LOST AND FOUND
I DOUBT IF THERE IS AN EXPERIENCE TO A CHILD THAT IS MORE SCARY THAN BEING LOST. IT CAN HAPPEN EASILY. WE GET SIDETRACKED OIN A STORE, THE CHILD GOES OUT FOR A SHORT WALK, AND THEY GET TURNED AROUND. IT HAPPENS TO ADULTS AS WELL. I REMEMBER WHEN I WAS AT MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE GOING TO GET A PAIR OF SNEAKERS FOR THE GYM. THE STORE WAS JUST DOWN THE STREET BUT WHAT AN UNEASY FEELING I HAD WHEN I GOT TURNED AROUND AND LOST MY BEARINGS. I FINALLY MANAGED TO GET BACK, BUT IT WAS SCARY AS WE WERE TOLD NOT TO BE ON THE STREET AFTER DARK IN THAT AREA AS ONE STUDENT HAD RECENTLY BEEN MURDERED.
JUST AS BEING LOST CAN BE FRIGHTENING, WHEN THE LOST IS FINALLY FOUND CAN BE EXHILERATING AND HAPPY. THIS IS WHAT WE SEE IN THE PARABLES THAT WE ARE STUDYING TODAY.
I THINK WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO THINK ON THE NEGATIVE THINGS OF LIFE:
A GLASS IS HALF-EMPTY INSTEAD OF HALF-FULL
WE STILL HAVE HALF-WAY TO GO, NOT WE’VE ALREADY COME HALF-WAY.
THE HALF-WAY POINT HAS BECOME A VERY NEGATIVE PLACE TO BE FOR MANY PEOPLE AND THESE PARABLES ARE NO EXCEPTION. LOOK AT WHAT THEY HAVE BECOME KNOWN AS:
1. THE PARABLE OF THE LOST SHEEP
2. THE PARABLE OF THE LOST COIN
3. THE PARABLE OF THE (PRODICAL) OR LOST SON
IN THINKING LIKE THIS, WE ROB OURSELVES OF THE BLESSINGS THAT COEM DURING THE SEARCH, AND THE MORE IMPORTANT BLESSINGS WHEN THEY ARE FOUND.
THERE ARE BLESSINGS IN THE PROCESS, AND NOT JUST IN THE FINAL OUTCOME.
THE SHEPHERD:
INTERACTED WITH HIS SHEEP WHEN HE COUNTED THEM
INTERACTED WITH THE OTHER SHEPHERDS WHEN HE ASKED FOR THEIR HELP
HE LEARNED MORE ABOUT THE COUNTRY HE WAS IN DURING HIS SEARCH.
HE RECEIVED GREAT JOY WHEN HE FOUND THE LOST SHEEP.
HE CELEBRATED HIS POSITION AS A SHEPHERD WITH THE OTHERS.
THE WOMAN:
TOOK PRIDE IN HER CUSTOM AND HERITAGE
GAVE HER HOUSE A GOOD HOUSE-CLEANING
RECEIVED GREAT JOY IN FINDING THE COIN.
THE FATHER WHO LOST HIS SON:
HE HAD A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS SON AT ONE TIME
HE EXPERIENCED THE GRIEF OF HIS SON’S DECISION. GRIEF IS PART OF THE COST OF LOVING SOMEONE.
HE HAD THE JOY OF PLANNING WHAT HE WOULD DO WHEN HIS SON RETURNED. HE NEVER GAVE UP HOPE.
HE HAD THE JOY OF SEEING HIS SON COME HOME.
HE HAD THE JOY OF HEARING HOW HIS SON HAD GROWN UP AND THE LESSONS HE HAD LEARNED.
HE HAD THE JOY OF THE CELEBRATION OF HIS SON’S HOMECOMING.
I WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU THIS MORNING TO THINK ON THESE PARABLES WITH A POSITIVE SLANT. DO NOT IGNORE THEIR LOSTNESS AND SIN FOR THAT IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE LESSON, BUT LETS ALSO REMEMBER THE BLESSINGS FOUND IN THE PROCESS.
CONTEXT:
LET’S LOOK BRIEFLY AT THE CONTEXT OF THIS PASSAGE.
