Loving God (2)

The Chaos of Loss

Earlier this week Cindy realized that her car keys were missing. It was made a bit harder because we have 2 families in the same house and Jesse had been borrowing the car to get the kids from school. Cindy checked her purse…no keys. Jesse checked his room and his office…no keys. Jessica checked their room and Jesse’s office (because, as we all know, a man cannot find anything without his wife’s help) … still, no keys.

Lostness is a terror of its own. Loss is terrifying…maybe not keys, but have you ever lost a child at a mall or been lost in the woods? Have you ever misplaced your wedding ring? Have you ever been cheated out of money? There is a sickening feeling that overcomes you and the chaos of loss sets in.

Eventually the car keys were found. They were in an ordinary place. Someone just overlooked them. But, for a few hours the chaos was real. It was felt. But car keys are really a small concern.

God Cares about the Lost

Have you ever wondered if God even cares? Here you and I are in this world, living our lives. We are experiencing life and living out all the ups and downs that we experience in this world. Tragedy and pain speak loudest, and we may wonder from time to time if God even cares.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus gives us an idea of how much God cares about us. Jesus tells a series of parables about the same thing – lostness. There is a lost coin, a lost sheep, and a lost son. All are found and all are celebrated. Let’s take a look at the parable of the lost sheep.

Luke 15:1–7 NIV

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

You might think that a shepherd over 100 sheep would consider the loss of 1 to be an acceptable loss but Jesus tells us that it is not. In fact, the shepherd is so disturbed that he leaves the 99 behind and goes after the one.

God is the Good Shepherd

God is good. This sounds very simplistic, but it is profound. Consider what spurred Jesus to tell this parable. It was a complaint that Jesus was welcoming and eating with sinners. “God’s love for each individual is so great that he seeks each one out and rejoices when he or she is “found.” Jesus associated with sinners because he wanted to bring the lost sheep—people considered beyond hope—the good news of God’s kingdom. Just as the shepherd took the initiative to go out and find the sheep, so Jesus actively seeks lost souls.”[1]

The notion that God is perfectly displayed beyond bulletproof glass – able to be viewed and described but not able to be touched is an outright lie from the devil.

Isaiah 40:10–11 NIV

See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

I love the image that this verse creates. God is interacting with the lambs. He is gathering, carrying, and leading them. Cindy in the last couple years or so, Cindy has repeatedly pointed to the evening sky and said, “God is doing that for me!” It could be described as light waves refracting through ice and water particles in the atmosphere but then we’d have to understand how natural laws were established and we are back at God. God is good. And, yes, God is doing that for us.

God is Busy with Finding the Lost

It may seem odd that Jesus chose to use the principal characters of a shepherd and a woman in 2 of the 3 parables. Neither character held much esteem in the culture of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law.

‘As a class shepherds had a bad reputation. The nature of their calling kept them from observing the ceremonial law which meant so much to religious people. More regrettable was their unfortunate habit of confusing “mine” with “thine” as they moved about the country. They were considered unreliable and were not allowed to give testimony in the law-courts’ (Morris, p. 84).[2]

But Jesus uses the character of the shepherd to illustrate the heart of God. The shepherd is a miniaturized sized God:

A village had a statue so immense that you couldn’t see exactly what it represented. Someone finally miniaturized the statue so one could see the person it honored.

“That is what God did in his Son,” said the early church father Origen. Paul tells us Christ is the visible icon or image of the invisible God (Colossians 1). In Christ we have God in a comprehensible way. In Christ we have God’s own personal and definitive visit to the planet.—Dale Bruner, “Is Jesus Inclusive or Exclusive?” Theology, News & Notes (October 1999)[3]

God is so intent on finding the lost that He sent His own Son

John 3:16–17 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

God sent His Son on a mission to find and save the lost

Luke 19:10 NIV

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

God is good! His purpose and plan are for people to be found, and when they are found…

God Rejoices Over Finding the Lost

When Cindy finally found her keys in the bottom of her purse, we all breathed a sigh of relief. Some had to apologize for accusing others…One had to apologize for not looking better. But, we survived and it ended happily (for the most part).

