God's Lost and Found Department - Gull Lake

The financial page is Luke 16 and the lost and found column is Luke 15. "Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near him to hear him." Him of course being our Lord Jesus. "And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, 'This man receives sinners.'" Let's make it even more specific. "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them." "So he spoke this parable to them saying." Then you have the parable of the sheep, the lost sheep.

Now, there ought to be at the beginning of Luke 15:8, "And he spoke another parable saying," but that's not there. He just goes on to talk about the lost coin. And in Luke 15:11, there ought to be, "And he spoke a further parable saying," but it doesn't say that. It just says, "And he said, 'A certain man had two sons.'" This entire chapter hangs together as our Lord gives one parable with three different sides to it. Talks about a lost sheep, a lost coin, and two lost boys.

Now, what I'd like to do tonight is survey this whole chapter, and then the Lord willing, in subsequent messages, deal with some of the people in this chapter because every one of us here is somewhere in Luke 15. That's why our Lord gave parables. Now, a parable is not just a story. When I was in Sunday school, the teacher said, "Now, a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning." Don't you believe that. It's much more than that.

A parable starts out like a picture. Our Lord is painting a picture, and we say, "Yeah, yeah, I recognize that. Sure. Yeah, sheep and coins. Sure, sowing seed. I recognize it." Then suddenly, suddenly that picture becomes a mirror, and you say, "Wait a minute. You're talking about me." Of course, we don't read it that way. We have become adept at turning the mirror so it reflects somebody else.

Do you ever wonder why they wanted to kill him after he had told these stories? These are not bedtime stories to put people to sleep. No, no. These are bugle calls to wake people up. And the Pharisees would be listening to him. Our Lord was a great teller of stories. And as they listened, then they'd see this picture turn into a mirror, and they'd see themselves, and they'd get so angry.

But you know, if you look long enough at the mirror and say, "Yeah, that's me. I'm like that," another thing happens: that mirror becomes a window, and you see God. The purpose of every parable is that we might see ourselves and then see God who can make us what we ought to be. And so when you read the parables, especially Luke 15, better fasten your safety belt. It's dangerous to study the parables.

Now, in this chapter, I want to simply do a countdown. 1, 2, 3, 4. In Luke 15, there is one message of salvation, two aspects to salvation, three pictures of salvation, and four joys of salvation. You got that? One message of salvation, two aspects of salvation, three pictures of salvation, and four joys of salvation.

At this point, somebody who wants to get out early is saying, "Why doesn't he preach this to the rescue mission? I mean, where could he find a finer congregation of people who already know what salvation means?" Well, I'm not sure of that, because the Lord knows those that are His, and He hasn't told me.

And there might be somebody here tonight who's desperately in need of meeting the Lord Jesus, who is the friend of publicans and sinners. But even more than that, someone is saying, "What does this have to do with me? I'm saved! I'm bound for the Promised Land!" Well, you stay around long enough, you'll find out. You can never learn too much about salvation. You can never learn too much about the Savior.

Count down. One message of salvation. The theme of this chapter is salvation. "Then, all the tax collectors and sinners drew near to Him to hear Him." Here is a remarkable thing. Listen, the Lord Jesus attracted sinners. Luke 15:2 tells me the Pharisees and scribes repelled them. Oh, we've got it wrong.

We have the idea that the more spiritual we become, the more our unsaved neighbors will say, "Oh, I've got to stay away from him. Do you see how his face glows? Do you see the halo over his head? Have you noticed—oh, I can't—oh, no." Just the opposite. If I'm becoming like the Lord Jesus, and that's the goal of salvation, isn't it? To be conformed to the image of His Son. If I'm becoming more like the Lord Jesus, then unsaved people ought to be attracted to me, not repelled by me.

