June 29 2008

Lost & Found Boy

Luke 15:11-24

 

Lost sheep, coin to a boy increase in the value of the lost.   Every parents nightmare might well be their child being lost in running away, or by abduction. 

 

Poly Ellis (member) shared with me a couple weeks ago [lost coin] about a co-worker of hers from a few years ago.

 

A nurse in the nursing Home where I was on staff shared with me one day that her 12 year old daughter had disappeared a couple of years prior to our conversation. This seemed to me like every parents worst nightmare…..imagine living with that day after day, not knowing what, or where, and imagining every horrible thing.  She said it just consumed her life, every day she thought about it all the time, and her goal in life was to find her daughter, who was lost. Her husband and some other friends thought she should just “let it go”, she said, and “get on with her life”, but she just couldn’t let her daughter go.  [Poly Ellis email]

 

Luke 15:11-24  Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons … (read)

 

What does this story say to us?  Charles Spurgeon says of this parable … “It is so full of sacred meaning that it always has some fresh lesson for us.” 

 

From the lost sheep, coin and now a son … this I know … it continues to promote the lavishing love of God toward the lost sinner … in means and manners that catch me off guard. 

 

God loves sinners.  It is Spurgeon that titles the story on that level … “Prodigal Love for the Prodigal Son.”  Prodigal meaning … giving or given in abundance; lavish or profuse, even to the point of being wasteful.

 

The Pharisees [really religious folk] would see the action of the son and the father being wasteful in abundance … the son his inheritance and the father his love.  Can we ever love too much?  No, for when we love, truly love as God our Father loves, we are perhaps, never more like Him.

 

So this we know … the Father loves the son … but the son does not love the Father.

 

The Lost Condition of the Son

 

We’re not told why the son wants to leave, but we are told about the condition of the boy … lost.

 

·     Lost his Senses …

 

o      Culture of “honor &  shame” [Honor your father & mother - Deut 5:16]

o      Shameless request & shameless rebellion

 

The boy asked for his portion of the estate … aka “inheritance.”  Interesting words Jesus uses … “estate” (useios) … means the goods or the property.  Whereas the common NT word used for inheritance (kleronomia) means everything that comes with the good or property … management of estate … leadership … responsibility to provide for the family and family name. [Notes gleaned from John MacArthur]

 

The shame was the boy wanted the goods but not the responsibility or accountability.  The boy wants to get out of his family, but he also wants all he can get out of his family before leaving.

 

·     Lost his Love …

 

o      Rejected Love …  of his Father … no gratitude

o      Lacked Love …  for his Father … total disrespect

 

2 Timothy 3:1-4  But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—

 

At this point in the story the Pharisees would have thought of it as utterly despicable on the part of the boy, as well as the Father who allowed it.  They would have expected the father to rebuke him, shame him, punish him, dismiss him (from the family), and even perhaps hold a funeral.

 

Jesus goes on to tell of the …

 

·     Lost his Direction …

 

o      Left the leadership of his father … set off for a distant country … get away as far as he could. 

 

o      Left to live loosely on his own …  squandered wealth in wild living … reckless and wasteful living

 

Sin … take note … leads one in the wrong direction and sin never works out the way it looks like it will … after he had spent everything. (v.14)

 

o      Left to himself he “found” himself in wanted … but he is not ready to return.  We can never return in our own strength.

 

o      Left to his own resources and thinking he tries to get a job (still trying to make it on his own) … and ends up feeding the pigs.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

 

The Found Condition of the Son

 

·     Found his Senses … When he came to his senses … he began to think & talk to himself about his father.

 

“Now at this point, the father reenters the story … the father reenters in the mind of the son … begin to talk about the father, and we go from a shameless request and a shameless rebellion to a shameful repentance.” – John MacArthur

 

Finding his senses he begins to see his father as loving, good, kind and generous. 

 

·     Found his Direction … return & repent home

 

o      I will set out and go back to my father …

o      I have sinned against heaven and against you …

 

Don’t miss this!  All of heaven was up and ready to rejoice!  Do you remember the day all of heaven rejoiced over you in repenting and receiving Christ?

 

In the first two stories “repentance” was mentioned [vs. 7,10], but not defined.  Here it is defined.

 

This is where repentance begins … accurate assessment of your own condition … destitute, helpless, no resources and impending death. [Notes gleaned from John MacArthur]

 

So he got up and went to his father.  (Lk 15:20)  He wants to return.  He wants to be restored.  He wants & needs his father.

 

The Found Condition of the Father

 

What would he find at home?  The son knew his culture.  He knew chances were the father would not come out to receive him; after all he had shamed his father.  And when he finally did come out, it would be a cool reception of indifference.  Restitution would have to be made … that is why the boy said to himself he would work as a hired servant.   There would be no room for negotiation, just restitution … pay back!

 

But what he finds is not what he [or the Pharisees] expected.

