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The boss of a big company needed to call one
of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He
dialed the employee’s home telephone number and was greeted with a child’s
voice, "Hello?" It was a quiet little voice.
Feeling put out at the inconvenience of
having to talk to a youngster, the boss asked, "Is your Daddy home?" "Yes,"
said the small voice.
"May I talk with him?" the man asked. To the
surprise of the boss, he replied, "No."
Wanting to talk with an adult, the boss
asked, "Is your Mommy there?"
"Yes," came the answer. "May I talk with
her?" Again, the little voice said, "No."
Knowing that it was not likely that a young
child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a
message with the person who should be there watching over the child. "Is
there anyone there besides you?" the boss asked the child. "Yes," said the
child, "a policeman." Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s
home, the boss asked, "May I speak with the policeman?"
"No, he is busy," said the child. "Busy doing
what?" asked the boss.
"Talking to Daddy and Mommy and the Fireman,"
came the answer.
Growing concerned and even worried as he
heard what sounded like a helicopter through the ear piece on the phone, the
boss asked, "What is that noise?" "A hello-copper," answered the tiny voice.
"What is going on there?" asked the boss, now
alarmed. In an awed voice, the child answered, "They just landed the
hello-copper!"
Alarmed, concerned and more than just a
little frustrated, the boss asked, "Why are they there?" Still whispering,
the young voice replied (along with a muffled giggle), "They are looking for
me!"
[read text]
We have 3 stories told, but they make up just
one parable. [v. 3]
The Lost Sheep
represents those who are out in the world, and not saved. They are not part
of the ‘count.’ They are in danger, exposed, and helpless. But Jesus came
to seek and to save those who are lost! And He isn’t just about those that
are in the house, but about finding others and bringing them into the fold.
The Lost Silver
was not lost out in the elements, but lost in the house. This could
represent a saved soul but a lost life. It is good for nothing, and unfit
to be used. To be out of the hand of the One to Whom we belong is to be
useless. When a piece of money is misplaced it is not only the actual piece
of metal that is lost, but all the good that money might do is lost as
well. This person may come to church, but they are almost invisible because
they don’t do anything. They need to realize we are not saved to sit and
soak, but to serve and be useful. Or, this could represent the lost church
member, who has “profession without possession” of salvation. This one is
lost, though in the house. Remember, going to church doesn’t make you saved
anymore than going to Von Maur makes you rich!
The Lost Son
represents the backslider. They are saved, but have gotten away from God.
They haven’t lost their relationship w/ the Father, but they certainly
aren’t in fellowship w/ Him.
3 Stories—and they look at 3 ways we can be
lost. And guess what? We can see all 3 Persons of the Trinity in this
parable:
The shepherd
seeks the Lost Sheep to save it. Jesus, the Son of God is the
Shepherd leaves all behind to go after the lost, and at great personal
sacrifice He seeks to save that one.
The woman
seeks the Lost Silver to Use it. The Holy Spiritof God is
pictured here. Why are we sometimes lost to service? 2 reasons: Dust and
Darkness…and so just as the woman lights a candle and uses her broom, so the
Spirit of God shines the light of truth from without, and the dust of inward
corruption is stirred up within, so the lost can be found!
The unsaved is lost because he is outside the
fold. But a Christian can be outside of the control and touch of the Spirit
and be lost in his own way as well. He is in God’s hand for salvation, but
seems to be just out of reach for God to use him. And so he is lost when it
comes to service, and opportunities. Lost ministry. Lost blessings. Lost
tithes. Lost witnessing. Truly, a lost cause until he gets in touch with
the true Spirit of God, and becomes the tool in the hand of the Master that
he is intended to be. This is when the lost becomes found.
The father
of the prodigal seeks the Lost Son to restore fellowship with him. He
doesn’t go forth to seek; He waits and longs for the son to come back to
him, to come back home. This is God the Father, and He calls on
backsliders to return to Him. He promises healing and restoration to them.
All they must do is 1. Come to themselves and 2. Come back!
The Father thought it.
The Son brought
it.
The Holy Spirit
wrought it.
Glory
to God I’ve got it!
And there’s rejoicing in all 3 stories when
the lost is found. Poem:
When the Model T first hit the street,
It didn’t bring all heaven to its feet.
And when the first computer was born,
They didn’t blow Old Gabriel’s horn.
There’s only one thing that we’re sure about
That can make those angels jump and shout:
It’s when a sinner makes the Lord his choice;
That’s when the angels rejoice.
Now heaven doesn’t strike up a band
For any old occasion at hand;
It’s got to be a special thing,
to make those angels smile and sing.
Now when the United States became a nation,
There was no angelic celebration.
But when one lost sinner comes back home,
They jump for joy around the throne!
Larry Bryant
The lost sheep is a lost soul…but the lost
can be found!
The lost silver is a lost servant…but the
lost can be found!
The lost son has lost all his senses, but can
come to himself, and come back…and the lost can be found!
The Lost Sheep
The first story proves that God’s love is a
seeking love.
Isaiah 53:6—All we like sheep have gone
astray.
God died for the ‘all’ in that verse [for God
so loved the world] but He goes after the one. Every individual is
precious in His sight, and v. 4 ends w/ the wonderful words ‘until He find
it.’
If we could get ninety nine out of one
hundred today we would be satisfied. If we lived in a town with 100 people
and we got 99 of them saved, every preacher in America would be calling us
and asking, “How did you do it?” But the Good Shepherd was not satisfied
until He found that one that was missing.
