INTRODUCTION
MARK 2:16-17 When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?" And hearing this, Jesus *said to them, "it is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
LUKE 19:10 "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
These are the statements of Jesus concerning the thrust of His ministry. There are many more that say the same thing. Jesus came to seek and save the lost.
The religious leaders of His day could not understand why He did not pal around with them. They could not understand why He would eat in the houses of the one’s that they deemed unrighteous.
In the first verse of Luke 15 we have a narrative that begins with the religious leaders talking about Jesus behind His back. The narrative ends with the religious leaders being scolded for their attitude toward the lost. READ VERSES 1-2
Explain tax collectors and sinners.
The religious leaders did not care enough for these two groups of people to try to reach them and introduce them to God.
Jesus is going to share three parables with the people who were gathered. The first two are aimed at vindicating His conduct and the third one is rebuke of the Pharisee’s criticism of Him.
Jesus is going to share three truths in these parables that show us why we are to try to reach out to all people with the gospel.
If the church is going to grow, we must make sure that we don’t get stuck in a comfort zone to the point that we don’t try to reach people for Jesus. EXAMPLE OF CHURCH WANTING TO STAY SMALL.
When Jesus dealt with people He usually did not refer to them a sinners in a nasty sense of the word, but He said that people were lost. If we do not have the same attitude toward people, then we will not grow as a church. We will not grow as a body and more people will die a go to hell every day!
In these parables, Jesus will reveal some things about God’s concern for lost man.
SERMON
GOD WANTS US TO SEEK…..
THOSE WHO HAVE WANDERED OFF VERSES 4-7
A. The lost sheep. READ VERSES 4-7
1. Explain the Shepherds job.
2. The sheep strayed off because it was not thinking or paying attention to what was going on around him.
3. Nibbling away living life, and then he was lost.
4. The sheep represents the person who foolishly wanders from God. The person who really has not given any thought to life and its questions.
B. The Shepherd.
1. God’s concern for the lost one. He left the 99 to find the one.
2. He did not just write off the sheep.
3. He did not beat the sheep when He found it either.
4. The shepherd tenderly carries home the lost sheep.
C. Conclusion
1. Losing a sheep was a serious matter. The Shepherds reputation was at stake. If he lost the sheep, he would have to pay for it. Jesus already paid the price for the lost sheep, God wants us to try to round them up!
2. A sheep was valuable, but ……
GOD WANTS US TO SEEK…..
THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN CAUSED TO STUMBLE. Verses 8-10.
A. The Lost coin.
1. The coin was lost because it was mishandled. It was misplaced.
2. It was lost because it was badly mishandled
3. The coin’s lost condition caused the coin no discomfort.
4. It could symbolize the lost who are ignorant of their condition.
B. The Woman
1. The coin was worth about one day’s wage. This would be a lot of money for a poor person.
2. The coin could have come from the head band that married women wore. It consisted of ten coins. It could never be taken away from them. It would have been a disgrace for her to loose a coin from it. It was like a wedding ring.
3. The represents the efforts that God went to so that man could be reconciled to Himself.
4. God has done all that He can for man. We are to look for the lost.
5. It was bad to lose a sheep, it was worse to lose money, but it would even be worse to lose a son.
GOD WANTS US TO SEEK…..
Those who have decided to follow the world. Verses 11-32.
A. The Rejection of Home 12-16.
1. This is a willful and conscience effort to leave the home.
2. It was self-determined and daring. His father could have refused to let him go.
3. When the son got his wish, he did not move in across the street, but he went as far away from his father as he could get. This way his father could not know what he was up to. I think that people act differently when they know that their father is watching them. God always knows what we are doing!
4. The son lived it up, when one day something happened. He came to his senses!
B. Return to Home. 17-19
1. Verse 17 is the key to this parable. READ IT.
2. This verse is the beginning of the repentance of the young man.
3. He knew that he did not deserve to be called a son, so he was willing to be a servant. The Pharisee’s felt as though they deserved to go to heaven.
4. The son got in such bad shape, that he then realized that he needed the father. Some people need to hit bottom before they come to realize their need for God.
C. Reception at Home. 20-24
1. The father is pictured as waiting for his son to return home. We do not hear of him cursing the son, or talking about what a selfish loser he raised.
2. When the father sees the son, he runs to him and kisses him continually.
3. The son doesn’t even get a opportunity to give his repentance speech.
4. The father gave the son the robe which shows that son that he was being restored to a state of sonship.
5. He gave him a signet ring that represented the union of heart between the father and son, it was a sign of authority.
6. The father gave him shoes, to show that the boy was family. Only family members were allowed to wear shoes, the servants went barefooted.
7. The restoration was complete. The father did not hold the sins of the son over his head, but he forgave him.
8. The father shows God’s care and concern for the lost. When a prodigal son returns to God, God restores him, God doesn’t tell him that he is lucky that he is accepted, but that he is accepted. God’s forgiveness is true forgiveness. A lot of times we say that we forgive, but we don’t forget. God doesn’t forget the incidents, but he does not count them against us.
9. The story could end here on a happy note, but Jesus was not done with the religious leaders.
D. Rejection at Home. Verses 25-32
1. The elder brother comes home and is mad at the father for rejoicing over the sons return. Verse 29 is a pathetic exchange between father and son.
2. The son is complaining that he never threw a party for him!
3. All of the sins of the prodigal would not keep him out of heaven because he repented. All of the virtues of the older son would not allow him into heaven. PRIDE!
4. The Pharisees wanted sinners to burn in hell, much like the older brother wanted for his brother.
CONCLUSION
These parables show us that God loves and cars for the lost. We see this in the parable of the lost sheep. The shepherd tenderly carried the sheep back home. In the parable of the lost coin we see that the lost are of enough value to God that He searches for them and wants them to be recovered. In the Prodigal Son we see God’s love for those who reject Him and His forgiveness for those who repent.
God does not hold our old sins against us, nor does He act like forgiveness is a favor to us, even though it is. When President Lincoln was asked how he would treat the rebellious southerners when they were defeated, he said, “I will treat them as if they had never been away.
The love of God can defeat the foolishness of man, the indifference of man, and the deliberate rebellion of man!
The lost are valuable to God. Jesus said that He came to seek and save the lost. My question is , “What are we doing about the Lost?”