THERE ARE THREE PARABLES IN THE PASSAGE WE ARE LOOKING AT. JESUS TAUGHT IN PARABLES FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS:
1. HE WANTED TO REVEAL THE MYSTERIES OF GOD’S KINGDOM TO HIS DISCIPLES.
2. HE WANTED TO CONCEAL THESE MYSTERIES FORM SOME IN THE CROWD
3. HE WANTED TO TEACH HIS OPPONANTS.
THERE WERE INCREASING LARGE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD COME TO HEAR JESUS TEACH. SOME OF WHAT HE HAD TO SAY WAS ONLY FOR THE EARS OF THE DISCIPLES AND THOSE WHO WANTED TO FOLLOW HIM. USING THE PARABLES WOULD ALLOW HIM TO CONVEY HIS MESSAGE TO THEM AND NOT TO THOSE WHO WERE THERE JUST TO RAISE TROUBLE.
WHEN JESUS TAUGHT IN PARABLES HE IMMEDIATELY HAD THEIR ATTENTION AS LISTENERS BECAME PARTICIPANTS IN THE LESSON AND MUST CHOOSE A COURSE OF ACTION.
JESUS WAS SPEAKING TO FOUR GROUPS OF PEOPLE IN THIS PASSAGE. THE PUBLICANS AND SINNERS WERE THE LOWER CLASS OF THE SOCIAL SCALE. THEY WOULD INCLUDE SHEPHERDS, TAX COLLECTORS, CAMEL DRIVERS, AND SAILORS, AS ALL WERE THEIVING OCCUPATIONS AND CONSIDERED TO BE UNCLEAN. THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO WORSHIP AT THE TEMPLE.
SINNERS WERE UNWORTHY PEOPLE. THEY WERE PEOPLE WHO DESERVE NOTHING YET WANTS SOMETHING. THE SINNER SEARCHES FOR SOMEONE WHO LOVES THE UNWORTHY, WHO IS WILLING TO HELP THE UNDESERVING.
SINNERS WERE AND ARE ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO HAD LOST THEIR WAY. THEY HAD GROWN CARELESS ABOUT THE NICETIES OF RELIGION. THEY PAID NO ATTENTION TO THE PETTY RULES OF THE PHARISEES, AND SO WERE HELD IN CONTEMPT BY THEM. PHARISEES TRIED THEIR BEST NOT TO HAVE ANY CONTACT WITH PUBLICANS AND SINNERS.
THERE IS CERTAINLY NO GIVEN THAT THE SINNER WILL REPENT. THEIR NEEDS THEN, AS DO OURS NOW, COMPEL US TO COME TO JESUS FOR ANSWERS.
ALSO IN THE CROWD WERE THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, PEOPLE WE WOULD CALL THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THE TIME. THEY WERE THERE NOT TO LEARN FROM JESUS, BUT TO LISTEN IN CASE JESUS SLIPPED UP IN HIS TEACHING AND THEY COULD USE IT AGAINST HIM.
THE CHARGE THEY BROUGHT AGAINST JESUS WAS THAT HE WAS A FRIEND OF THE LOWER CLASSES, AND PREFERRED THEM TO THE MORE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE AND RESPECTABLE CLASSES, WHICH THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES BELONGED TO.
LUKE 5:30: BUT THE PHARISEES AND THE TEACHERS OF THE LAW WHO BELONGED TO THEIR SECT COMPLAINED TO HIS DISCIPLES, “WHY DO YOU EAT AND DRINK WITH TAX COLLECTORS AND SINNERS?”
BEFORE WE CAN LOOK AT THESE PARABLES INDIVIDUALLY, LET US CONSIDER THE ELEMENT COMMON TO THE THREE. THERE IS ONLY ONE. EACH HAS SOMETHING OR SOMEONE WHO IS LOST AND THEN FOUND. (THE SHEEP, THE COIN, THE YOUNG SON.)
THERE IS A QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE THIRD PARABLE AND THE FIRST TWO IN THAT THE YOUNG SON CHOOSES TO LEAVE HIS FAMILY AND THEN CHOOSES TO COME BACK. THE SHEEP AND THE COIN CANNOT MAKE SUCH CHOICES. THIS MEANS THAT THE PARABLES LOOK AT TWO DIFFERENT FORMS OF LOSTNESS FOR THE SINNER.
1. THE LOSTNESS THAT COMES FROM BEING UNDER THE CONTROL OF OUR SINFUL NATURE AND REQUIRES SALVATION TO CORRECT.
2. THE SPIRITUAL LOSTNESS THAT OCCURS WHEN WE IGNORE OR WILLING SUSPEND OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. WE CALL IT “BACKSLIDING.”
