkness

v. 8 "Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle ... “

the sinner is also lost in darkness

John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

it was lost in dirtiness

v. 8 ". . . and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?"

the lost coin is somewhere down in the dirt on the floor
in Ephesians 4:22 Paul writes that our old nature is corrupt and full of deceitful lusts

the word corrupt means rotten or worthless
it is sin that makes the sinner rotten and worthless and dirty in God’s sight

In a Dennis the Menace cartoon, Dennis has come in from play outside. He is filthy dirty and has traipsed mud into the house. His mother is furious, and demands that he march himself upstairs and take a bath. Dennis replies, “Aw, mom. Can’t you just dust me off a little?”

the lost sinner never quite sees his dirtiness as God see it

ILLUS.

Man calls it an accident; God calls it an abomination.

Man calls it a blunder; God calls it blindness.

Man calls it a defect; God calls it a disease.

Man calls it a chance; God calls it a choice.

Man calls it an error; God calls it an enmity.

Man calls it an infirmity; God calls it an iniquity.

Man calls it a luxury; God calls it a leprosy.

Man calls it a liberty; God calls it lawlessness.

Man calls it a trifle; God calls it a tragedy.

Man calls it a mistake; God calls it a madness.

Man calls it a weakness; God calls it willfulness.

the sinner is lost in dirtiness

Isa. 64:6 "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

it was lost in disgrace

now I know what some of you are thinking . . .
this woman lost a coin – big deal – why would she turn the house upside down looking for it and why would Jesus tell such a story?
in our culture the story make little sense
in that culture in that day, this was a very big deal because this was no ordinary coin

ILLUS. This coin was part of a set of ten coins. This single coin had more than just monetary value. It had sentimental value and social significance. When a husband took a bride, he would give her a ribbon on which would be strung ten coins. The bride would wear this token of love on her forehead as we wear rings on our fingers today. These coins represented a love gift and reminded the woman that her faithfulness and fidelity belonged to her husband. Often on each piece of silver, the name of the husband would be engraved. But if the woman was ever caught in adultery, if she were unfaithful to him, one of the coins would be taken out, leaving a gap to show that she had disgraced her marriage vows. You can imagine why a wife who lost such a coin would frantically search for that coin and why she would call in her neighbors and good friends to help her search. It wasn't as if she lost a few dollars; her reputation was at stake. If the coin remained missing, she would likely be disgraced.

Jesus is the friend of those who are lost in darkness and dirtiness and disgrace

II. GOD SEARCHES DILIGENTLY FOR THOSE WHO ARE HIS

if a woman searches carefully for one lost coin and exults over finding it, then it stands to reason that God will search diligently for those who are lost, rejoicing greatly over their repentance

A. THE SEARCH

it’s a diligent search

v. 8 " ... does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?" (Luke 15:8,ESV)

this woman is going to leave no corner unexamined, no cupboard unexplored, no nook or cranny uninvestigated

this coin in significant, and she is going find it no matter what

here is a wonderful picture of God

sinners cannot hide from God

ILLUS. Noah got on a ship bound for Tarshish to flee from the presence of the Lord. But God knew where he was, and where he was heading, and found him even though Jonah had hidden himself in the hold of the ship believing that God would not find him there.

God seeks with a specific purpose – to find those who are lost in sin, but who belong to Him

He uses the light of the Scripture to reveal the Gospel story – that His only begotten Son came and died as an atoning sacrifice for your sin
He uses the Holy Spirit to sweep away the dirtiness and disgrace through the miracle of regeneration
He does not stop extending grace and mercy until you repent and come to the One who has so diligently sought you

"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. "By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:16-19,ESV)

B. THE SIGHTING

it’s a triumphant search

"And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, ... " (Luke 15:9,ESV)

this woman’s uncompromising devotion to the search ends in great triumph

she finds her lost coin!

her immediate reaction is to bring friends and neighbors in for a time of rejoicing

with excitement she recounts all the details of her search

God has a deep interest in sinners and joy in their conversion and salvation

it is easy for us today to read these three parables and take their message for granted
but the people who heard them would have been shocked
Jesus was saying that God actually searches for lost sinners!

no wonder the Scribes and Pharisees were offended
in their legalistic theology there was no place for a God who sought after sinners
they had forgotten that God had sought out Adam and Eve when they had sinned and hidden from God

"And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. "But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”" (Genesis 3:8-9,ESV)

C. THE SINGING

it’s a jubilant search

"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.’ "Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”" (Luke 15:9-10,ESV)

the repentance and conversion of sinners on earth are a matter of great joy and rejoicing in heaven

When Thoreau, the naturalist, was close to death, he was visited by a very pious aunt who asked, “Henry, have you made your peace with God?”

“I didn’t know that we had ever quarreled,” was Thoreau’s answer.

And in his answer he revealed his profound spiritual ignorance. Too many people are like him. They are utterly unconscious of the fact that they have sinned against God and so have “quarreled” with Him, and are really lost and separated from God. The first step in coming to Christ is to realize one is a sinner, a lost sinner.

Thoreau’s answer revealed that he still was a lost man: he didn’t know he was lost and so he had never come to Christ to get saved. Here is the truth about man’s sin and lost condition by nature.

Jesus: Friend of Sinners Part 2