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Luke 15 "Lost and Found"
Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." So He spoke this parable to them, saying: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. and when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!" I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
I absolutely love computers and electronic gadgets. I
use my computer to keep in touch with many people in the church through
e-mail, to keep track of addresses and phone numbers, to make programs
for church events and of course to research and write sermons. I also
like to use my computer just to use it. I often download a new program
off the net just to see what it does, how it works. I am fascinated
by technology. But even though there are many different programs that
will keep track of things that I need to do for me, I still use a simple
sheet of paper each week that says "To do" on the top of it.
It has numbers from the top to the bottom 1 through 20 and the first
thing I do each week is write in order of priority the things that I
have to get done. With the computerized ones I have to turn on my computer
to see it, but the paper one stays at the top of my desk and constantly
reminds me to keep first things first.
As Christians we also need to keep first things first. There are many
things that we could do. There are many things that need to be done.
There are many things that are good to do. But only a few things that
are really at the top of God's priority list. I have placed at the top
of the priority list for our church two things, which I believe are
also at the top of God's. They are "Loving as Jesus Loves"
and "Teaching the Word of God" In the parable that we just
read Jesus is really talking about priorities. The Pharisees criticised
Him for receiving sinners and eating with them. The Pharisees were very
concerned with holiness. Their top priority was to stay pure in the
eyes of God and they spent all of their time making sure that there
was no chance of being defiled. In fact they were afraid to visit Jesus
because if He ate with sinners then maybe some of that uncleanness would
be passed on to them. With His story Jesus lets us in on the priorities
of God. He says, "likewise there will be more joy in heaven over
one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no
repentance." What does heaven get excited about? What puts a smile
on God's face? When a person who was lost, turns from their sins and
receives Jesus. When a person who was dead in their sins, is born again
into eternal life. That is a big deal.
My son Keita is going to go through a big adjustment here in the next
few months. Suddenly, he is going to have to compete for Mommy and Daddy's
attention. And it really isn't fair at all. How can a new picture that
he has colored compete with a new born baby? How can his ability to
run faster than ever to the corner compete with the first wobbly crawls
of his younger sister? His steady improvements will be met with a smile
and a "good job" from me, while any little thing that his
baby sister does will have us running for the video camera and calling
in our friends and neighbors to show her off. And even though I know
that it really isn't fair. Even though I know that what Keita is doing
is just as important as what the newborn does, I still won't be able
to help myself. I will still get excited. Why? Because this is new life!
This baby wasn't even here just a few months back. And now she is alive
and a new part of our family.
God gets excited about life. Being born again is not just a decision
midway through your life to believe in Jesus. It is not like changing
your job or moving to a new house. It is the beginning of real life,
a different kind of life, a change from just being physically viable,
to being part of the family of God, being part of the Body of Christ,
connected spiritually with God your Father, Jesus your Lord and with
all your brothers and sisters in Christ. Do you see why this takes top
spot on God's priority list. Jesus said, "I came to seek and save
the lost". That was number one for Christ, bringing people into
real life. And that should be number one for us as well. When I say
"Loving as Jesus Loves" this is really what I mean. Loving
the lost enough to seek them out and bring them to Jesus.
But seeking and saving the lost is not all that we do in the church.
As the pastor, I am really a shepherd. That is what the word for pastor
means in the Bible. And what does a pastor do? Feed sheep. Take care
of sheep. Love sheep. What do sheep eat? Jesus said that "man shall
not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth
of God." We eat the Word. That is how we grow, how we mature, by
taking in the Word and applying it to our lives. So our second priority
as a church is to "Teach the Word of God". Along with the
teaching on Sunday morning we learn from the Bible together in home
studies during the week, I often share with people one on one truths
from the Bible and help them apply it to situations that are occuring
in their lives. And of course it is not just me, but each of us as we
read our Bibles and share what we learn with each other.
However there is a big difference between number one and number two.
On my "To Do" list at home the difference is this; If I do
not finish number one, number two will not get done. Usually in my weekly
work I put writing the sermon in the number one spot. But oftentimes
that is the most difficult task of the week. Sometimes I just don't
have a clue what to teach, or I know that if I am going to teach well
on this passage I will have to do a lot of homework to research it.
About then I look further down the list and start to think, "well
I will make flyers for the prayer meeting first." Sometimes there
are other tasks that require lots of time and energy that I think I
had better start on before the sermon. But if I do then I won't have
time for the sermon later. I find that this happens with the church
as well. Feeding sheep, taking care of people who are Christians is
a huge job. We could easily forget all about the lost of the world and
still be very busy just growing as Christians. But we are not free to
do that. Jesus has already placed seeking and saving the lost into the
top priority. Jesus says very clearly, leave the ninety-nine with all
of their needs, their pressing demands, their hunger and thirst and
go seek out the one who is lost.
I am very thankful for this lesson today about the priorities of God.
You see I had been getting a little frustrated. I was starting to feel
angry with people who very rarely came to church but still called me
and expected me to help them out when they got in trouble. I looked
at the work that I do during the week and I started to realize that
a large part of my counseling work is with people who almost never come
to church. I began to feel resentful that these people would take away
my time from the precious sheep that God has placed under my care. I
could spend a few minutes talking with someone who comes to church and
make great progress, because they are growing and learning from the
Word. But with those who don't come to church it is more like the emergency
room, suddenly they are in trouble and they are desperate or else they
wouldn't call me at all. I could feel my heart growing cold toward these
people. And in fact I need to confess to you that I got a call on the
answering machine from a certain person who never comes to church and
I said to myself, "What a waste of time" and didn't call him
back at all. But I need to repent of that attitude and ask you for forgiveness.
You see I have gotten my priorities mixed up. The number one priority
for all of us Christians is to go out after the one lost sheep. This
is loving as Jesus loves.
What a great amount of action and energy is involved in these stories!
The shepherd "goes after" the lost sheep, "finds"
it, "lays it on his shoulders", and "rejoices" and
then again after he comes home he "calls together his friends and
neighbors" and has a party. In the next story a woman who had ten
silver coins loses one. She lights a lamp, sweeps the house, searches
carefully and then when she does find it again she calls in the friends
and neighbors for another party. (Luke 15: 8-10) Loving the lost with
the love of Jesus requires action on our part. We cannot just wait for
people to come to church. We must also "go after" them, "search
carefully" for them. Sometimes it takes extra effort. We might
have to put them on our shoulders for a while and carry them to Jesus.
We might have to light a lamp to search out the dark places, grab a
broom and be willing to get a little dirty. The ninety-nine who have
been born again are not enough. If there is one that you know is lost,
do not rest until you have done everything you can to bring that person
to Jesus.
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