Luke, when he put this book together led by the Holy Spirit, did an interesting thing. Notice the first word, "then." When then? Well, after our Lord finished saying what he'd been saying in chapter 14. What did he say? Luke 14:34, "Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is neither fit for the land nor for the dunghill," the rubbish heap, "but men throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

"Then, all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to hear." He just said, "If you have ears to hear, come and hear," and they came. Why? Our Lord was salt. You know what salt does? It makes people thirsty.

Why were they attracted to the Lord Jesus? Because he understood them. You ever notice when you understand somebody, they get closer to you? Total strangers. You're sitting in the doctor's office, or the dentist's office, or you're waiting in the barber shop, or you've gone to the beauty parlor for an estimate. I go to the barbershop to reminisce. And they're total strangers there. Total strangers.

And someone says, "Oh, I really hurt today," and you start talking. You say, "Yeah, I've been through that. Yeah, we went through that a couple of years ago. I'm awful sorry it's happening to you." She doesn't even know who you are. He doesn't even know who you are, and they start telling you the whole family history. Why? Because you are interested, you show a love toward them.

The Lord Jesus understood these people. Pharisees didn't, Pharisees didn't want to. Why, if this crowd walked into the average Sunday morning church service, and started looking for seats, people would slide over and make less room so they wouldn't sit with them. We don't want this crowd.

Our Lord Jesus attracted sinners, the Pharisees repelled them because our Lord had the kind of loving, understanding character that was salt and made them thirsty for what he was and what he had. He loved them, the Pharisees despised them.

Oh, you say we Christians don't despise people, really? Do you want to know who the most important people are in a local church? Well, you say the pastor, possibly, the elders, deacons, maybe. I've pastored three churches and I've preached in hundreds of churches in many places and I'll tell you who I think are the most important people in every church. The ushers.

Do you know why? The first touch I have with your congregation is when I walk in that front door or that side door and somebody greets me. James said that. James wrote to the ushers and said, "Now, why are you men seating the rich people in the best places and you're seating the poor people in the worst places? We don't do it that way." So if you want to test out a church, before you read the constitution in the original Greek, before you check out the literature rack, watch the ushers.

And our Lord was this way. He welcomed publicans and sinners and did something the Pharisees would never do: he ate with them. Now, in this day when you ate with somebody, you were forming a compact with them. It's not that way today. We eat with people we don't like. We eat with people because we have to do it. But back in our Lord's day, you never ate with somebody unless you wanted that person to be your friend. It was bad enough that our Lord allowed them to stand around, sit around, listen to him teach. But he ate with them, these defiled outcasts.

He is a living parable himself, he is saying, "That's why I'm here. You Pharisees over there pulling your skirts around you and keeping your distance, I want you to know something. There's one message of salvation: 'The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.' And you need the message, and they need the message, they know they need it, you don't know you need it." Then he launched into his parables, and the Pharisees thought, "Well, we've gotten away with this one," until he got to the elder brother. Then they found out that they were in the picture, too.

One message of salvation. Our Lord attracted sinners not by catering to them, not by compromising his message, no, not by cheapening his ministry, no. I know some people who say, "Well, the only way to attract the sinner is you have to do what they do." No. "You've got to entertain them the way they like it." No. I think we can use better bait when we go fishing. Our Lord was just simply God revealing grace and mercy to needy people. There's only one message of salvation: Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.

Now, there are two aspects to salvation. "He spoke this parable to them saying, 'What man of you having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing.

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and saying to them, "Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost." I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons, who need no repentance.'"

"Or"—now there were women in the crowd, so he spoke to them—"what woman having 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I found the piece which I lost.' Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

"And he said, 'A certain man had two sons.'" That's the story of the Bible, two sons. Cain, Abel. Ishmael, Isaac. Jacob, Esau. First birth, second birth. Whole story of the Bible. "Certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his living," his livelihood.

"And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal, riotous living." The word prodigal means wasteful. Some people waste their lives, some people just merely spend their lives. Jesus came that we might invest our lives for that which is eternal.

"But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, he began to be in want. And then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything." Well, what does a Jew expect in Gentile territory?

"But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."'"