THE POINT CAN BE MADE THAT THERE IS A GOD FIGURE IN EACH OF THE PARABLES, BUT I WANT TO GO ON A LIMB TODAY AND SUGGEST THAT THE SHEPHERD, THE WOMAN, AND THE FATHER, CAN BE DIFFERENT EXAMPLES OF THE CHURCH.
LET US NOW CONSIDER THE LESSONS OF THE PARABLES FOR THE CHURCH TODAY.
POINT ONE: THE PARABLE OF THE FOUND SHEEP
WHAT DO WE KNOW OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE PARABLE. JESUS TELLS US THAT THE SHEEP ARE BEING PASTURED IN SECTIONS OF THE WILDERNESS. THIS MEANS THAT THERE WOULD BE SOME SECTIONS WHERE GRASS WAS PLENTIFUL AND SOME AREAS THAT WOULD BE BARREN. IT LEAVES THE POSSIBILITY OPEN THAT A SHEEP WOULD FOLLOW A LINE OF FOOD THAT WOULD LEAD IT AWAY FROM THE FLOCK, AND UNKNOWINGLY INTO DANGER.
THIS WAS A COMMON PLACE FOR SHEPHERDS TO TAKE THEIR FLOCKS, AND A NUMBER OF SHEPHERDS WOULD HAVE FLOCKS THERE AT ANY ONE TIME. DANGER WAS LESSENED BY THEIR NUMBERS BUT IT WAS STILL THERE. THERE WAS ALSO THE POSSIBILITY OF A SHEEP BEING HURT IN AN ACCIDENT IF IT WANDERED FROM THE FLOCK.
WE KNOW THAT THE SHEPHERD HAD 100 SHEEP WHICH MADE HIM SOMEWHAT WEALTHY AS THE SIZE OF THE AVERAGE FLOCK WAS BETWEEN 20 AND 200 SHEEP.
THE SHEPHERD HAD A FINANCIAL STAKE IN THE FLOCK. IF HE COULD NOT PROVE THAT A SHEEP WAS KILLED BY A WILD ANIMAL, THEN HE WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR THE SHEEP. CONSEQUENTLY THEY WERE VERY VIGILENT IN THEIR DUTY.
MORE IMPORTANT WAS THE PERSONAL INTEREST THEY HAD IN THE SHEEP. MANY A SHEPHERD GAVE THEIR LIVES TO PROTECT SHEEP FROM WILD ANIMALS. EACH SHEEP KNEW THE VOICE OF THE SHEPHERD AND WOULD FOLLOW HIM. JESUS SAID:
JOHN 10:14-15:
14 “I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD; I KNOW MY SHEEP AND MY SHEEP KNOW ME—15 JUST AS THE FATHER KNOWS ME AND I KNOW THE FATHER—AND I LAY DOWN MY LIFE FOR THE SHEEP.
I WAS TALKING WITH A PASTOR FRIEND OF MINE AND HE SHARED A STORY OF A CONVERSATION HE HAD WITH A SHEPHERD, WHO WAS ALSO A PASTOR. THEY WERE BY THE PEN AND THE SHEPHERD SAID,
“MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT SHEEP ARE DUMB ANIMALS BUT THAT IS NOT TRUE. YOU SEE THAT ONE IN THE CORNER. HER NAME IS LUCY. YOU CALL TO HER AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS.” THE PASTOR CALLED AND NOTHING HAPPENED. THEN THE SHEPHERD SAID, “NOW WATCH THIS.” HE CALLED HER NAME. LUCY IMMEDIATELY PICKED UP HER HEAD AND CAME TO HIM. SHE WAS THE ONLY ONE TO COME. HE SCRATCHED HER BEHIND THE EARS AND SAID “ EACH ONE OF THEM HAS A NAME AND I TRAINED THEM TO ANSWER TO THEIR NAME. THEY WILL COME TO ME AND TO ME ONLY. A DUMB ANIMAL COULDN’T DO THAT.”
WE KNOW THAT FOR SOME REASON ONE OF THE SHEEP WAS LOST WHEN THE SHEPHERD DID HIS HEAD COUNT. IT WAS LIKE A MEMBER OF HIS FAMILY HAD GONE MISSING AND WAS IN DANGER.
