Responding to the Lost
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“IMPACT…RESPONDING TO THE LOST”
I heard a story about a six-year-old boy who restlessly struggled to listen to a rather lengthy sermon. After the service, the little boy asked his father what the preacher did during the rest of the week. His dad said, “Well…son… he’s a very busy man. He takes care of church business, visits the sick, studies the Bible. . . and he has to take time to rest up. You see, preaching is not an easy job.” The young boy thought for a few moments and then he shot back, “Well…listening ain’t so easy either!” That’s true sometimes…isn’t it. Sometimes it’s difficult to listen to the message because of the challenge that is being delivered. And I’ve got to tell you from my perspective there are some messages that are difficult to preach…and today just might be one of those messages for all of us because we’re going to spend a little bit of time talking about spiritually lost people.
It’s hard for some people to listen to a message about lost people…it’s difficult for some people to listen to a sermon on evangelism and being the right kind of witness and showing the love of Christ to the people around them and it’s a hard message to preach…but it is the message of the Bible and it was a predominant theme throughout Jesus’ life and ministry. In fact, Jesus himself says that lost people was his mission and purpose while he was here on this earth. In Luke 19, Jesus said: (Jesus said) “ …the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” (Luke 19:10, New International Version) If this is that important to Jesus…then it requires us as believers and followers of Christ to consider how we respond to the lost people around us.
Luke, chapter 15…if you’ll turn there in your Bibles. In Luke 15 Jesus tells three parables about lost people. A parable is a story told to convey a spiritual truth…and Jesus loved to teach in parables. He often used common elements and events of his day in order to illustrate the truth he was teaching. And in Luke 15 he tells three parables and we’re going to look at two of them today and then Mike will follow-up next week with the third one…and he talks about lost people. Now…when I say that Jesus is telling these parables about lost people I am talking about people who are spiritually lost…people who do not have a relationship with Christ. They are outside of the family of God…they are outside of the household of God, but God desires that they come home. And here in Luke 15 Jesus begins to drive home the point of how we should respond to lost people. Let’s begin at verse 1, Luke says: Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 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. Does he not 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. Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:1—10, New International Version) These two parables are among the simplest stories of Jesus, communicating both truth and emotion…and as you study the text closely it doesn’t take long to discover that Jesus is training those after him to do as he has been doing. In other words…this is a responsibility that you and I have as fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
Illustration: There was a young man who applied for a job as an usher at a theater in the mall. The manager asked him what he would do in the event that a fire broke out in the theater. The young man said, “Oh, don’t worry about me, I would make it out just fine.” And the boss said, “But you’re an usher…it isn’t enough to just get out yourself!” But sometimes that’s how we live out our spiritual lives…isn’t it. We’re asked what we would do if Jesus came back tomorrow…and we answer by saying, “Oh, don’t worry about me, I would be okay.” Friends…we are ushers…we are ushers for Christ, if you will, and it isn’t just enough to get ourselves out…it isn’t enough to just make sure that we’ll be okay…we are responsible for helping others to make sure that they will be okay, too. So…how do we respond to the spiritually lost people around us? First…we have to…
1. UNDERSTAND GOD’S HEART FOR THE LOST.
I would invite you to write that down on the inside of the back page of your program…we have to understand God’s heart for the lost. Look at verses 1 and 2: Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” (Luke 15:1&2, New International Version) Let me set the stage for you here in Luke 15… Jesus has a rather rag-tag crowd of people around him. Luke identifies them as tax collectors and sinners. The tax collectors were a hated, ostracized group because their work was considered to be dishonest and immoral. So you’ve got the tax collectors and then sinners the text says. If you have an NIV translation of the Bible you’ll notice there in your text that the word sinners has quotation marks around it. Luke is noting that these Pharisees have labeled these people. You see…the Pharisees basically divided people into two classes…the unclean and the righteous, and they believed that there should be a separation from such unclean people…that the righteous and the unrighteous shouldn’t mix…and they cannot believe that Jesus is spending so much time with such down-and-outers…this is becoming a habit of Jesus…but do you think Jesus cares? No, he doesn’t.
We don’t label people today and decide that they are a group of people that we probably shouldn’t get involved with, right? A couple of weeks ago our staff took the better part of a day and we went down to the Christian Life Center and simply helped them serve the inner city people of Evansville. I was told just before I started serving lunch to the men and women who would show up for the free meal that most of the people that I would serve would have some sort of an addiction problem. Many of them we would consider to be dirty. A lot of them didn’t smell too good. Some of them are a part of abusive relationships. They’ve got criminal backgrounds, they’ve been kicked out of home after home…one guy told me he hadn’t eaten for three days. I wonder how many people just dismiss those folks…surely none of us would do that, right? You know what I think? I think Luke 15 tells me that that’s where Jesus would spend his lunch hour. That’s God’s heart for lost people. In this parable Jesus is placing value on people…everyone matters to God.