Pause at this point. You know, if he had reversed his two prayers, he'd have been better off. If his first prayer had been, "Father, make me," then he could have come and said, "Father, give me." But when you start off with, "Father, give me," you're not prepared for what he gives you.

"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I've sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'"

But the father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him"—that would be the father's robe—"put a ring on his hand"—ah, you're my son—"sandals on his feet"—servants didn't wear sandals—"and bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again. He was lost and is found." "And they began to be merry." And by the way, they are still being merry.

Two aspects to salvation. Notice now. The shepherd lost a sheep and went out to find it. God started that back in Genesis 3. Our first parents sinned, they felt guilty, they were afraid—fear and guilt go together—they ran and hid, and the father came searching for them, God the Father searching for his lost children. The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost. The shepherd searched for the sheep, the woman searched for the coin. The father didn't go out searching for the son. He stayed home and hurt, and watched.

What am I saying? There are two aspects to salvation. Salvation is all of grace; salvation is of the Lord—Jonah said that. Jonah said, "Salvation is of the Lord." Even the fish got blessed and just vomited him out. God does his part: the shepherd searches for the lost sheep, the woman searches for the lost coin, the father ran and embraced the repentant son. That's God's part.

Now, in the story, the Lord didn't say that the sheep woke up and said, "I'm going to go home." Sheep aren't that smart. Sheep are the dumbest animals. Science indicates, studies reveal pigs are among the smartest animals in all of creation. Not sheep. Sheep are dumb, stupid. The sheep did not say, "I'm going home." The coin, lying under some place in the corner, did not say, "I don't like it down here. I'm going to—" and— No. No. Salvation is all of grace. God initiates it.

But, but the other side of the story is the prodigal said, "I will." As far as God the Father is concerned, I was saved when He chose me in Christ before the foundation of the world. I knew nothing about that. As far as God the Son is concerned, I was saved when He died for me on the cross. I didn't know about that till somebody told me. As far as God the Holy Spirit is concerned, I got saved the night I said, "I will." I received Jesus Christ as my Savior.

There are verses in the Bible that put divine sovereignty and human responsibility together in the same verse. Our Lord said in John 6:37, "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me." It doesn't stop there. He goes on to say, "And him that comes to Me," that's human responsibility, "I will in no wise cast out."

There are those who say, "Well, God knows who His elect are. They're going to get saved. Don't do anything about it." Don't you believe that for 1 minute. The same God who ordained the end ordained the means to the end, and you and I are the means to the end. Our prayers, our witness, our tracts that we hand out, our giving. There's two aspects to salvation. Keep them balanced.

One message of salvation, two aspects to salvation, three pictures of salvation. And He spoke this parable with three sides to it: about a sheep, about a coin, and about a son. Several years ago out at Word of Life, I was to speak to a group of college and university students. We were gathered together, about 25, 30 of us, and I looked at the crowd and I said, "I want to ask you a question. Who in the last 100, 125 years, who in history has most affected our view of man? Not our view of the world, but our view of man."

Right away a hand went up, and a girl said, "Darwin." That's right. 1857 Darwin published his Origin of Species and Darwin says, "Man is an animal." Our Lord said, "Guess what? He's a lost sheep." Another student raised his hand and he said, "Marx." Right. Marx, in his philosophy, has affected the whole world. What is his philosophy? Man is an economic factor. Jesus said, "Yeah, he's a lost coin." He's got value because there's an image stamped on him, the image of God.

There was a silence and then, tentatively, a hand went up and the student said, "Sigmund Freud." I said, "Right." Darwin says man is an animal; our Lord says he's a lost sheep. Marx says he's an economic factor; our Lord says he's a lost coin. Freud says he's a frustrated kid looking for freedom. Our Lord says, "That's right, he's a prodigal son." How amazing it is that my Lord in one chapter, in one parable, should anticipate the three great thinkers who rule the world today from their graves.

Three pictures of salvation. What is man? A lost sheep. What is man? A lost coin, God's image stamped on him. What is man? A lost son. What's it mean to be lost? The boy knew where he was. What's it mean to be lost? Well, to be a lost sheep means that you're out of place; you belong with the flock. To be a lost coin means you're out of place; you belong on that necklace. Jewish women wore a necklace of 10 coins when they were married. This was sort of like a wedding ring. And to lose one of those was was rather shameful.

What's it mean to be lost? It means to be out of place. The the son belonged in the father's love, the father's family. The coin belonged on the bracelet. The sheep belonged in the flock. To be lost means out of place. It means to be out of service.

You you can't shear a sheep that's not there. You can't—it's not worth anything. It's just out of service, useless. Can't spend a coin or display a coin that is not there. You can't love a son who's not there. To be lost means to be out of place, out of service, and out of the place of safety.

Where is the safest place for a dumb sheep? With the shepherd in the flock. Where is the safest place for a coin? On the bracelet—the necklace. Where's the safest place for a son? In the father's care and fellowship.

We have three pictures of salvation, because these three pictures tell us why people are lost. Now, I know we're we're lost because Adam sinned and plunged the whole universe into death and judgment; I know that. But I'm talking about individuals now. Some people, like the sheep, are lost because of thoughtlessness. Sheep are dumb. And they just sort of follow the crowd. Some years ago a book was published called A Nation of Sheep, written by the same people who wrote The Ugly American. It was not the bestseller that The Ugly American was because we don't want to be told we're a nation of sheep, but we are.

Young people today all want to be different, so they're all alike. And adults are the same way. What are the latest fashions? What are they saying in Paris? What are they saying in New York? What do they wear in Hollywood? Very little. A nation of sheep.

Some people are lost just because of thoughtlessness, they just follow the crowd. Some people, like the coin, are lost because of carelessness. I would remind you the coin was lost in a home. And we, as mothers and fathers, can get careless, and the coin slip right through our fingers if we aren't careful. Some people are lost because of willfulness. "Father, give me. Give me." And the amazing thing is he gave him.

What does Jesus do for lost people? He seeks for the sheep. He seeks for the coin. The father waits to welcome the son. One message of salvation, two aspects to that message. God does his part, and now he says, "Will you believe?" Now, believing is not a work of salvation. Even our faith comes from God.

Three pictures of salvation, four joys of salvation. Let's look at them. The word joy is used about nine times in this chapter. It's a very happy chapter. The only place you don't find any happiness is with the elder brother. The elder brother in Luke 15:25-32, he represents the Pharisees, and they were complaining. Everybody else was rejoicing. They were complaining.

There's the joy of the finder. Luke 15:5, the shepherd finds the sheep and rejoices for several reasons. The main one is if he didn't find the sheep, he'd have to pay for it. This was not his flock; he was caring for somebody else's flock, and the contract reads that if a shepherd loses a sheep, he has to reimburse the owner.

Now, if the sheep were attacked by an animal and killed or devoured, all the shepherd had to do was bring an ear and a a piece of the of the of the sheep and present it to prove that he wasn't lying. For a shepherd to lose a sheep, that was a costly thing. He He didn't have that much money. He rejoiced! There's the joy of the finder.

The woman rejoiced because when her husband came home and looked at her necklace, he would say, "Isn't there a coin missing?" And she'd have to hang her head in shame and say, "Yes." But she rejoiced; she'd found the coin. The father rejoiced, and he called everybody else to rejoice. The joy of the finder!

Then there's the joy of the found. Now, I've never entered into the mind of a sheep. But I can imagine that if that sheep were at some precipice and baaing couldn't find his way back, and then he felt those arms around him—and I I like the way Luke tells us the words of Jesus, that he put the sheep on his shoulders, plural. He didn't hold him by the back legs and throw him over one shoulder. The crazy creature could scoot out again, so he got the two back legs and got the two front legs and threw him over his shoulder—shoulders—and held him. Now, I think that sheep would be happy.

Coins don't have emotion, but if I were a coin I'd say, "Oh, I'm so glad to be out from underneath this dusty chair. Nothing down here but spiders and crickets." The joy of the found, and of course when the boy came home he was quite amazed that that he was welcome. "And they began to be merry."

There's the joy of the friends. When the finder has found the lost, he wants to share that joy. I hope you've had that joy of finding the lost. The joy of being able to say, "I had a glorious opportunity of witnessing today and leading somebody to Christ." The joy of the friends. "Come and rejoice with me."

By the way, that's what church is all about. People say, "Well, church is kind of dead." You know why? There aren't enough people out seeking the lost, so when they do get together with the rest of the crowd they say, "Hey, I want to tell you what God did this week." Instead we tell about our arthritis and and our ingrown toenails. And— Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with that, but there's more to church than that.

The joy of the finder, the joy of the found, the joy of the friends, and then our Lord goes on to say there's even joy up in heaven, Luke 15:7. "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 just persons who need no repentance."

Our Lord is not suggesting that there are people who don't need to be saved. I think he's talking here to our Pharisee friends who thought to themselves, "We're better than they are. Now, they ought to repent; we don't need to repent," and yet before the story is over they are in more trouble than anybody else.

The joy in heaven. It's repeated in Luke 15:10. "Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." In the presence of the angels. The angels rejoice. The angels rejoiced at creation, remember that? "The morning stars sang together, the sons of God shouted for joy." They saw God's great creation.

They were joyful at the birth of the Lord Jesus. "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace among men of goodwill." And if tonight, somebody here trusted Jesus Christ as Savior and said, "I will trust him," there would be joy in the presence of the angels. The Savior would rejoice; the Father would rejoice.

Now, I can't prove this and I will not build a new denomination around it, but I want to suggest to you, it says "joy in the presence of the angels." I have loved ones up there. I have loved ones up there in the presence of the angels; you do too. There are up there grandmothers and grandfathers who prayed for wayward children or grandchildren, and I believe that when those children and grandchildren get saved, grandma and grandpa know about it. If the angels are rejoicing, they can't keep it to themselves.

There's joy in heaven, and there will be even greater joy when the whole crowd gets together—"unto him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before his presence with exceeding joy," who "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross." There's joy in heaven over the salvation of a sinner.

One message of salvation. Anybody who ever got saved got saved the same way, by grace through faith. Noah got saved that way, Abraham did, Moses. Nobody was ever saved by doing good works. There's only one message of salvation, but there are two sides to it. This is what God has done, and now repent and believe.

Three pictures of salvation. I wonder which one we are. Are you lost tonight because of thoughtlessness, just following the crowd? Well, the crowd can take you to hell, but they can't get you out. Carelessness? Somebody lost tonight because a mother, a dad, a pastor, a Sunday school teacher was careless? Willfulness? Just simply saying, "I want my way, give me."

The only person who had no joy in this whole chapter is the self-righteous Pharisee. Feel sorry for him. We'll talk about him one of these evenings, the elder brother, the man outside. Outside of what? Outside the fellowship, outside the joy, outside. What's he doing out there? Pouting.

"Then drew near publicans and sinners to hear him." Our Lord loves sinners. Our Lord looks for sinners. Our Lord died for sinners, and our Lord saves sinners. And if you're not saved, you're lost. And if you're not saved, you're dead. And if you're not saved, you're bound. And if you're not saved, you're away from the place of safety. And if you're not saved, you're away from the place of love, and joy, and fellowship. He still welcomes sinners, and so should we.

We come, our Father, so grateful that Jesus has not changed; he still welcomes sinners. Now, forgive us when we've been critical of the lost. Forgive us when we have built walls instead of bridges, when we have passed judgment instead of shared witness. And I pray in Jesus' name, help us to be concerned about our own hearts and our own relationship to a great, big, lost world. Oh, do it, Father. Don't let us escape. I pray in Jesus' name, amen.