“It is those who get lost, who find the new ways.”
Nils Kjaer
Currently,
Jane and I are on vacation in Florida. Personally, I’m so thankful for GPS. I
have a fairly natural sense of direction…unless I’m out on a country road. Drop
me in the middle of a major city and I can usually find my way. Drop me in the
middle of nowhere or Walworth County, and I’m in deep weeds. For me,
civilization ends a little north of Madison. I can relate to the guy who said, “I
am not lost. To be lost you have to know where it is you’re supposed to be, and
I don’t even know that.”
Shortly after moving to Burlington from Detroit, Jane and I were visiting a family who’d recently attended our church. We had a lady in the church who would watch our then two young children, but she lived out in the boonies. It was the day of phone booths before cell phones. We got so lost after our appointment that we spent at least an hour trying to find her house again to retrieve our kids. I know we called her at least once, maybe twice, from a phone booth to get directions back to her home.
The Bible says a lot about being lost. In Luke 15 Jesus told three parables, known as “the lost parables.” I love them! Because that was me and that was you until Jesus found us. They tell us wonderful things about God.
Sinners are lost until God finds them. The biblical description of those who do not yet know Jesus is not “unsaved,” it’s lost. It’s an empty, hopeless word when used in referring to things or animals. It’s an especially bleak word when it’s used in reference to people.
We once lost Ben at the Mall of America. It was terrifying. We spent several minutes frantically searching for him, but it seemed a lot longer. When we finally found him, I was so emotional. There are very few times in my life when I have felt so frightened.
When a close family member is lost, you won’t rest until they are found. Did you know that the Bible describes every person who does not know Jesus Christ as being lost? Jesus first tells the parable of the lost sheep. A lost sheep in the Judean wilderness was doomed. It had no protection. It’d be only a short time before a predator would attack and kill it.
A lost dog might find its way home, but a lost sheep is unable to do so. That’s the picture of us, lost sinners. The sinner may not even know that he’s lost. Unbelievers are lost and helpless prey for the enemy unless God intervenes. But thank God, He has intervened! Jesus shows us that …
God goes to great effort to seek lost sinners. The shepherd leaves his 99 other sheep and goes after the lost one until He finds it. It’s Jesus who is the Good Shepherd. He described His mission as “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
God undertakes the personal cost of the search. The shepherd invested whatever time it took to search for his lost sheep. He exposed himself to the dangers of the wilderness and the weather. The same lions or wolves that were stalking his sheep might stalk him. He went without sleep. The longer the sheep remained lost, the greater the risk of its being killed.
The shepherd did whatever it took, however costly, to find the one missing sheep. But in the case of our salvation, the cost was much greater. It cost God the life of His Son, Jesus. “God did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Romans 8:32).
God pursues lost sinners until He finds them. The shepherd relentlessly searched until he finally found his sheep. In the same way, the Good Shepherd goes after every sheep whom His Father has given to Him so that none will be lost but that all will be brought safely into His fold. If you’re Christ-follower then you know it’s not because you sought after God, but because God sought after you and kept seeking you until He rescued you from your sin.
Dr. Harry Ironside, one time pastor of Moody Church, told of a new convert who gave his testimony at a church service. With a smile on his face and joy in his heart, the man shared how he’d been delivered from a life of sin. He gave the Lord all the glory.
The man in charge of the service didn’t understand that salvation is totally by God’s grace, apart from human merit. So, he responded to the young man’s comments by saying, “You seem to indicate that God did everything when He saved you. Didn’t you do your part before God did His?” And the new Christian said, “Oh, yes, I did. For more than 30 years I ran away from God as fast as my sins could carry me. That was my part. But God took out after me and ran me down. That was His part.”
When God finds lost sinners, He keeps them safely. When the shepherd found the lost sheep, he didn’t get out his whip to drive it back home. No, he put it securely on his shoulders and carried it home.
I love the picture of Jesus as the smiling shepherd with a lamb on his shoulders. He’s holding it by its legs, so it won’t get lost again. As Jesus said concerning His sheep, “I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
None of us is secure in our salvation because of our grip on the Good Shepherd. We’re secure because of His grip on us. If God goes to such great effort to seek lost sinners, shouldn’t we? If our Lord came from heaven to seek and to save the lost, shouldn’t we be praying often, “Lord, use me to be Your instrument in seeking lost people with Your good news?” Rather than avoiding sinners, we must be pursuing them, to be part of rescuing them from this doomed world. Ask God to burden your heart for the lost and to give you opportunities to pursue them with the gospel and share how the Good Shepherd rescued you.
God celebrates when lost sinners come to repentance. Heaven is already filled with joy. When a sinner gets saved, heaven throws a party, just as the father of the prodigal son did in Luke 15! When a sinner turns from his sins to God, all heaven rejoices because God gets the glory. The angels also rejoice because they know the joys of God’s glorious presence in heaven, where those rescued by the Good Shepherd will spend eternity.