 

·     Found Reception …

 

o      The father “saw” … saw who it was … where he came from … dirty clothes as well as dirty body … his repentant look … what he had been, what he was and what he would be.  The father saw with compassion, not concern.  [See Matthew 9:36 Jesus moved with compassion]

 

“God has a way of seeing men and women that you and I cannot understand.  He sees right through us at a glance, as if we were made of glass; He sees all our past, present and future.” – Spurgeon

 

o      The father “ran” … the culture says noblemen don’t run … but God does!  The father couldn’t get there fast enough!

o      The father “kissed” [much] … manifested the love of the father for the son.

 

Genesis 45:14-15  Then he threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. 15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them. Afterward his brothers talked with him.

 

The son begins his planned speech of repentance … I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ (v21)  But it is short lived in duration … as the father forgives.

 

“The forgiveness of God, the Father, stands ready.”

 

·     Found Restoration … the robe, ring, shoes speak to the full restoration of the son’s rightful place.

 

1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

 

·     Found Rejoicing … extravagant … fatted calf

 

Luke 15:23b-24 Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

 

The father sees, runs, restores, and rejoices … this is the whole point of the story!  Grace triumphs over sin!

And you know what?  I think the boy who lost himself, found what he was really looking for all along … a real relationship with his father.

 

That’s what we all need, and that is what we all need to be looking for.

 

There is only two means of being found …

 

·     Found in Sin …

·     Found in Christ …

 

Philippians 3:8-9 I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

 

Let me remind you …

 

1. “The forgiveness of God, the Father, stands ready.”

 

2. “Grace triumphs over sin!”

 

Hurry and come home and let the celebration begin!

 

Amen!

 

Bob AuBuchon, Pastor FBC Camdenton, Missouri
Credit for outlines, thoughts, and quotes are given from their sources.
New International Version is used unless otherwise stated.

 

* This sermon series “Lost & Found” were developed from a series of message by Alan Carr.  Outlines and content vary from original, but thought and commentary from ACarr are appreciated.

June 15 2008

Lost & Found Coin

Luke 15:8-10

 

Headline reads: Man Finds $126,500 Penny in Fifty-Cent Roll of Coins

 

Michael Tremonti found a 1969-S doubled die penny while searching through a 50-coin roll of uncirculated 1969-S cents.  It was first valued at $44,000 but was later sold at a Heritage auction for $126,500 on January 10, 2008.

 

Sort of gives a whole new perspective when you find a penny lying around.  Most don’t care to bend over and pick up penny because, after all, it is only worth one cent.

 

When Jesus told the story (parable) of the “lost & found coin” the religious leaders may have felt the same … “Why so much fuss over a coin?”

 

Luke 15:8-10  “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

 

Bear in mind in these stories Jesus wants the hearer to understand who God is, how God works and what God wants in order to change our thinking and behavior toward the lost.

 

The Pharisees would never had thought about God as Jesus speaks of Him … seeking lost sinners and rejoicing over the sinner being found (repenting & returning to its rightful place).  Perhaps sinful man (never themselves!) come groveling back to God, but never God seeking man.

 

William Barclay says, “No Pharisee had ever dreamed of a God like that.” 

 

And yet that is the very thought Jesus wanted to convey by telling of the actions of the woman to find the coin she had lost.  God pursues lost man!

 

Like the woman in the story, God searches for the lost …

 

·     As INVALUABLE …

 

Several reasons are given why the woman searches for the lost coin (though she had 9 others) … necessity … the need to eat … precious … necklace of ten coins that signified her marriage (wedding ring of sorts) … or it may have been her independence as “easy-divorce” for any reason was rampant … or it may have represented her reputation of a coin being taken away for marital infidelity, of which she did not want to appear as such … but of all that the coin might be said to represent maybe the best reason is the lost coin was “valuable” and needed to be found.

 

Don’t miss this thought … God sees the value in every single individual. 

 

God’s “concentrated” value … 1 out of 100 (sheep) … 1 out of 10 (coin) … 1 out of 2 (sons) and 1 out of 1 (older brother).

 

o      Are you not much more valuable than they? (“birds” Mt 6:26)

o      How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! (Mt 12:12)

 

If you are among the found, know you are of value to God … and if you are among the lost or know of them … let them know they are of value to God.

 

Because of value and worth God searches for the lost …

 

·     With INTENSITY …

 

The woman lights a lamp … sweeps the floor … searches carefully … until she finds the coin … all speaks to the intensity of the search.

 

The intensity of God searching takes Him to where the lost can be found … “Samaria” (woman at the well) … “Simon the Leper” (woman anoints) … “Jerusalem Temple” (woman caught in adultery) … “Capernaum” (paralytic & roof) … “Gadarenes” (demon-possessed)  … Galilee (lepers, 1 returns).

 

You get the picture … Jesus went with intensity to the marginalized, disgraced, and rejected to find the lost.  Intensity leads to rejoicing!

 

·     With REJOICING

 

The woman expected to find the coin … and her stored up rejoicing was let loose when she found that which she looked for.

