If you are like me, you're always looking for something you can't seem to find..
It seems like I'm always saying "Has anybody seen my ......"
Please, feel free to insert the object of your choice,
glasses, coffee, car keys..wallet, cellphone
It literally, seems like it's always something!
Seriously, I don't like losing things…
I find myself saying all the time, “I should have been a magician, I can make things disappear! Even from myself.“
I’m constantly misplacing things and I know I’m not the only one…
Can I get a witness?
It seems that lots and lots of people are real good at losing things…
Gosh, they've even made movies about it, recorded songs about it.
I've even read a few poems written about the subject..
I used to think it was just me, but I hear hundreds of people every single day, exclaiming they've either "lost their mind" or about to!
People are losing stuff!
Ok, Ok.. I admit it,
I’m having a bit of fun with this…
No one said a pastor had to serious all the time!
God wants us to have fun!
This morning's text is: Luke Chapter 15:4-9.
"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.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’
This morning I want to talk about,
"Has anybody seen my faith?"
Out of all the stuff we wonder if anybody has seen,
have they seen our faith?
In the midst of sickness or illness in our lives,
Do they see our faith?
When our vehicle has broken down, and we haven't the money for the costly repairs...
Do they see our faith?
When our families, are struggling with difficult issues..
Do they see our faith?
When the bills just keep coming and the money to pay them isn't..
Do they see our faith?
"Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:8
Let's be clear on this... God did not lose his Faith!
After all, He is the One, who gives it to you and to me.
Too often, however, we are the ones who lose it!
Luke 18:8 asks the question,
"Will Jesus find it in us in the day that he comes looking for it?”
Someone actually asked me,
"When exactly does He come looking for it?"
Someone asked a similar question in Scripture, let's look at Matthew 25.
They said, "when did we see you naked or hungry or homeless?"
To which, Jesus answered them that day and He is answering us today, when you’ve done it unto “the least of these my brethren.”
There is not going to be a thundering clap, a sounding trumpet blast
on the day when Jesus comes looking for faith, in your life or mine.
It is going to come by way of another person,
someone we may encounter every day, or possibly it will be a single one time encounter..
Have you ever felt a "spiritual nudge" or inclination to go say something to someone you have only just seen for the first time in a grocery store or gas station? Or some other random place?
I have!
When Jesus comes looking to see if you have faith, He’s going to do it with someone who needs your help, or that needs faith.
He’s going to do it with someone who really needs something that you’ve got. And it maybe, that you don't feel you have it to spare,
but if you have the faith, that faith that you proclaim to others to have, you'll know He will bless what you have done and multiply it!
"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:38
Any one else remember the old church hymn that says,
“Faith, Faith, Faith, Just a little bit of faith.
You don’t need a whole lot,
Just use what you’ve got.
Faith, Faith, Faith, Just a little bit of faith.”
Jesus asked some people one time in Luke 8:25
“Where is your faith?”
Church, we need to be asking ourselves this very question today!
"Has Anybody Seen My Faith?"
When they needed to see it, did they see it in me?
When they were looking for it, did they find it in me?
When they came to the realization that what they needed, and what they had, was not going to be enough to get them through their current situation, did they find what they needed in you? In me?
In the church?
Did we take action? Did we do all that we could to make a difference?
Or did we simply do as many Christians today do,
"I'll pray for you"
And if we said it, did we follow through and do it?
Did we get our hands dirty and show them what our faith looks like?
Did they find something in us that has hope or help or confidence in God or trust that He will find a way?
Did they see our faith?
You know, nearly every day of my life, I have an encounter with someone who is facing some kind of distress or trauma in his or her life.
Death of a family member
Divorce
Illness
Relationship problems
Sickness
Job loss
People are looking for and seeking out my faith!
They want to know:
What do I do?
Where should I go?
What should I say?
How am I supposed to act?
What they are really asking is,
"Brian, where is your faith? Can I see it?"
“I need to see what you would do”
“I need to know what God would tell you to do.”
Listen guys, God wants us to be accountable!
And whether we like or not, He is going to hold us accountable!
God places souls in our path every single day that He expects us to reach out to.
It is not a coincidence that caused you to meet that person for the first time, in some random, out of the way place
You are there, where God placed you, for a reason.
He has a purpose in your connection.
And He is going to hold you and I accountable as to how we used the opportunity He gave us!
To invite someone to know Jesus Christ..
To invite them to church..
To help or encourage them with a Word from Him..
God uses me all the time, nearly every single day!
I was at an appointment, meeting with a woman and her husband at a Veterans Organization, when I noticed a woman, sitting at the bar. She appeared normal, but something kept telling me to go and speak with her, a spiritual nudge, if you will.
So I did! After a few moments, of listening to what was troubling her, without getting into the details too personally, she was having major difficulties with her son, who was abusing drugs.
I prayed with her, shared some Scriptures to her and after a while, went on my way.
Several weeks later, may be a month later, she sent word that her son had checked himself into rehab, and was doing great!
She had been to visit him, several times and was able to speak with doctors and him to confirm what he had told her..
The point I'm about to make is, I had showed up on the wrong day!
God placed me there, on the wrong day for His purpose!
There are opportunities that God gives us every single day of our lives to share our faith with other people.
I’m not interested in showing off my faith, some people do that you know..
When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!
Matthew 8:10
Do you know about whom he was talking?
Was He talking about a churchgoer?
Was He talking about one of his disciples?
Was He talking about one of the many believers who followed Him everywhere He went?
Nope, none of those!
He was talking about a man who’s daughter was dying and who needed a miracle!
God doesn’t need for you to turn into some Scripture quoting preacher or Bible thumping evangelist every time someone reaches out to you, but He does need you to reach out to that person with the same love and concern that He would reach out to them with.
The same love and concern He has reached out with to you! And me!
And if we are truly God's people, doing God's work, we will make the time and take the time and be bold enough to share our faith with them.
When they tell us about their addictions, we will share with them about how God delivered us from ours.
When they tell us about their failing relationships, we will tell them about the One,Who can heal their families, and their relationships.
When we see that their life is going in a wrong direction, we will share with them what God is doing in our lives and we will show them the way to the right path, by way of the Cross.
And when we do these things, they will see our faith!
When was the last time you told someone about the day you gave your life to Christ?
Now let me ask you this, how many people outside this room, outside of your families, closest friends, have you shared your story with?
Ask yourself today, "Has Anybody Seen My Faith?"
Brian Monzon Ministries