THE SHEPHERD LEFT THE NINETY-NINE UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYE OF THE OTHER SHEPHERDS. PERHAPS HE DID THE SAME THING FOR THEM EARLIER AND NOW IT WAS THEIR TURN TO RETURN THE FAVOR. HE THEN GOES IN SEARCH OF THE LOST SHEEP.
WHEN HE FINDS THE SHEEP, HE DOES NOT PUNISH IT FOR RUNNING AWAY, HE PUTS IT ON HIS SHOULDERS AND CARRIES IT BACK TO THE FOLD. THE SHEPHERD IS TIRED AS HE HAS SEARCHED FOR MANY HOURS, AND NOW ADDS AN ADDITIONAL 50 POUNDS ON HIS SHOULDERS TO CARRY BACK TO HIS CAMP. THAT IS CARING FOR THE SHEEP.
WHEN HE GETS BACK THEY CELEBRATE THE FACT THAT THE LOST SHEEP HAS BEEN FOUND.
WHAT LESSONS CAN WE TAKE FROM THIS PARABLE? HOW DO WE APPLY IT TO OUR LIVES?
FIRST NOTE THE LOSTNESS OF THE SHEEP. HE WAS LOST AND IT IS HIGHLY DOUBTFUL IF THE SHEEP EVEN KNEW HE WAS LOST.
I SUGGEST TO YOU TODAY THAT THIS IS A VERY GOOD PICTURE OF OUR LOST STATE IN NEED OF SALVATION. PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW THEY NEED CHRIST FOR THE ONLY LIFE THEY KNOW IS THE ONE THEY LEAD WITHOUT GOD.
EPHESIANS 2:1-3
AS FOR YOU, YOU WERE DEAD IN YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS AND SINS, 2 IN WHICH YOU USED TO LIVE WHEN YOU FOLLOWED THE WAYS OF THIS WORLD AND OF THE RULER OF THE KINGDOM OF THE AIR, THE SPIRIT WHO IS NOW AT WORK IN THOSE WHO ARE DISOBEDIENT. 3 ALL OF US ALSO LIVED AMONG THEM AT ONE TIME, GRATIFYING THE CRAVINGS OF OUR FLESH M AND FOLLOWING ITS DESIRES AND THOUGHTS. LIKE THE REST, WE WERE BY NATURE DESERVING OF WRATH
IF YOU DON’T KNOW THAT YOU ARE LOST, THEN YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO BE FOUND. YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING TO BE FOUND.
IT WAS THE SHEPHERD WHO WENT TO LOOK FOR THE SHEEP. THIS IS THE CALL TO THE CHURCH TODAY. WE MUST BE A MISSIONAL CHURCH THAT GOES OUT TO FIND LOST SHEEP.
LUKE 10:1-3:
AFTER THIS THE LORD APPOINTED SEVENTY-TWO OTHERS AND SENT THEM TWO BY TWO AHEAD OF HIM TO EVERY TOWN AND PLACE WHERE HE WAS ABOUT TO GO. 2 HE TOLD THEM, “THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL, BUT THE WORKERS ARE FEW. ASK THE LORD OF THE HARVEST, THEREFORE, TO SEND OUT WORKERS INTO HIS HARVEST FIELD. 3 GO! I AM SENDING YOU OUT LIKE LAMBS AMONG WOLVES
AT THE TIME BEFORE THE FALL, WE WERE ALL IN THE FOLD IN THAT WE WERE SINLESS AND HAD A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. A RESULT OF THE FALL IS THAT SIN ENTERED OUR LIVES, AND WE WERE ESTRANGED FROM GOD. WE WERE LOST LIKE THE SHEEP. WE WANDER HELPLESSY IN THIS WORLD NOT KNOWING WE ARE IN GREAT DANGER FROM SATAN. HE DOES NOT WANT THE LOST SHEEP TO BE FOUND ALIVE.
1 PETER 5:8: BE ALERT AND OF SOBER MIND. YOUR ENEMY THE DEVIL PROWLS AROUND LIKE A ROARING LION LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO DEVOUR
AS A RESULT OF JESUS’ DEATH AND RESURRECTION WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH PEOPLE THAT THIS RELATIONSHIP CAN BE STARTED AGAIN WITH GOD. WE AS A CHURCH ARE GIVEN THE RESPONSIBILITY TO SEARCH FOR THE LOST SHEEP AND BRING THEM TO GOD ONE BY ONE.
