Sometime in July, we were looking at this passage during our prayer meeting:
• Somehow I was drawn to one particular word, in verse 7.
• Jesus says, “I tell you that in the same way, there will be MORE rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (15:7)
• I know this passage very well, but somehow that night, the word MORE just stands out… and I can’t keep it to myself, I shared it with Michael, who was sitting beside me.
This word is significant.
• The Lord says, it’s good to have 99 faithful Christians in the fold… coming to church every Sunday. I’m happy.
• It is good to have you guys, coming regularly & serving at English Service, Youth Fellowships, etc. I’m happy.
• It’s really nice to see a group that is obedient and stay within the fold.
BUT I would be HAPPIER to see something else.
• There will be MORE rejoicing if something else happens.
• I’m happy with you guys here, but “there will be MORE REJOICING in heaven over one returning sheep, than over 99 righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
• 15:10 “…there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over” - WHAT?
• “…over one sinner who repents.”
The angels will be REJOICING… there will be MORE rejoice, if the lost one is saved!
• In the story of the prodigal son, the party is thrown SPECIALLY for the one who repents and return. Not for the one who stays in the house.
And the Lord tells me, “I will be happier, when I see one lost sheep repents and steps back into the fold.”
This emphasis was necessary. Jesus wants us to capture the heart of God here.
• 15:2 tells us there were this group of Pharisees & the teachers of the law who have lost it.
• They’ve gotten so “religious” that they’ve forgotten the whole purpose of being “religious”.
• They were not happy to see Jesus mixing with the sinners.
We would have lost it too, today if we fail to find any joy or purpose in making connection with our friends who are lost.
• We need to re-look at our relationship with these friends.
Jesus tells 3 parables in a row – the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son.
• They are central to the stories, because they are the focus of God’s heart.
• In all three, something of value is lost. Nobody, including the religious leaders who valued material things, would ignore such a loss.
• They too would make every effort into finding it and would rejoice when they did.
The lost matters so much to God that when one is found, all heaven rejoices & throws a party!
• There is more joy over one sinner coming to Jesus that over 99 people who stays in the fold.
• You are not the FOCUS of all of God’s attention! The older son in the parable of the prodigal son wants that ATTENTION.
• “But you don’t need that attention.” Who needs the attention? “this son of mine was dead… he was lost…” (15:24)
• The dead out there NEEDS our attention!
If a lost sheep, and a lost coin, causes us to search frantically, shouldn’t we respond to a lost soul in the same way or even a greater way than we would to lost things?
• Shouldn’t we show the same efforts and perseverance in searching for them?
• Shouldn’t we be filled with joy at there being found?
The point is clear. Jesus wants us to think about the way we are responding to the lost.
• Learning from Jesus, I like to highlight 2 things that we need in order for us to reach lost.
• What is needed to reach the lost – I’ll talk about the first point today and the second point next week.
Read Luke 15:1-2. Look at the setting.
Jesus had the “tax collectors and sinners” gathering around him.
• They were not running from Jesus but rather running to Him.
• They were not avoiding him, ignoring him, or even hostile towards him, like many of the religious leaders.
Verse 1 says that they were “gathering around to hear him.”
• This is amazing – Jesus is a righteous and a holy person and we expect the religious, the good people, the ones who go to church, to be attracted to Him.
• Yet the Gospels tell us just the opposite - Jesus spent most of His time with the unrighteous, the unholy ones.
• The tax-collectors and the sinners were ones attracted to Him, not the religious.
Why were sinners so willing and even eager to come to Jesus, when they were so ‘dirty’ and He so holy?
• It couldn’t be because of His message – it wasn’t a message that tickled man’s ears.
• It wasn’t because Jesus compromised on sin and said that everything they were doing was acceptable.
• So why did the “lost” seek out Jesus, rather than run from Him?
I believe the answer is His compassion.
The first thing needed for reaching the lost is COMPASSION.
• Jesus loved them & showed that love with a compassionate attitude, & not a condemning one. The Bible says in verse 2 that Jesus “welcomes sinners and eats with them”, which is clearly what the Pharisees and teachers of the law WOULD NOT do.
• They focus on the Law and it condemns.
Jesus welcomes the sinners.
• He loves them and reaches out to them despite their sins and faults. He is a friend and not a foe. He hates sin but He loves the sinners.
