A young boy sat in church one Sunday, watching and waiting for the offering plate to come around. As he prepared to give, he found nothing in his pockets to contribute. With the offering plate in front of him, and other parishioners patiently waiting around him for the offering plate, the boy took the plate, placed it on the floor, and slowly stepped and stood into the offering plate with his small little feet. Later he was asked why he did that, and he replied, "He had nothing to give to God except the most important thing I had, me!" What a heartfelt gift the boy expressed. I wonder if the people present thought how noble the statement the boy made was in comparison to what Jesus has done for each of us today.
Isn't it amazing knowing we have a searching, seeking savior with lots of patience, mounds of Love, and endless Grace for His children? Even when we don't give enough of ourselves, God's Grace is always surprising, as God told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you!".
It is this surprising Grace I want to talk about today in the reading of the first two of the three parables in the Gospel of Luke chapter 15, of what I believe are the most beloved parables that Jesus has told. It demonstrates the source of Jesus' mission and who God is, and how us, being lost, can and will be found again with a seeking, searching God.
In the days of jesus, and I would even think today, being lost was a serious bad word. The story of the lost sheep and lost coin was told to religious leaders as well as the sinners. You see, it was a often traited subject to identify lost people as being hopeless, beyond the reach of God. Yet Jesus sought the lost, and vindicated the search for the lost. And like oil and water, the religious leaders of the day identified sinners as careless people. So to receive a sinner from religious leaders was bad enough, but to eat with them was worse. So it came to no surprise when Jesus was performing miracles and eating and drinking with sinners, He was hated amongst the religious community. But remember, that’s what the business Jesus was in. To save the lost. To do that, He had to go beyond the status quo and meet these people on their own ground, such as we need to do today. And get this, even one whom is lost, can be amongst the religious ranks. That includes you and me!
So let us read the first parable, and I want you to notice not what the shepherd does, but what does the sheep do.
"Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to listen to Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." And so He told them this parable, saying, "What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!' I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance."
Where did the one lost sheep come from? The parable potraits it came from amongst the 100 sheep. As I said before, even amongst the ranks of being religious, Godly and a professing of the faith, one can be lost.
Next, what did the lost sheep do to be found again? Got lost, strayed away, disobeyed God. Scripture doesn’t tell us the lost sheep repented, had any remorse or nothing. Except to say the shepherd took action upon himself and went to find the lost sheep. Think about that.
Next, lets read the second parable of the Lost Coin.
"Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin which I had lost!."
Who finds the coin? The woman, not the coin. The coin represents an inanimate object that can't do anything except lie there and wait to be found. It sounds like some people today.
In these two parables, who is God? God is the shepherd who searches for the lost sheep, the woman who turns her house upside down and keeps searching until she finds her lost coin. The shepherd doesn't wait for the sheep to come to its senses and turn back to God, nor does the coin push its way into the light to be found. Both the sheep and the coin represent mankind at its worst.
But, we are finding here in these two parables, that God's unfailing Grace and salvation are not just sitting back, gazing at our lostness from on high; He is actively seeking and searching for us, on our own ground.
I sometimes think about in Genesis how God walked in the garden at the cool of the day. Could you imagine experiencing God walking like that in our lives? On our own turf? Enjoying the flowers and beauties of all His creation?
I want you to notice also, the sheep didn’t need to measure up to be found, accepted and loved by God. Although an object, the coin can resemble those who just sit around, not realizing they are lost in the first place, but somewhere along the line, God searches for them, and they are eventually found. We are hearing some very common verbs, Lose, seek and find.
So in hearing what God does for those who are lost, what happens after the lost sheep and the coin are found? The fourth action verb is called rejoice or celebrate. We are to rejoice in us being found.
In verse 7 Jesus tells us, “I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”
Wow just think of it! A most celebrated event amongst heavens angels, is to celebrate the repentance of one lost soul.
Friends, I can’t express it any better than what Jesus tells us, that when Gods grace is at work, all of Heaven celebrates. When we once was lost, but now we are found, was blind, but now we see. Jesus's mission is not to introduce a new code of ethics, a new paradox, or have us seek something out of our reach. But simply when those who were lost that have been found, we are to party in every aspect of the word. Be joyful, be glad and knowing that with the lost sinner, there is always hope.
And when [the lost sheep] has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!"… And when she has found [the coin], she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin which I had lost!’
We are talking about celebration, a genuine way to be grateful to God, display His goodness to all mankind, and then we come to our senses that our repentance was more than necessary, it’s a must! And in turn, all of Heaven rejoices that the lost one has now been found to see Gods love, everlasting life which is only found by Gods surprising grace.
So what does the word lost mean? The word lost in Greek (ap-ol'-loo-mee) means I am perishing (the resultant death being viewed as certain). If you think about it, being lost does not serve a purpose, and being lost lack the ability to return. It must be found. Lost is the best word to describe a person’s condition without a savior. As God searches for people, as opposed to other religions of the world where people attempt to find God. The coming of God in Christ is the God of heaven seeking the lost deliberately. Its no accident! We are not here by accident or chance.
Now, I want to mention about another subject that some people find kind of uneasy about that’s related to these two parables. Let me re-read verses one and two. “Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to listen to Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
Sadly, religious leaders in Jesus time, and even us today, have a self image of what a Christian should look like, that is rather obscured. What would it take for Jesus followers to go and help those really in need? We feed the hungry, pray for those sick and afflicted, and give a helping hand. Jesus met these people at their level, and His light shone the truth, which saved them.
When the Gospel of Jesus Christ is threatened, do we worry about what people would label us as? Are we concerned about how persecuted we will become when we stand up for the right things of what God calls wrong or even an abomination? At what cost are we willing to experience God in saving people? For us to do God's work is us helping to save others and lead them to God. That is Gods work! This is what the great commission is all about.
Regardless oh what we lack, what we are weak on. Please be uplifted in spirit, knowing God loves you. God searches for His lost sheep. God seeks each of us out; no matter how bad we screw up, He is there with open arms. Just as we are to go out and reach the lost people of the world, we too had someone in our life reach out to us, to help draw us to God by Gods will, purpose and plan for you. Isn’t it wonderful knowing we have a Loving shepherd to find us even when we think we are beyond all hope? Isn’t it awesome to have God search the house high and low to find the one lost coin, mean you and me? Nothing under earth or in earth shall stand in God's way to save those in need of God's eternal salvation and Grace.
This is a pristine principle of who God is. Let me see you smile this morning! Yes, Oh Yes, I am a child of the king. That’s the joy, friends knowing Gods surprising Grace starts with Him loving us unconditionally.
Remember, friends, don’t fret over being the status quo like other people. Don’t be in a frazzle if your labeled as a Christian with all it entails. Gods Grace is sufficient, and we must know He loves us. When we stand for Christ, as he works diligently behind the scenes for us, we learn not to be ashamed of the Gospel. We learn to live by Faith which drives out fear. We learn who God is and how Gods surprising Grace is simple and very powerful, for in our weakness, His strength is most powerful. We stand for Christ, and Christ is always with us. And as Gods grace ever shines, so let us remember this is our fathers world, and we live amongst it. We serve Him, we Love Him and He loves us unconditionally. We too, were once lost, but now we are found, we was blind, but now we see. Thanks be to God and all of Heaven that we, his children has been found. Amen.