#1 All Aboard

Lost, Found, Rejoice

C.S. Lewis wrote “Joy is the serious business of Heaven”

The Lost Sheep

Knows that it is lost, but doesn’t know how to come back

Luke 15:1-7

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

The Lost Coin

Doesn’t know it’s lost and doesn’t know how to come back

Luke 15:8-10

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

The Lost Son

Know he’s lost and knows how to come back

Luke 15:12-32

“A man had two sons. 12The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.

22“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Jesus spoke these parables to answer the accusation of the Pharisees and scribes who were scandalized at his behavior. it was bad enough that Jesus welcomed the outcasts and talk to them, but he went so far as to eat with them. the Jewish religious leaders did not yet understand that the son of men had “ come to seek and to save that which was lost”

Luke 19:10 'For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”' NLT

Luke 19:10 NIV

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

Even more, they were still blind to the fact that they themselves were among the Lost.

The main message of this chapter is: God welcomes and forgives repentant sinners. but these Parables also reveal that there are two aspects to this salvation.

There is God's part: the shepherd seeks the lost sheep, the woman searches for the Lost coin.

The man's part: for the Prodigal Son willingly repented and returned home

To emphasize but one aspect is to give a false of view of salvation, for both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of men must be considered

The story of the lost sheep. The sheep was lost because of foolishness. sheep have a tendency to go astray, and that is why they need a shepherd. The scribes and Pharisees had no problem seeing the publicans and sinners as lost sheep, but they would not apply that image to themselves and yet the prophet made it clear that all of us have sinned and gone astray, and that included religious people.

Isaiah 53:6 NLT 'All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.'

Isaiah 53:6 NIV

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

1 Peter 2:25 NLT 'Once you were like sheep who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.'

1 Peter 2:25 NIV

25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

The shepherd was responsible for each sheep; one was missing and the shepherd had to pay for it unless he could prove that it was killed by a predator. This explains why he could leave the flock with other Shepherds to go and search for the missing animal and then rejoice when he found it. not to find the lost sheep It meant money out of his own pocket, Plus the disgrace of being known is a careless Shepherd.

By leaving the 99 sheep, the shepherd was not saying they were unimportant to him, they were safe but the lost sheep was in danger. The fact that the shepherd would go after one sheep is proof that each animal was dear to him. Jesus was not suggesting that the scribes and Pharisees were not in need of salvation for they certainly were.

The Lost coin:

The coin was lost because of the carelessness of others. It is a sobering thought that our carelessness at home could result in a soul being lost.

When a Jewish girl married, she began to wear a headband of 10 silver coins to signify that she was now a wife. It was the Jewish version of our modern wedding ring. and it would be considered a Calamity for her to lose one of those coins.

Palestine's houses were dark, so she had to light a lamp and search until she found the Lost coin, and we can imagine her Joy at finding it. In every coin there is on it the image of the ruler. The Lost Sinner Bears the image of God, even though that image has been marred by sin.

when the Lost Sinner is found God begins to restore that Divine image through the power of the spirit, and one day, the believer will be like Jesus Christ

These two Parables help us understand something of what it means to be lost.

To begin with it means being out of place, sheep belong with the flock, coins belong on the headband, and Lost Sinner's belong in fellowship with God.

but to be lost also means being out of service. A lost sheep is of no value to the shepherd, a lost coin has no value to the owner, and a Lost Sinner cannot experience the enriching fulfillment God has for him in Jesus Christ.

to be found (saved) means that you are back in place (reconciled to God) back in service ( life has a purpose). and out of danger. No wonder the shepherd and the woman rejoiced and invited their friends to Rejoice with them

Conclusion

Holman Bible Handbook Seek the Lost (14:25–15:32)

God rejoices in finding lost sinners, so Jesus’ call is to pursue them as one would a lost sheep, a lost coin, or a wayward son. When the lost come, open arms are to await them. Celebration and joy greet them in heaven.