Do you love a party? If you’re lost and don’t know Christ, commit your life to Him today and all of heaven will have a party over you. Angels live in the breathtaking presence of God, regularly seeing His wonders, yet they’re ecstatic over each person who repents and comes to Christ. So, come to Him today and let’s get the party started!
Shortly after moving to Burlington from Detroit, Jane and I were visiting a family who’d recently attended our church. We had a lady in the church who would watch our then two young children, but she lived out in the boonies. It was the day of phone booths before cell phones. We got so lost after our appointment that we spent at least an hour trying to find her house again to retrieve our kids. I know we called her at least once, maybe twice, from a phone booth to get directions back to her home.
The Bible says a lot about being lost. In Luke 15 Jesus told three parables, known as “the lost parables.” I love them! Because that was me and that was you until Jesus found us. They tell us wonderful things about God.
Sinners are lost until God finds them. The biblical description of those who do not yet know Jesus is not “unsaved,” it’s lost. It’s an empty, hopeless word when used in referring to things or animals. It’s an especially bleak word when it’s used in reference to people.
We once lost Ben at the Mall of America. It was terrifying. We spent several minutes frantically searching for him, but it seemed a lot longer. When we finally found him, I was so emotional. There are very few times in my life when I have felt so frightened.
When a close family member is lost, you won’t rest until they are found. Did you know that the Bible describes every person who does not know Jesus Christ as being lost? Jesus first tells the parable of the lost sheep. A lost sheep in the Judean wilderness was doomed. It had no protection. It’d be only a short time before a predator would attack and kill it.
A lost dog might find its way home, but a lost sheep is unable to do so. That’s the picture of us, lost sinners. The sinner may not even know that he’s lost. Unbelievers are lost and helpless prey for the enemy unless God intervenes. But thank God, He has intervened! Jesus shows us that …
God goes to great effort to seek lost sinners. The shepherd leaves his 99 other sheep and goes after the lost one until He finds it. It’s Jesus who is the Good Shepherd. He described His mission as “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).
God undertakes the personal cost of the search. The shepherd invested whatever time it took to search for his lost sheep. He exposed himself to the dangers of the wilderness and the weather. The same lions or wolves that were stalking his sheep might stalk him. He went without sleep. The longer the sheep remained lost, the greater the risk of its being killed.
The shepherd did whatever it took, however costly, to find the one missing sheep. But in the case of our salvation, the cost was much greater. It cost God the life of His Son, Jesus. “God did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all” (Romans 8:32).
God pursues lost sinners until He finds them. The shepherd relentlessly searched until he finally found his sheep. In the same way, the Good Shepherd goes after every sheep whom His Father has given to Him so that none will be lost but that all will be brought safely into His fold. If you’re Christ-follower then you know it’s not because you sought after God, but because God sought after you and kept seeking you until He rescued you from your sin.
Dr. Harry Ironside, one time pastor of Moody Church, told of a new convert who gave his testimony at a church service. With a smile on his face and joy in his heart, the man shared how he’d been delivered from a life of sin. He gave the Lord all the glory.
The man in charge of the service didn’t understand that salvation is totally by God’s grace, apart from human merit. So, he responded to the young man’s comments by saying, “You seem to indicate that God did everything when He saved you. Didn’t you do your part before God did His?” And the new Christian said, “Oh, yes, I did. For more than 30 years I ran away from God as fast as my sins could carry me. That was my part. But God took out after me and ran me down. That was His part.”
When God finds lost sinners, He keeps them safely. When the shepherd found the lost sheep, he didn’t get out his whip to drive it back home. No, he put it securely on his shoulders and carried it home.
I love the picture of Jesus as the smiling shepherd with a lamb on his shoulders. He’s holding it by its legs, so it won’t get lost again. As Jesus said concerning His sheep, “I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
None of us is secure in our salvation because of our grip on the Good Shepherd. We’re secure because of His grip on us. If God goes to such great effort to seek lost sinners, shouldn’t we? If our Lord came from heaven to seek and to save the lost, shouldn’t we be praying often, “Lord, use me to be Your instrument in seeking lost people with Your good news?” Rather than avoiding sinners, we must be pursuing them, to be part of rescuing them from this doomed world. Ask God to burden your heart for the lost and to give you opportunities to pursue them with the gospel and share how the Good Shepherd rescued you.
God celebrates when lost sinners come to repentance. Heaven is already filled with joy. When a sinner gets saved, heaven throws a party, just as the father of the prodigal son did in Luke 15! When a sinner turns from his sins to God, all heaven rejoices because God gets the glory. The angels also rejoice because they know the joys of God’s glorious presence in heaven, where those rescued by the Good Shepherd will spend eternity.
Do you love a party? If you’re lost and don’t know Christ, commit your life to Him today and all of heaven will have a party over you. Angels live in the breathtaking presence of God, regularly seeing His wonders, yet they’re ecstatic over each person who repents and comes to Christ. So, come to Him today and let’s get the party started!
Can
we help you spiritually? Please check out more resources on our church's web
page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more
about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus
changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org
to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.
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