Jesus had an attitude that lost people were attracted to.
• Today, we need to ask ourselves, do we have that same attitude?
• Will people be attracted to us because we’re like Jesus?
• As individuals and as a church, in order to reach people we need to have – and to show – that same love and concern.
• The first thing needed for reaching the lost is compassion.
• Don’t get so focus on ourselves, get over yourself. Don’t be like the older son in the parable.
THREE GROUPS OF PEOPLE AT AN ACCIDENT
At the scene of a car accident there are 3 groups of people, each with a different response toward those involved in the accident.
The first group is the bystanders and onlookers. They are curious and watch to see what happens, but have little active involvement.
The second group is the police officers. Their response was to investigate the cause of the accident, assign blame, and give out appropriate warnings, fines and punishments.
(I just saw THE FUGITIVE on TV. Harrison Ford was innocent but on the run. The detective Tommy Lee Jones, being the police, wanted to capture him. At one point the fugitive says, “I’m innocent.” And the detective says, “I don’t care.” His job was just to capture him.)
The third group is the paramedics. They are the people usually most welcomed by those involved in the accident. They could care less whose fault the accident was and they did not engage in lecturing about bad driving habits. Their response was to help those who were hurt. They bandaged wounds, freed trapped people, and gave words of encouragement.
Three groups - one is uninvolved, one is assigning blame and assessing punishment, and one is helping the hurting.
Which group are you in?
Actually, whether you like it or not, when it comes to reaching the lost and hurting, we’re taking one of these 3 positions.
• (1) We are uninvolved and let others do the work.
• Or (2) we condemn people for their foolish behaviour, saying things like, “It’s your own fault that you’re in this mess. If you had been going to church and doing like you should, this never would have happened!”
• Or (3) we make an effort to help those who are lost and hurting.
I hope we will be those who are showing compassion like those in the last group.
• Talk is cheap. Reaching the lost is costly.
• The Pharisees and teachers of the law were more interested in condemning and criticizing sinners than in showing compassion.
• The same attitude is sometimes seen in us. We must be careful that our concern about sin and morality does not turn into condemnation and dismay toward the lost.
The lost will never flocked to hear those who are condemning them.
• Jesus set us the right example. Show them love.
• Col 3:12 describes it best: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
• The first thing needed for reaching the lost is compassion.
I like how one pastor describe the church:
• What is the church? A community of people who present living proof of a loving God to a watching world. Living proof of a loving God to a watching world.
• So we have to ask ourselves, individually and as an ES group, how are we living proof of a loving God to the world around us?
• It’s a fair question. It’s one that will challenge us to do it right.
Sermons We See (By Edgar A. Guest, Source Unknown)
I’d rather see a sermon
Than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me
Than merely tell the way.
The eye’s a better pupil
And more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing,
But example’s always clear.
And the best of all the preachers
Are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good put into action
Is what everybody needs.
When I see a deed of kindness,
I am eager to be kind.
When a weaker brother stumbles
And a strong man stands behind;
Just to see if he can help him,
Then the wish grows strong in me
To become as big and thoughtful
As I know that friend to be.
And all travelers can witness that
The best of guides today
Is not the one who tells them,
But the one who shows the way.
Conclusion:
• The religious leaders of the day had been indifferent toward the lost and even antagonistic toward them coming to Jesus.
• Jesus uses these parables to illustrate how wrong their response was, especially when compared to how they would have responded toward recovering something that is of far less value.
• If they are joyful at the recovery of a lost sheep or lost coin, certainly they ought to be more joyful instead of being angry at the lost coming to Jesus.
Jesus points out clearly that the one thing that matters most to God is the lost.
• Jesus is telling the religious people, “This is why I am here!”
• Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
• And this is why we are here today.
If lost people matter this much to God, they should matter this much to us?
• And we should be willing to sacrifice something in order to reach the lost?
• My answer is "yes" and I hope yours is also.
On a practical note, let us put our best efforts in the BBQ outreach on 2 Sep.
• Ask the Lord to rekindle the compassion in our hearts for our friends.
• Don’t be a bystander, an onlooker… just watch while others do it.
• Don’t be the policeman who is there only to give comments on what should be done, what should not be done.
• Be the paramedics. Get your hands dirty and do the job. Get the invitations out to the lost and bring them in. And leave the rest to God.