 

Jesus compares her rejoicing and sharing the joy of the find with that of God and all of heaven.

 

“Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin” … that’s God’s joy!  These are sweet and rejoicing words … and they let us experience the heart of God for the lost …

 

Psalm 51:12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation …

 

Jesus speaks of the sinner “repenting” … and it mutually linked with “rejoicing.” Why?  Because when the sinner repents they have rejected what has been keeping them from God, and returned (as we will see in the lost boy).

 

2 Peter 3:9  The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

 

Well this story of the lost coin says a lot to us … but one more thing I will share.  It says to us … we need to see and search for the lost as God does … invaluable and with intensity.

 

What would you do if you found a penny?  Would you pick it up wondering of the value it possesses?

 

I placed some pennies around the worship center.  Did you find one of them?  How much is a penny worth … one cent.

 

I would challenge us the “safe & sound” (who once were lost but now I’m found) to see ourselves as “one sent” out to find the lost.

 

Who would have ever thought that a penny is worth so much?  You and I are sent to the lost.

 

Amen!  

 

Bob AuBuchon, Pastor FBC Camdenton, Missouri

Credit for outlines, thoughts, and quotes are given from their sources.
New International Version is used unless otherwise stated.

 

* This sermon series “Lost & Found” were developed from a series of message by Alan Carr.  Outlines and content vary from original, but thought and commentary from ACarr are appreciated.

June 08 2008

Lost & Found

Luke 15

 

We are people who lose all sorts of things.  Things like books, Bibles, keys, pets, money, coats, and a sundry of clothes we lose and they are soon forgotten.   But of all the things we lose, it’s people, not books, or keys or clothes that God longs for.   But not everyone longs for lost people.

 

Luke 15:1-2  Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

 

Jesus longed for lost people … after all it was the whole reason He came to us … “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”  [Luke 19:10]

 

So in order to help the really religious people understand who God is, how God works and what God wants, Jesus told them some stories about the “lost & found” of a sheep, a coin, a boy and a brother … in the intent to change our thinking, as well as our behavior toward the lost.

 

Luke 15:3-7  Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

 

Some believe Jesus is talking about the people of Israel, others believe He talks to Christian people who have strayed from the faith, while others think He’s talking about people who are not saved. 

 

Interesting how we think we know who and what Jesus is talking to and about.  Take it as a simple view, but Jesus is talking to me … and you.

 

In such parables I see myself … I am the lost sheep … I am the lost muttering Pharisee … I am the lost coin and I am the lost boy (son) … and I am the lost brother who stayed home.  But of all I see myself to be … it is the “found” in the parable I long to be … and sing the song, “I was lost but now I’m found … Amazing Grace how sweet the sound … I was lost but now I’m found.”

 

Lost & Found Sheep

 

The discovery of the missing or lost sheep begins a series of actions on the part of the shepherd.  The condition of lost here speaks to the possible peril and destruction of the sheep … aka … lost people.

 

1.      Pursue Lost Sheep

 

·     The pursuit begins with an inventory of the “safe & sound” and of the lost needing to be found … because of their value & worth.

 

Sad to think many good and religious people “look down” on the down and out, rather than “look them up”.

 

The shepherd goes looking for the lost because he knows of the dangers of being ruined and destroyed out in the wilderness.

 

2.      Pursue Lost Sheep Until Found

 

·     The pursuit continues with a “search and rescue” mission.

·     The pursuit is relentless and unstoppable … until he finds it

 

I am one that is thankful and humbled that Christ the Great Shepherd came looking for me … to save me.

 

3.      Pursue Lost Sheep to Bring Back

 

·     No sheep wanders back on their own.

·     We are not “Little Bo Beep’s” sheep … “leave them alone, and they’ll come home, wagging their tails behind them.”

 

The comfort and care of the Shepherd is inviting … “And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.”

 

4.      Pursue Lost Sheep to Rejoice

 

The parable’s emphasis is about seeking out something that’s lost, finding it, and celebrating.

 

·     The shepherd & sheep rejoices along with all of heaven over the lost being found, saved and returned.

·     How about us?

·     Let us not forget that we once were the lost …

 

Isaiah 53:6a We all like sheep have gone astray each of us has turned to his own way;

 

·     But now we are found!

 

Luke 15:6  and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

 

Here’s the “cue” of the parable … “Suppose one of you …”

Who will you and I be in the parable?  The one who goes out looking for the “lost” or those who stand around and mutter about the sinners.

 

Remember … the parable is to help us understand who God is, how God works and what God wants … and to have our behavior changed.

 

Are you among the “lost & found” … as one who has been found, and now among those who are out finding the lost to be found.

 

Amen!

________________________________________

Bob AuBuchon, Pastor FBC Camdenton, Missouri
Credit for outlines, thoughts, and quotes are given from their sources.
New International Version is used unless otherwise stated.

 

* This sermon series “Lost & Found” were developed from a series of message by Alan Carr.  Outlines and content vary from original, but thought and commentary from ACarr are appreciated.