"12 "What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? 13 If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it
more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. 14 So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish."
In this world, most people find it hard to love all their relatives. But God loves all of us! But how much does He love us? Jesus Christ loves us enough to warn us about the great danger of our sin. The world is lost, people don't want to hear about sin and repentance because it makes them feel comfortable. Even for many of those within the church, talking about sin is out of date, it cramps their style. They only want to hear about the love of Jesus. Allow me to indulge them, Jesus loves you enough to warn you about the reality of hell and who will be in it!
Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter."
I've often heard people say, "I can't believe in a God who would allow such terrible things happen in the world." I understand that many things in life are hard to comprehend, tragedies are one of those things. It's hard for us to
understand why it was necessary for God to allow sin to come into the
world. But, it was necessary for God to allow people to sin. He did this knowing that everyone would make sinful choices, but only a few would choose to receive forgiveness by receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. It was the only way God could carry out His plan for redemption in the world. Sometimes, it takes a while for a person to get to the point where they willing to come to Christ on His terms. The sad reality is many people are completely unaware that they are lost.
They do not believe that hell is a real, physical place. But Heaven and
hell are just as real as the world we're living in today. I believe it is impossible to overstate the horrors of hell and ignorant to blindly ignore this sure truth and proves that we do not grasp its horror. By denying it's existence, unaware of the imminent danger of dying unsaved, cannot escape from the horrific reality of it. That can only be accomplished by running into the arms of Jesus Christ, Who gave His life to save us from it.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your Word, for reminding us how You pursue us when we stray, and we must pursue one another when they wander, for this is the high calling in the life of the church, to have Your heart for the lost. May we lovingly confront sin and error, to restore and not judge or condemn, showing concern for every single believer. That is what it means to be a Christian, to love and care for one another, just as You love and care for us. May You be honored in the lives of Your people.
In Jesus' name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: Lost And Found
Just as we cannot begin to imagine all of the horrors of hell, nor can we begin to imagine all of the wonders of Heaven. From everything Scripture tells us it's beauty is indescribable. In Revelation 21, John tells us "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." God wants to deliver us from sin, so that we can live forever with Him in Heaven. That's why Jesus came down to earth as the Good Shepherd to seek and to save the lost. How we care for one another is equally important to God.
"What do you think? If
any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he
not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one
that is straying? If
it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it
more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish."
Let's look at verse 12, "What do you think? If
any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he
not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one
that is straying?"
Jesus begins by asking the question "What do you think?" A commonly used phrase by teachers in order to provoke their students to carefully contemplate what was being being taught. Then, in this hypothetical story, He asks the question about a man who is the shepherd of a hundred sheep which one has gone astray. "If
any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he
not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one
that is straying?"
It was certainly easy for sheep to go astray in Judea, because the land is rugged, with hills and the pasture is very scarce. So, the Twelve would be able easily to identify with this. Sheep can easily get themselves into some very precarious predicaments. Due to the hills and ravines, it was not easy to find one of these lost sheep, even if you can find them, it was not always easy to get them out of that situation they had gotten themselves into. It is common for a shepherd to leave the rest of the sheep to find the one that had gone astray. The point Jesus is making here, is even one lost sheep is worth seeking. How much more so are those in our flock who are lost and wandering? Jesus is telling us that God wants them to be rescued. We must go after them with the love and compassion with an emphasis on restoration. Pursuing holiness and righteousness is something I strongly believe that the church should be doing, rather than neglecting it when someone is committing sin. It's God’s grace that brings us back and puts us back on the right path. We seek those who are lost with grace and love, not with judgment.
If human shepherds exhibit this much care and concern for one who is under his care, how much more does the Great Shepherd, Jesus Christ, Who shed His own blood for each one of us?
In verse 13, Jesus answers this question, the Father’s joy is great. "If
it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it
more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray." God has the greatest joy over those who wandered away and are recovered. This statement implies forgiveness. He's speaking about individual care. Listen, every believer who wonders is lost and each one that restored is worth celebrating! Many believe that God that He would have more joy over the people who didn’t stray. To be clear here, this is not license to sin, because God delights in forgiveness. It simply implies the extent of God’s grace.
We can expect the world to cause us to stumble, temptation has that effect upon us. So He comes after us, and pursues us because He does not want us to be devastated from damaging and destructive influences, losing our salvation. Watching a movie or something on television which expresses certain immoral behaviors may bring back into that person’s mind a past temptation. This represents every single person who has ever lived, except Jesus Himself. We must careful guard what we subject ourselves to and not flaunt our freedom in the face of every believers.
In Isaiah 53, he says "All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." Thank God for Jesus Christ, Who made a loving, persistent, sacrificial search for us all! God was willing to go the distance to get you saved, even to send Jesus into this world to die for us, surely He will do whatever it takes to keep you saved. Church, we must not be indifferent, we have a responsibility to meet the spiritual needs of any other believer, no matter who that believer might be! We must not write anybody off.
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." Thank God for Jesus Christ, Who made a loving, persistent, sacrificial search for us all! God was willing to go the distance to get you saved, even to send Jesus into this world to die for us, surely He will do whatever it takes to keep you saved. Church, we must not be indifferent, we have a responsibility to meet the spiritual needs of any other believer, no matter who that believer might be! We must not write anybody off.
In John10, Jesus says "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand, and not a
shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and
leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father."
This is the love our Heavenly Father has for all His people. He will not tolerate His own to be treated with unkindness or indifference. It's easy for us to draw conclusions about people and their problems who are living a substandard Christian life. Have you noticed that in Christianity? We have to be very careful about that. People can be old and sinful and be young and godly. Timothy was fighting that battle because of his age. Every believer is precious to Him, and He cares for us equally. I believe this passage is one of greatest places for us to see God's heart for the lost. He desires for all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth.
That brings us to verse 14, "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish." Such great love God has for all people, I can't help but to reflect back upon all that I have been delivered from. This verse is very personal for me having been saved from out of that sinful life. Salvation comes by confessing sin and turning away from it, putting your trust in Jesus Christ and receiving Him as your Lord and Savior.
In Closing..
People have to realize they're lost before they can understand they need rescued. Most people feel they are o.k. You don’t come into God’s kingdom by your feelings or your intellect, you come with the desperation of a little child. When you realize that you’ve rescued out of danger, there’s a greater rejoicing than if you’d never been in danger to begin with. That's why I believe it's so important to confront people with their sin, so they understand they need help. God has a heart for the lost, and we must also. That's why we cannot count anybody out.
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen