“Help, I’m Lost”
(Parable of the Lost Sheep)
Show scene from “a Bug’s Life” where a leaf falls out of the sky and an ant in line stops and crys “I’m lost”.
Jesus shares how the lost are so important to him. In short, lost people matter to God. That’s why you and I found Christ in the first place. God was looking for us.
The question that confronts us today though is this. How do we look for others just as God looked for us? After all, it is the great commission.
One mother says to her son, “Be careful who you count as your friends’. And she’s right. We do well to keep our children and ourselves from things that will hurt them and us. So how do we live in the world, yet not be of it?
q
q Stayed one night later than usual so I could attend their midweek bible study.
q My
trip that night was from Uptown to Olive Branch Mission on
q Walked to bus from train.
q Saw man at bus stop. I prayed.
q Within seconds, I found out he was a Christian, Whew!
q My
bus? Trip to
q We’re so worried, we’re prejudiced.
On the one side we look for safety, yet on the other we are to look for the lost. So which is it? The answer is both isn’t it!?
Some times when we are with “sinners” or “tax collectors” as it’s described here, we get uncomfortable. Who do you think is more uncomfortable, them or us? Remember, uncomfortableness is not always a good reason to exit your situation, for when we are closest to the lost, the more uncomfortable we often will be.
q It’s the Passover season
q Enter Jesus the great Shepherd
q The
place:
q The Purpose: To find lost sheep
q The Church’s response: Less than exciting
q Why? Because they and we are constantly working through safe places in our spiritual life, and our call to “Changing Lives in Christ” is not always an easy way of life.
In this parable, we are encouraged to leave the 99 who are “safe” and go pursue the one who is lost. We want you to see the aspects of a good shepherd, for each one of you is to be a good shepherd to someone in your life. The focus of this message is on the Shepherd. But we live in the city, so let’s talk about what it means to be “a good friend.”
These Qualities
of the good shepherd. These
would also be the qualities of a good friend.
To do that we need to look at
1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch
in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes
so that it will be even more fruitful.
- A true friend is willing to be seen for who he is. No tricks, no gimmicks. Just a person who desires to love others with an open and unconditional love.
- We make loving so complicated sometimes. Have you ever had the passing thought, “does this person deserve my love?” A true friend is one who is open and loves unconditionally.
3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to
you.
- A good friend is one who has earned an influence in their life.
- He has spent significant time with them. True friends have those around that know them. Do people know the real you? Do they have confidence in you that they can trust you?
- A good friend cares to know about those entrusted to them.
-
A told a friend of mine in
- Practically, do we care enough to remember names.
- A good friend will always go first. We need to sense danger first. Now all the sheepherders I have seen simply followed the sheep, but that does not mean they are not out ahead with their eyes, or the intellect. We are to lead. A good shepherd goes first.
-
When I first came to
11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that
your joy may be
complete.
- unselfish sacrifice. When you become a shepherd, part of you dies. The unselfish part of you.
-
Gal.
14You are my friends if you do what I command.
- he knows their every move.
-
I knew a blind woman named Joyce who had a guide dog. In our services, every once in awhile
16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed
you to go and bear
fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in
my name.
- Does your friend know that you are loyal to him or her. Are the people you are most loyal to convinced that you are truly loyal to them. Or are they your convenience to the next level of “the game”? Be genuine to people who need you.
18“If the world hates you, keep in
mind that it hated me first.
- Duty is chosen.
- We always have a choice. Are you a Christian by duty of force?
- I know all about duty. I’m a pastor’s kid.
- Did you hear about the dog who is about to let out, when his master says, “Now Bruno be careful, remember, you’re the pastor’s dog.”
Back to the parable of the Lost.
4“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?
- He secures the 99 in the open, while going out to search for the lost one.
- He is convinced that the 99 do not need to repent, that they are safe, for that is the qualification to go after the lost one.
5And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders
- There is joy in sacrifice. The joy of the Christian life is enjoying the rescue. It is not a drudgery. Remember, when the lost are found it is cause for celebration.
- Call from Mearl Bradley. Just buried a man’s wife. He needs help. Call on him since he is near you. I did. He accepted Christ. Went through the new believers class 3 times. It was joy for Mearl and me.
And when he finds it, he
joyfully puts it on his shoulders
It is a hike through the valley to get home. Who knows where the lost sheep was. Being a shepherd always costs you.
- In the short run it costs you.
- In the long run, it blesses you. God meant it when he said he loves a cheerful giver. And that means far more than the offering on Sunday.
(Luke 15:7)
7I 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.
- Does the church rejoice over the lost being found? Len decided to take up golf since he had just retired. Within one year he got pretty good. We had a tournament. He won. I got second place. Of course it was a friendly tournament. Everyone was a winner. I know, because there was Len who won, then me. That’s it. I got this trophy. I love it. I got 2nd place and last place all together.
There were 3 groups who were there with Jesus. He’s telling this parable to a crowd.
1. The Sinners and the Tax Collectors. The lost
2. The Pharisees and the Sadducees. The fake church
3. The disciples. The real church
There’s no getting around it today. You are one of the three. Which are you today?
Years ago I made a decision to drive to the upper peninsula to perform a wedding in a prison. Was it a good one? The guy was able to be released a couple of months later to his wife’s custody. He then left her and divorced her. I felt pretty used. Would I do it again? No. Because I know how it turned out. But when do we take a risk to reach the lost. You see the game is not over for my friend. He is still lost, and I pray the next shepherd goes after him.
That shepherd is you. That shepherd is me. The friend is you. The friend is me.
Who are the sheep God has called you to shepherd? You don’t have to like the sheep God sends. In fact, it’s when you care for the sheep God sends that you find the affinity that grows and grows. Why? When you choose to care for something, that something grows on you.