THERE IS NO GREATER BLESSING, OTHER THAN OUR OWN SALVATION, THAN TO BE PRESENT WHEN ANOTHER SHEEP MAKES IT’S WAY INTO THE FOLD. WHAT A GREAT REASON TO CELEBRATE.
POINT TWO: THE FOUND COIN
THE PARABLE OF THE FOUND COIN IS SIMILAR TO THE FOUND SHEEP IN THAT AT ONE TIME THEY WERE EQUALLY LOST. THEY DO DIFFER IN ONE IMPORTANT AREA. WE ARE NOT TOLD HOW THE SHEEP GOT LOST, BUT IT IS SAFE TO ASSUME THAT IT WAS DUE TO HIS OWN ACTIONS. A COIN THOUGH IS INANIMATE WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION “HOW DID IT GET LOST; WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSING IT?”
THE STORY OF THE PARABLE IS SIMPLE AND STRAIGHTFORWARD. A WOMAN HAS 10 COINS, LOSES ONE, AND SEARCHES UNTIL SHE FINDS IT.
THE VALUE OF THE COIN IS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF THE WOMAN, NOT IN THE COIN ITSELF. THE COIN HAD THE VALUE OF A DRACKMA OR DENARIUS, WHICH WAS ABOUT $.17. AT THAT TIME IT WAS A GOOD DAY’S WAGE ESPECIALLY FOR A WOMAN.
WE WOULD MAKE A BIG MISTAKE TO VALUE THE COIN ON THE BASIS OF HER EMPLOYMENT, AS THERE WAS GREAT CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE TO IT.
WHEN A JEWISH GIRL MARRIED, SHE WOULD BEGIN TO WEAR A HEADBAND OF TEN SILVER COINS TO SIGNIFY THAT SHE WAS A WIFE. IT WAS THE JEWISH VERSION OF A WEDDING RING. TO LOSE A COIN WOULD BE THE EQUIVILENT OF LOSING THE DIAMOND OUT OF YOUR WEDDING RING.
THERE COULD HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF REASONS WHY THE COIN WAS LOST, BUT THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR LOSING IT ULTIMATELY HAD TO FALL ON THE SHOUDERS OF THE WOMAN.
WHAT LESSONS CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS PARABLE AND APPLY TO OUR CHURCH TODAY?
WE MUST BE CAREFUL AS A CHURCH, HOW WE TREAT PEOPLE WHO ARE SEARCHING FOR A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. HOW WE RECEIVE THEM AND HELP THEM COULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN WHETHER THEY MAKE A DECISION TO ACCEPT CHRIST OR NOT.
THE WOMAN LOST THE COIN BECAUSE SHE DID NOT TREAT IT WITH THE RESPECT IT WAS DUE AND THE CHURCH CAN LOSE PEOPLE FOR THE KINGDOM FOR THE SAME REASON. THE CHURCH IS THE WINDOW OF THE WORLD TO CHRIST AND WE MUST KEEP IT FROM ANY DEBRIS THAT CAN KEEP SOMEONE WHO IS SERACHING FROM SEEING CHRIST.
IT BEGS US TO LOOK AT OUR CHURCH AND ASK HOW READY ARE WE TO MINISTER TO PEOPLE. ARE WE READY TO MEET THEIR NEEDS? ARE WE PREPARING OURSELVES TO MEET THEIR NEEDS IN A NON-JUDGMENTAL AND PATIENT ATTITUDE?
LASTLY, SHE LIKE THE SHEPHERD CELEBRATED WHEN THE COIN WAS FOUND.
POINT THREE: THE FOUND SON
THIS PARABLE IS DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST TWO IN A NUMBER OF WAYS.
1. UNLIKE THE SHPEHERD AND THE WOMAN, THE FATHER DOES NOT SEARCH FOR HIS SON.
2. THE PARABLE HAS THREE CHARACTERS, ENABLING A THIRD POINT OF VIEW.
3. THE ACTIONS ARE INITIATED BY THE LOST SON
THIS PARABLE STARTS WITH THE SON IN GOOD STANDING AT THE HOUSE. HE IS ABOUT 15 WHEN HE CHOOSES TO LEAVE. HIS EYES BECOME BLINDED BY HIS WEALTH.
THE YOUNGER SON WAS ENTITLED TO ONE FOURTH OF HIS FATHERS ESTATE, AND THE OLDER BROTHER WAS ENTITLED TO A HALF.