Matt. 9:36—But when he saw the multitudes, he
was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered
abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
All other religions have man seeking God, but
Jesus makes it clear: sheep are stupid, and cannot find their way. Jesus
is the good shepherd who finds us. Other religions are all about man trying
to get to God, but Jesus came to us. Other religions are like the tower of
Babel…man trying to get a boost from beneath…but Jesus teaches us that we
need that birth from above! Verse 5 shows we make it into God’s fold on HIS
shoulders, not on our own goodness.
And in v. 5 we see Jesus rejoicing, and in v.
6 all the other sheep in the fold, and in v. 7 all of heaven, the angels
included, are rejoicing!
The Lost Silver
Have you ever lost something important? Your
keys perhaps? Ever sought for your glasses? What a hardship since you need
them to see and look for them! Ever spent about 10 minutes and then found
them on top of your head?!
Ill.--A dear lady had a husband who was an
airline pilot, and he often had difficulty locating items around the house.
One day he asked his wife where the salt was. Annoyed, she responded, "How
on earth can you find Detroit at night in a blizzard, but you can’t find the
salt in your own kitchen?" "Well, darling," he replied, "they don’t move
Detroit!"
Ill.--My dad once lost a $100 bill to the
trash. He tore the dump apart half a day, using hundreds of dollars worth
of his time and resources looking for it!
There is great grief in looking for something
you have lost. As for this coin, this poor woman needed it. The fall of
the coin was quick, but the grief that ensued went on and on until she found
it.
Eph. 4:30—Grieve not the Holy Spirit
of God…
Ill.--This week as you know, I was in the ER
trying to get attention. When I was released I went home to relax, but we
couldn’t find the remote. We searched and tore the place apart for a long
time. The room was upside down in shambles. I said, honey, I’ve just gone
from one emergency situation to another! Then she found it sitting right on
a table in that very room. We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry!
This woman and her friends rejoiced together
when the lost was found.
The Lost Son
Sin will take you farther than you intend to
go; it will keep you longer than you expect to stay, and it will cost you
more than you want to pay.
v. 13 ends showing us how bad living is such
a waste of life. And “willful waste brings woeful want.”
Romans 6:16
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants
ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness? Isaiah 55:2
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your
labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and
eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in
fatness.
He realized that the best the
world had to offer wasn’t as good as the worst of his father’s house.
Is there a backslider here
today that needs to come back to the Lord? Don’t wait until tomorrow. Don’t
wait until there is a better time. Come back today.
Prov 13:15—Good understanding
giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
The Father Met Him On The Road
Home. Luke 15:20
1. He forgave
him of all. The Heavenly Father will forgive you of all sin.
2. He put a
robe on him. The robe covered all. The blood of Christ will cleanse you of
all sin. 1 John 1:7, “...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us
from all sin."
3. He put a
ring on his finger. That reconfirms sonship.
4. The father
put shoes on his feet. Those blistered, bleeding feet that had walked in the
ways of the transgressor would now stand in the halls of his father’s home.
5. The fatted
calf. Not swine. How long does it take to fatten a calf. It can’t be done
overnight, thus, the father was expecting the son home. He was waiting.
The son’s hunger is now
quenched.
His want is satisfied.
He is at the father’s house.
What a difference is made when
a backslider comes back home!
v. 12 He was bad.
v. 13 He was mad.
v. 16 He was sad.
v. 24 He was glad.
Ill.--Robert Bruce was king of
Scotland during the 12th and 13th Century. He had been at war with the King
of England. The King of England sent an army to Robert Bruce’s palace to
kill him. Robert Bruce, having suspected what might happen, left his home
and fled into the forest. When the army came to the palace and found that
their enemy was not there, they got Robert Bruce’s own dogs and set them on
his trail. Robert Bruce could hear the barking dogs and realized they were
his own hounds. He ran and ran. As he did he grew weaker and weaker. The
dogs were getting closer. Finally, he came to a crystal clear river in the
middle of the forest. He got into the brook and waded down stream for about
two miles. After which he climbed out on the bank of the river and sat under
a clump of trees. He could hear the dogs barking up stream in confusion, and
Robert Bruce realized he had escaped.
The application is this:
If the hounds of your past are on your trail, if the old dogs of sin are
gaining on you, and you don’t know what to do, let me tell you about a
river. A crystal clear river filled with the blood of the crucified One.
“And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stain.”
The Lost Sibling
Let’s not forget the prodigal’s
big brother…
v. 28 This son is lost,
too. How so? Well, his little brother may have been lost in the pigsty,
but he himself was lost in his pew. He was a carnal, self righteous soul
who lost all sympathy for his brother, for his father, and forgot what a
great occasion this truly was!
Who was the first to point out
the prodigal’s sin? Not the father, but the son. It’s always a fellow
Christian who starts gossip about a backslidden Christian. This elder
brother is a picture of a carnal church member.
The lost can be found! If you
need to be saved, let the Good Shepherd find you today and bring you into
the fold. If you are in the house today, that doesn’t mean you are in His
hand…make the most of your life for Him, let the Spirit find you and use
you. If you’ve backslidden and gotten away from God, come to your senses
and come home, and let’s all receive w/ a great attitude all the lost who
are found today and forevermore, just as we were received ourselves!
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