Of course, that is just a silly story, but Jesus made it a point to tell the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law that finding the lost sheep caused rejoicing in Heaven.

Luke 15:7 NIV

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Luke 15:10 NIV

In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

This illustration is used as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, for it illuminates the divine joy “over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God” (15:7). It suggests that God is like the faithful shepherd in his love, persistence, joy, and concern that the lost should be found. It is a profound picture of the love of God, in terms that ordinary people can understand and appreciate.[4]

Before you were saved did you ever think about God in those terms?

- His love

- His persistence

- His joy

- His concern?

Francis Thompson is the author of a long poem called “The Hound of Heaven”. Thompson struggled throughout his life with an addiction to opium. His poem “The Hound of Heaven” is a powerful narrative of God’s steady, majestic, but uncompromising pursuing and reconciling work in his life.)

I FLED Him, down the nights and down the days; I fled Him, down the arches of the years; I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears I hid from Him, and under running laughter. Up vistaed hopes I sped; And shot, precipitated, Adown Titanic glooms of chasmèd fears, From those strong Feet that followed, followed after.

Although the poet flees from him, God remains unhurried and unperturbed until finally the pursued understands that this is the true love of a determined God. Ultimately the poet surrenders to the pursuit of the “Hound of Heaven”.[5]

God is our Good Shepherd. He pursues us and when He finds us all of Heaven rejoices.

Be Involved in the Family Business

Last week I mentioned that I had been thinking about what motives us toward missions. We saw that one of the reasons is love for one another. Today we see the other big reason – it is God’s heart. He is invested in and involved in the work of seeking and saving the lost. We ought to be involved in the family business as well.

I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him. I ended up by asking Him to do His work through me. – Hudson Taylor

You have one business on Earth – to save souls. – John Wesley

After 3 years of following and learning from Jesus, the example of the Good Shepherd, the disciples were motivated to the point of death to share the love of God with the entire world. What inspired them? I would suggest that we could list all our responses into 2 simple categories – love for others and love for God.

Celebration

We’ve all seen some amazing celebrations in our lives. You may be old enough to remember the way our nation celebrated its 200th birthday. We’ve seen inaugurations of presidents, Super Bowls, World Series, and ends of wars. But what is it like all of Heaven rejoices, when all the angels of Heaven shout at the 1 lost sheep who is found.

I’ve read about the way that a lost sheep behaves when it is away from the rest of the flock. It will find a thicket or rocks as a place to hide and then it will begin to cry out. The problem is, it is in the thickets and the rocks where the predators will hunt. It is urgent that the shepherd finds the sheep before the predators do.

An elderly gentleman was out walking with his young grandson. ‘How far are we from home?’ he asked the grandson. The boy answered, ‘Grandpa, I don’t know.’ The grandfather asked, ‘Well, where are you?’ Again, the boy answered, ‘I don’t know.’ Then the grandfather said good-naturedly, ‘Sounds to me as if you are lost.’ The young boy looked up at his grandfather and said, ‘Nope, I can’t be lost. I’m with you.’ Ultimately, that is the answer to our lostness, too. We can’t be lost if He is with us. King Duncan[6]

It is our duty and privilege to be a part of that search and rescue mission. We can be an ambassador for Christ and share the good news of salvation with those who are lost. We can pray with and for missionaries. We can go as missionaries into Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria. We can give to help missionaries get to the missions’ field and partner with them as our hands and feet.

[1]Bruce B. Barton et al., Luke, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1997), 369. [2] Michael Wilcock, The Savior of the World: The Message of Luke’s Gospel, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979). [3]Craig Brian Larson and Phyllis Ten Elshof, 1001 Illustrations That Connect (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2008), 120. [4]Allison A. Trites, William J. Larkin, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, Vol 12: The Gospel of Luke and Acts (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2006), 217. [5] https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-15-commentary [6] https://thepastorsworkshop.com/sermon-illustrations-on-being-lost/