DEUTERONOMY 21:17: HE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THE SON OF HIS UNLOVED WIFE AS THE FIRSTBORN BY GIVING HIM A DOUBLE SHARE OF ALL HE HAS. THAT SON IS THE FIRST SIGN OF HIS FATHER’S STRENGTH. THE RIGHT OF THE FIRSTBORN BELONGS TO HIM.
HE IS ENTITLED TO ASK FOR HIS INHERITANCE BEFORE HIS FATHERS DEATH, BUT IT IS THE EQUIVILENT OF SAYING “I WISH YOU WERE DEAD” AND SEVERING ALL TIES WITH THE FAMILY.
HE GOES AWAY AND SPENDS ALL OF HIS WEALTH IN ONE BAD DECISION AFTER THE OTHER. HE FINALLY ENDS UP AT WHAT WE WOULD CALL THE BOTTOM. HE IS FEEDING SWINE WHICH IS AN UNCLEAN ANIMAL. HE CAN’T HAVE WHAT THEY ARE EATING, IT’S FOR THEM. HIS SOCALLED FRIENDS WOULDN’T ALLOW HIM TO EAT FOOD FOR PIGS.
HE MAKES THE DECISION TO GO BACK TO HIS FATHER, WHO SEES HIM COMING FROM AFAR AND RUNS TO MEET HIM. LOST IN HIS HAPPINESS IS THE SON’S SUGGESTION TO TAKE HIM BACK ONLY AS A SERVANT.
HE RECEIVES THE BEST ROBE HIS FATHER HAD, AND A RING AND SANDALS WHICH ARE THE MARKS OF A FREE MAN NOT A SLAVE. THE FATHER WAS ACCEPTING THE SON BACK INTO HIS FAMILY WITH FAMILY STATUS.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN AS A CHURCH FROM THIS PARABLE?
WE CAN LEARN THAT OCCASIONALY, WE WILL ENCOUNTER SITUATIONS WHERE PEOPLE WHO ARE BORN-AGAIN MEMBERS, SOME FOR SEVERAL YEARS, WILL FOR SOME REASON ABANDON THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
THE YOUNG SON GOT CAUGHT UP IN HIS WEALTH AND THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD, AND THIS IS THE SAME THING THAT HAPPENS TO THE PERSON WHO “BACKSLIDES”. SOMETHING HAPPENS IN THEIR LIVES, IT COULD BE A PERSONAL TRAGEDY, A FINANCIAL WINDFALL, A NEW JOB, OR CHANGING FAMILY PRIORITIES. GOOD OR BAD THE OUTCOME IS THAT THEY WILL TAKE THE PERSON AND USUALLY THE FAMILY AWAY FROM THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
WE BECOME LIKE THE YOUNG SON, SURVIVING IN OUR OWN POWER, UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS THAT WE JUST CAN’T SOLVE AND WE HIT BOTTOM. THEN, SOMETIMES WE THINK OF GOD AND DETERMINE TO MAKE OUR WAY BACK TO HIM.
WE MUST ALWAYS HOLD OUT HOPE FOR THE CHRISTIAN WHO FALLS AWAY FROM THEIR FAITH. I BELIEVE THAT THE FATHER HAD A PLAN OF WHAT HE WOULD DO WHEN HIS SON CAME BACK, AND ALWAYS HELD OUT HOPE FOR HIS RETURN.
THIS IS THE ATTITUDE THAT THE CHURCH MUST HAVE IN SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES. BE IN PRAYER FOR THE INDIVIDUALS AND TRY TO MAINTAIN A RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM. SHOW COMPASSION. WE MUST ALWAYS BE PREPARED TO ACCEPT THE INDIVIDUAL AS A BROTHER OR SISTER AGAIN, AS THE FATHER WAS.
CONCLUSION:
THE NEED FOR SALVATION IS UNIVERSAL, AND OCCASIONALLY WE WILL BE INVOLVED IN SITUATIONS WHERE CHRISTIANS TURN AWAY FROM GOD. LET OUR CHURCH BE KNOWN AS A CHURCH WHERE WE CONCENTRATE ON FINDING AND RESCUEING THE LOST, AND BRINGING GLORY TO GOD.
LIKE THE SHEPHERD, THE WOMAN, AND THE FATHER, LET’S HAVE A SALVATION CELEBRATION TODAY, AND LET IT BEGIN IN OUR CHURCH.