Look at the text, beginning with verse 3: Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Luke 15:3&4, New International Version) Then jump down to verse 8: (Jesus said) “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8, New International Version) Jesus is placing tremendous value on lost people. He purposely points out that there are 100 sheep and one is lost. A herd of 100 sheep was considered to be an average sized herd of modest means back in Jesus’…so everyone of those sheep really count…it’s not like there is an overabundance. And then he talks about the woman with the ten silver coins who loses one. Many Bible scholars believe that Jesus is referring to a headdress that was worn by women to signify that they were married. Losing one of these 10 silver coins that Jesus is talking about is like the equivalent of us losing our wedding ring today. The lost sheep and the lost coin were very valuable in the stories from Jesus.
Everyone has value in God’s eyes, everyone has worth in His eyes because they are His creation…and as a result He wants to spend eternity with them. He’s not interested in our social classifications or excuses as to why we don’t or won’t associate with a group of people…he loves your neighbor, your co-worker, your family member, your friend, and the one with AIDS, the one with the addiction problem, the one in the abusive relationship, and the guy who hasn’t eaten in three days. He loves them all and He wants them to spend eternity with Him…our classifications and excuses aren’t important to Him…lost people ARE! The Bible says: …for he longs for all to be saved and to understand this truth: That God is on one side and all the people on the other side, and Christ Jesus himself man, is between them to bring them together, by giving his life for all mankind. (1 Timothy 2:4&5, The Living Bible) God the Father gave the life of His Son for all those inner city folk and the people around us! That’s how much they matter to Him, that’s how much He loves them…He sent Jesus to die for them. Author Max Lucado says, “The list of people I would give my children for is pretty short…it’s blank.” That’s the heart of God for lost people…that He would give His Son.
Friends…we have got to understand that God wants to restore people, that God wants to redeem people, that God wants to adopt people into His family. We need to let people know that they don’t have to have it altogether or meet a certain set of standards or guidelines in order to be a part of the Kingdom of God or the church…they just simply need to love Jesus…accept what he has done for him…and then let him change their lives. Someone once said, “The church ought to be a place where people who don’t think they have a chance of heaven can come and be told that the door of heaven is open for them.” You see…skin color shouldn’t matter. Voting patterns shouldn’t matter. Income status shouldn’t matter. The past and the things that people have done shouldn’t matter much. God has a heart for lost people, He has a heart for their redemption, and He wants to see them inside His family. Jesus associated with the tax collectors and “sinners” because he wanted to bring the lost sheep—people considered beyond hope—into the
And Jesus tells us that he loves them enough and we must love them enough that…
2. THE LOST MUST BECOME A PRIORITY.
They must become a priority. Let’s go back to the text. In verse 4 Jesus says: (Jesus said) “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” (Luke 15:4, New International Version) And then jump down to verse 8 once again…Jesus says: (Jesus said)“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?” (Luke 15:8, New International Version) Illustration: My kids…when they lose something at home they come and tell me and I look at them and say, “Well…go look for it.” And then I’ll go up to their room and there they are…standing in the middle of the room just looking around and they’ll actually look at me and say, “I can’t find it.” Well…duh…you’re not even looking. Jesus wants to make sure that we don’t get that picture in his parables. The shepherd leaves the 99, knowing that they would be safe, and goes to look for that one valuable sheep that is lost…the women lights a lamp, sweeps the house, she searches…and notice what Jesus says there…she searches carefully until she finds it.
People who are spiritually lost must become a priority in our lives…in fact, reaching out to them must become such a priority that it calls us to action. I love what Jesus does there in verse 4, he says: (Jesus said) “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.” (Luke 15:4, New International Version) Jesus drops us right in the middle of the story, doesn’t he. You cannot read this parable this morning and walk away and say, “Well…that was all fine and good, but that message is for somebody else.” No, Jesus says, “Suppose one of you…” and you, and you, and you, and you, and you…“has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.” Friends…God’s plan to redeem the world rests on our shoulders. When you and I gave our lives to Christ and we said, “Yep, you know what, I am going to be a true follower of Jesus Christ,” then we made a commitment at that moment that we were going to speak up, often, loudly, frequently, openly about Jesus Christ and what he has done in our lives…I’m going to help people see what they need in order to have the same abundant life that I have right now.
You know…this text is fundamental to the church’s accomplishing its mission. He is counting on us to go and find lost people…He is counting on us to go and build relationships with those who are spiritually lost so that eventually we’ll have an opportunity to tell them about Jesus. I think so many times we don’t want to build relationships with lost people because it will destroy our testimony…but if we’re not careful we won’t have anyone to testify to. Jesus says we’re the what of the earth? Look at it in Matthew 5, Jesus says: (Jesus said) “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13—16, New International Version) Jesus says we’re the salt of the earth. One of the many properties of salt is that it is a preservative…it slows down the decomposition of something, it won’t stop decomposition, but it will slow it down…and friends, I don’t know if you have noticed it or not but our nation’s values and morals are decaying and Jesus wants us to go and do something about it…make the spiritually lost a priority. We’re sitting here this morning in a $12 million salt-shaker…are we going to get out of this big, fancy salt-shaker and tell the people around us about Jesus or not? Are we going to be salt or not? And then Jesus says we’re the light of the world.
If you cut all the house lights in this room then the room is overcome with darkness, but turn on one light and it dispels the darkness it begins to eliminate the darkness. You know…this morning there are about 1,200 or so lights that we can shine on the people around us…there are about 1,200 lights that can dispel the darkness…but it’s not going to happen if we’re not letting them shine. Friends…the only way this town we live in is going to be changed is if we get out of this salt-shaker and begin to shine the light of Christ to eliminate the darkness and make the spiritually lost a priority.
Here’s what I want to encourage you to do this morning…if you do nothing else you can begin to do this and get out of the salt-shaker just a little bit. Invite your unchurched friends and neighbors and family members and co-workers to some of the things that are going on here. Invite them to worship…beginning next Sunday there will be two different worship styles you can choose from. Invite them to the upcoming ladies’ fall retreat…you can register for that today or stop by the
Reaching out to them takes time, it takes effort, it takes diligence…it takes perseverance...we cannot give up! Illustration: You ever wanted to give up on someone? Let me tell you about Frank Ferrara. Frank was baptized here at First Christian a week ago yesterday by one of his grown sons. During the time that I was with them last Saturday, his family was telling me that they had been praying for that day for 28 years…since 1981 they began praying and being salt and light to Frank. They were letting their actions speak and sharing the love of Christ with Frank in the hopes that that one day Frank would walk with Christ. It could have been very easy for them to give up. It could have been easy for them to give up after 2 years, 5 years, most people probably would have understood if they had given up after 10 years, but they didn’t…28 years worth of prayers and talking about Jesus came to fruition last Saturday afternoon. He was a priority to them…it took time and effort and diligence and perseverance on their part, but they were salt and light to him and now he belongs to Jesus. And the joy that the family experienced as he surrendered his heart and life to Christ is something I can’t describe for you. That’s what Jesus tells us in our text…that we should respond to the lost because…
3. THERE IS JOY WHEN THE LOST ARE FOUND.
There is joy when the lost are found. Go back to the text, let’s begin at verse 4: (Jesus said) “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not 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. Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:4—10, New International Version) Here you have this rag-tag group of people and they are repenting…they are turning away from their sin and committing to living a new life…this is what Jesus was all about. He didn’t care about the Pharisee’s social rules in regards to mixing with unclean people…he wanted to take those who knew they needed a Savior and a change in life and do something dramatic in them…and the joy that was taking place in heaven was in contrast to the frustration and anger that was welling up in the Pharisees.
This joy is not just in heaven…just God Himself is rejoicing. When you study the original language of the New Testament in these verses you discover that Luke is inferring that God does rejoice when someone is found. I don’t know that we often think of God as rejoicing, but the Bible is clear that He does. Isaiah 62 says: …as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:5, New International Version) And then Zephaniah 3: The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17, New International Version) God, who is willing to take us lost people in and forgive us of our past and bless us for our future and change our eternal destiny and then rejoice over what He has done for our lives, must possess an extraordinary love. It’s the kind of love that prompted Jesus to come to earth to search for lost people and save them. It’s the kind of extraordinary love that God has for you.
It was in 1941 when Violet Bailey and Samuel Booth were strolling through the English countryside, deeply in love and engaged to be married. A diamond engagement ring sparkled on Violet’s finger—her most treasured possession. But during the walk one of them said something that hurt the other and before they knew it an argument had escalated to the point that Violet pulled the ring from her finger, drew back her arm, and hurled it with all her energy and strength into the field. Violet and Samuel eventually kissed and made up, and they walked and walked and walked the field looking for the lost ring, but they never found it. They eventually married and had a child and then some grandchildren…and they always talked about the lost ring. Samuel eventually died but the ring was not forgotten. One day a grandson had an idea and took a medal detector to the field. After two hours of searching he found what was lost more than 67 years earlier. Filled with joy he placed the diamond ring in his grandmother’s hand. The treasured possession had come home.
There is joy, friends, when the treasured possession comes home…and this joy isn’t just joy in heaven…did you catch it? It’s a shared joy, too, isn’t it. The shepherd and the woman both call their friends and neighbors together and say, “Rejoice with me.” Think with me here for just a second…perhaps we would have more joy in our churches today if we shared Jesus’ love and concern for the lost.
Friends…God wants servants who understand His heart to restore sinners. He wants servants who will make searching for the spiritually lost a top priority. He wants servants who will share the goal of winning the lost back to Him…and then rejoice when it happens. Is that you? If so, it’s time to get to work and be salt and light to the people around us!
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