Nov 22, 2009 "Finding the Lost Passion for Lost People!" To
listen to this Great Message Click "Here"
Sun Am Worship
Text: Luke 15:1 - 32 (King James Version) THEME: Fireproof your Future -!
Subject: Equipping the Church for the
Harvest"
"Father, I am your servant, willing
and desiring to be used to bless your
people."
Luke 15:1 Then drew near unto him all the
publicans and sinners for to hear him.
Luke 15:2
And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth
sinners, and eateth with them.
Luke 15:3
And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
Luke 15:4
What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is
lost, until he find it?
Luke 15:5
And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders,
rejoicing.
Luke 15:6
And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours,
saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was
lost.
Luke 15:7
I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that
repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no
repentance.
Luke 15:8
Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece,
doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find
it?
Luke 15:9
And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours
together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had
lost.
Luke 15:10
Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of
God over one sinner that repenteth.
Luke 15:11
And he said, A certain man had two sons:
Luke 15:12
And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion
of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his
living.
Luke 15:13
And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took
his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous
living.
Luke 15:14
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in
want.
Luke 15:15
And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent
him into his fields to feed swine.
Luke 15:16
And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did
eat: and no man gave unto him.
Luke 15:17
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my
father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with
hunger!
Luke 15:18
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luke 15:19
And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired
servants.
Luke 15:20
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way
off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and
kissed him.
Luke 15:21
And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in
thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
Luke 15:22
But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put
it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his
feet:
Luke 15:23
And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be
merry:
Luke 15:24
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.
And they began to be merry.
Luke 15:25
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the
house, he heard music and dancing.
Luke 15:26
And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things
meant.
Luke 15:27
And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the
fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
Luke 15:28
And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and
entreated him.
Luke 15:29
And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve
thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never
gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
Luke 15:30
But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with
harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
Luke 15:31
And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is
thine.
Luke 15:32
It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother
was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
God is in
the relentless pursuit of finding lost people.
INTRODUCTION
It was
Dec 7 1988. Armenia. They called it the earthquake of 1989
This quake was
off the rector scales. Altogether 30,000 people died in 4 minutes. Established
businesses lay demolished, Dream homes into splinters of wood. Green parks
blanketed in white rubble.
The father of a 10 year old little boy named
Armond could not drive to his son's school. All the Streets were
closed.
Armand's father finally gets to the school, breaks through the
crowd. Climbs upon a rock pile of rubble---
THIS IS A SEGMENTED ILLUSTRATION DESIGNED TO KEEP
AUDIENCE IN SUSPENSE.. IT WAS SUPPOSE TO BE ABRUPTLY STOPPED. IT KEEPS THEM
HANGING TELL YOU TELL THME MORE LATER)
Have you ever felt like you have blown
an opportunity for God? Have you ever felt like God was using you to find
someone who was lost? Lost in the rumble of dead-end dreams and bags of
failure?
I can imagine sometimes God looking down from heaven and
saying, "Hey Son, go get (GABRIEL)
, (Michael) and all the rejoicing Angels of Heaven and have them take a look at
this.
Ive got Darrell or whoever down there on this airplane right next
to this guy who says I don't exist. I have been preparing him and this sinner for this moment for a
long time.
He's going to score one for the Kingdom of Heaven… We are
about to have another Name written in the Lambs book of Life.. We are about to
pull another Sinner out of the Mire and on to the Rock. We are about to have a
new creature in My Son.
Luke
15:7 I say unto you, that
likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over
ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
And With all of heaven watching,
Hebrews 12:1
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset
us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before
us,
I drop the ball, Miss this God Prepared, God Ordained
Opportunity and say nothing about one who found me. How about you? Have you ever
missed the opportunity to Score for the Kingdom of God?
These Opportunities may never be reclaimed. This man may
have gone off and committed suicide or have been killed in a car crash or Died
an untimely death and the results are We missed a God Given opportunity to make
a difference.
Daniel
12:2 And many of them that
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some
to shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:3
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and
ever.
What are some opportunities
Well -When you are on a
long flight and the person next to you starts to talk about our world's
problems?
-When a friend asks you what you are doing Saturday night?
-When
a co-worker shares a crisis in there life?
-When a family member talks about
how you have changed since you started getting all Churchy or
religious?
Do you ever miss an opportunity for God?
The religious
leaders of Jesus' time did. They had people gathering all around, hungry for the
heart of God and all they could see were
worthless, lost, outcasts.
Beginning in Luke 15:1 the Bible
says…
15:1 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."
3 Then Jesus told them this
parable…
There were people who were ripping off there own people,
adulterers, drunkards, maybe even homosexuals and the people were supposed to
represent God were disgusted by them.
But Jesus was different. Jesus
wanted to communicate that God was in
a relentless pursuit of lost people, so He began to tell three
consecutive stories about a lost sheep, a lost coin and a lost son.
They are
stories that carry hidden truths to expose the heart of God, but also to model
for us the way we should live.
The first one picks up in vs. 4 and
says…
Read or Retell: Luke 15:1-7
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.
-sheep are not very bright and totally defenseless. They live
to fill there stomachs and have to be moved from pasture to pasture to keep from eating the roots system and
killing their food supply.
They will wander aimlessly…even into
danger. But
a good shepherd loves his sheep and will do anything to keep them together and
to keep them safe.
What drove Armand's father? Same thing that
drives the shepherd to look for his lost sheep
- The 99 are safe in
the folds, but the shepherd journeys for the one that is lost…until he finds it.
God loves the lost and …He Seeks with Passion
Can I say rith here that Sharing your faith
is not a gift: when people talk about sharing their faith, they use the
excuse that it is not my spiritual gift…talking about your relationship with
Christ has never been a spiritual gift
-It is a command: "go into all the world
and make…" "preach the word, in season and out!"
-It is a blessing: "blessed are the feet of
those who bring good news"
If you really want
to be passionate about the lost, then…
a) You may have to
follow them into some rugged terrain.
- Berry MCMurtie from a church of over 5,000 in
California Followed some sheep in some rough terrain. A Porno convention was in
town. You could go there and get an autograph from your favorite porno star.
Barry the Senior Pastor set up a booth there and called it the XXX church. They
handed out material for those who have been broken by pornography. The Man that
wrote this article spoke to barry last week and he told him he has had over 1
million hits on the site desgned for that convention out reach.
Wow! over 1
million lost sheep finding a way home off the rugged terrain of sexual sins only
to find the good shephard waiting for them on the other end of a click of a
mouse.
b) We Must Meet them at their level of spiritual
interest.
-but I don't like getting out of my comfort zone…maybe this
Jesus thing is bigger than we anticipated It really does not matter what we like
of don't like. Maybe God wants us to step outside of ourselves and our comfort
zones and reach out to these people on their level.. Sometime this may require
ourselves to become vulnerable.
Paul Said
1 Corinthians 9:22 To the weak became I as weak, that
I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all
means save some.
1 Corinthians 9:23 And
this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with
you.
A Man by the Name of Karl is a youth pastor in St.Louis,
Mo told about a place called Mississippi Nights. Downtown St. Lois . that
specializes in anti-god bands.
A Youth group
went to this sin-infested place pulled up in a pick-up. Dropped the tailgates
and heated up some burritos to pass out to the young kids leaving the crowded
concert
. Why? Because they love Jesus. The had a passion for lost
sheep
Warmed up Burritos.. whoever would of thought they
were God's tool of finding lost people.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
(PICK-UP ON SEGMENTED ILLUSTRATION)
Armand of
Armenia illustration #2
Armand's Father look s diligently for Armond, he climbs a tree he scans the skyline. He
studies the layout of the rubble of a once thriving school. He tries to locate
where his son's class would be.
He stands on the stones of the once classroom
He begins to pull rock after rock, desk after desk, looking for his lost
son…
(Read or Retell: Luke 15:8-10 Look at verse 8
Back to Luke
15
8 "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."
Dowry: The coin to this poor woman was
probably her whole life savings…the point: it wasn't worth much, It does not
appear to be that valuable, The world classifies them as Garbage or outcast
society… But to the person whos looking. it means the whole world.
What
does the old woman and Armand's father and God have in common
Real Persistence
-It takes
resources: what investment are you prepared to make?... -It takes time: what
sacrifice are you prepared to make?
Our church decided to give and
suport our missionary, Brother Issaac in Kenya Africa, becuase you have all
learnd the passion of God for lost people.
-It takes wisdom: what are you
willing to say?
a) You may have to open your mouth and give a reason for
the hope that you have within you.
b) You may have to do some spadework to
uncover interest.
-what is going on in their lives…
Chinese word
for danger is made of two characters that represent two other words…danger &
opportunity.
-most of us are a
lot more willing to listen and learn when our answers are failing
us.
Build a relationship with them by modeling authentic faith. They
can see right through a Shallow Christian.. Make no Mistake
here.
-Mike Breaux senior pastor of Southland Christian
Church in Lexington ,KY… Mike ate at a local sport's bar. He became a regular
face.
People recognized him from the broadcasting of his 8,200 member church.
He began to hear that the bar-tender and every one he ate with watched his
sermons.
One guy yelled as Mike was leaving the bar, "Hey Mike! thanks
for eating with sinners like us."
To which Mike replied,
"shoot I am the
worst"
See Mike met them where they were, willing to sacrifice his reputation to
find lost sheep in a bar.
Armand of Armenia illustration #3 Back
to Amarnds Father
(10 hours has now passed, but he continued to dig when
others told him to give up.. ) 24 hours finally passed and Armand's relentless
father will not give up.. would you? Hands cracked, knuckles bleeding… heart
racing…
We stop because we do
not have much patience with people
Read or Retell: Luke
15:11-32
11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The
younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he
divided his property between them.
13 "Not long after that, the younger son got
together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his
wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe
famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and
hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to
feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were
eating, but no one gave him anything.
17 "When he came to his senses, he
said, ‘How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am
starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy
to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20 So he got up and
went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw
him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms
around him and kissed him.
21 "The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned
against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22 "But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put
it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the
fattened calf and kill it. 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.
25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near
the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and
asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,' he replied, ‘and your
father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'
28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went
out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years
I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me
even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of
yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the
fattened calf for him!'
31 "‘My son,' the father said, ‘you are always with
me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad,
because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is
found.'"
Rebellious son. Angry
brother. Forgiving father
One willing to be a slave…the other always
feeling like one!
What does Armand's father rend God have in
Common?
The Search with Patience
A guy's car was stalled at a
green-light. Cars behind him would honk and honk. Out of frustration, the guy
walked out of his car, tapped on the window of the person behind him and said,"
Say, My car will not start, if you would not mind trying to start my car, I will
sit back here and honk your horn for you)"
( this gets a good laugh)
See we are not patient with people are we? But God is.
He will
not lay on his horn, picket your house or send you forwarded e-mails, but he will let us experience consequence
of our own wanderings. And he will let us fall flat on our face until we
understand our total dependence on him…watching someone go through
this…
-It may hurt you deeply
-It may last longer than you had
hoped
-It may have to get worse, before it gets better
a) You may even have to watch them hit rock
bottom before they look up
Before you shove your finger in the face of
God and accuse him of not caring…take a
look at the cross and remind yourself that he has more interest in finding lost
people than we do.
b) Trust God and do not doubt His desire to see
them saved.
-He sees so much more
that we see. And He is not willing that any should
perish
Time is very close Church
God will patiently
wait.. he will wait for your familiar figure to walk back from the dusty of road
of despair and rebellion.
CONCLUSION
Two Messages here that
God would have us to see:
Those that are found…Don't ever give up! Be
passionate, persistent and patient! The danger of being found is that we might
turn into the older brother…be careful!
and
Those that are lost…He'll never give up! He is still looking.
Don't give up hope.
Armand of Armenia illustration #4 Armands Father
Now after 38 hours he pulled a rock
back and heard his son's voice) They were faint cries of papa , papa, papa
,
His passion for what was lost finally paid…. Papa
you found me, you found me!"…
I kwne you would! I knew you would never give
up!