Title: God Who Seeks / Luke 15:3-7
Five frog boys who left the house saying they were going to give the salamander eggs came back with a piece of ashes. Parents rushing to the scene checked the children's shoes and clothes, and burst out in bloody cries. For the parents of those children, the past 11 and a half years have been years of tears and tears and nightmares. He gave up his livelihood and wandered all over the country to find his children, and some families had troubled families. I thought I would come back someday, so I left the door open every night, and until now, if the phone rang, I would run away and pick it up. What could be compared to the pain of losing a loved one?
I once asked this question in an evangelism small group meeting. Have you ever lost a child in the past and found it again? When asked, most of them answered yes.
Some say that they walked around barefoot like a crazy woman in search of their children. Some even said that the stones looked like their own children. Some say that they wandered from town to town without even having time to eat.
Could it be that our child has been abducted? Couldn't he have died? And useless worries and fears do not leave my thoughts. If I had finally found the child, the joy at that time would not have been expressed in words. Some people are so happy that they pass out.
Through today's text, we discover what God's heart is like to find lost souls.
In Luke 15, three parables are recorded.
3-7 parable of the lost sheep
The parable of the lost silver coins from 8-10
11-32 is the parable of the lost son.
These three analogies have several similarities and differences.
First, we all lost something precious together. In the parable of the sheep, the sheep was lost, in the parable of the silver coin, the silver coin was lost, and in the parable of the son, the beloved son was lost. If they weren't precious, I wouldn't have looked for them.
Second, we found them all. I found the lost sheep, I found the silver coins, I found the lost son.
Third, they were all delighted. We enjoyed the joy of rediscovery together with friends and neighbors at a feast.
There are also differences.
The sheep were found in the fields, and the money was found in the house. And the son was found in society. It was the shepherd who found the sheep, the woman found the money, and the father found the son. In the parable of the sheep, one out of 100 was lost, in the parable of the silver coin one out of ten was lost, and in the parable of the son one of two sons was lost.
As such, the message of Luke 15 can be summarized in three words: lost, found, and rejoiced.
A closer look at the text
1. A sheep precious to the shepherd
First, to the shepherd, he discovers how precious the lost sheep are to him. The shepherd lost one out of 100 sheep. Through the appearance of a shepherd who sets out to find the sheep, he discovers how precious the sheep is to the shepherd. If you don't value it, you won't find it.
The shepherd seems to have raised the sheep with love and devotion. When you are hungry, you feed them, when you are thirsty, you give them water, when you are cold, you warm them, and when you are hot, you cool them. So the shepherd leaves the 99 sheep in the field and sets out on his own to find the one lost sheep. 99 sheep are important, but one sheep is important to a shepherd.
Likewise, our God values those who believe in Jesus, but also values those who do not believe. Those who believe are the sheep that have already been found, and those who do not believe in Jesus are the lost sheep. These are all precious beings in that they are all objects of God's love.
(John 3:16) “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son...” From this point of view, it is clear that the world that did not believe in Jesus is also the object of God's love. Are any of our children not dear to you? Therefore, unbelievers can evangelize only when they know that they are precious to God.
2. Lost Sheep
The shepherd has lost a sheep. I don't know if he ran away on his own or ran away while he was feeding the grass. Dogs and cats come to the house alone, but the sheep cannot come alone because they are stupid.
Think of this lost sheep. Perhaps the sheep was afraid. You must have been hungry and thirsty. He must have trembled in fear of death. This must be the state of man who has left God.
The moment humans leave God, their vitality is cut off and they run to death. Jeremiah 2:13 says, “My people have done two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have dug themselves a cistern, which is a broken cistern that cannot hold water.”
Leaving God was a sin in itself, and all that we tried on our own without God was a sin. The results were disastrous. The only fish that leaves the water is death. The leaves cut off the branches will soon wither. Children who run away from their parents will be unhappy. Likewise, human beings who depart from God are bound to fall into unhappiness through sin and death.
Hymn 440 sings of the wretchedness of a life far away from the Lord. “I have gone far away, and I am sad and weary, and I am lonely and hopeless. Jesus Jesus, my lord, come to me now, do not leave me;
What can you do apart from God? The Bible says nothing can be done. A Christian parent with a certain student says: It means that you cannot go to church until your child has passed college. This can be a dangerous idea. So who's in charge when the church isn't sent? Perhaps the devil will take over that period. And you said until your child passes college, what do you mean if he doesn't pass college?
You cannot do anything apart from God. Whether it's business or business, apart from God, it's like water sticking to the bottomless poison. It's just a broken puddle that doesn't save water no matter how much money you pour. After all, a life apart from God is an unfortunate life. The Lord says this in John 15:5. “Apart from me you can do nothing.”
If you leave, everything will be in vain. Please do not leave God for the rest of your life.
3. The Shepherd Looking for the Lost Sheep
Sheep cannot return to the pasture on their own. You cannot live on your own. So I need someone's help. So the shepherd went looking for the sheep. In the text, it is said that the shepherd sought to find. the lost sheep until he finds it? What it means is that I will seek until I find it. So, it contains the will to find the end. Our God is a God who does not rest until all the peoples of the world are saved, as in the song of praise.
The purpose of the Lord's coming into this world was to find and save the lost. Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” And John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. ” he said. The Lord has come to us. you came looking for me
The Lord has come to visit us who are lonely and unhappy. He came to light in our dark lives. Just as he visited Zacchaeus and changed his life, he led us to a life of abundance. Even now, the Lord is looking for and inviting those who labor and are heavy laden. Because it is to give you true rest.
Imitating the Lord's zeal, we too should seek out lost souls. We must evangelize once and do not give up even if we reject it, we must search for it until the end. You have to work hard to find it.
The child is missing from the house. The wife is obsessed with finding the child. I am desperate and ask my husband for help. Honey, my child is missing. Let's find it together. My husband said, “How did you lose your child? What are you doing at home, can't you take good care of your child? reproach. And if you lie in your bedroom saying, "I don't know, so you can find it by yourself or not!" How can you call such a person a person? How can you be called a father?
In the spirit of searching for our lost children, we roll up our arms to find lost souls.
4. Rediscovered Joy
The shepherd finally found the lost sheep. He was so happy. The greater the struggle to find the sheep, the greater the joy would have been. So he not only rejoiced for himself, but also invited his friends and neighbors to a party and shared the joy. “Rejoice with me” (verse 6).
That's right. When a lost soul returns to the Lord, God is the first to be pleased. In heaven, a great feast is held because of this one person.
“I tell you, in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).
We have many things in mind that will please God. ‘Will God be pleased if I donate a lot?’, ‘Will God be pleased if I worship with all my heart?’ However, the thing that pleases the heart of God the most is evangelism. Do you want to please God? Then pray.
Now, in a month, we have a big feast in our church. It is a ‘neighbor invitation party.’ This time, we set the goal of 500 people. Even if one person brings only one person, this goal is more than achieved. I hope that I too will reach out and guide you while praying with the goal of giving joy to the Lord this time with the goal of more than one person.
Satan whispers sweetly. You believe in Jesus, so why do you have such a hard time believing? I am told not to take up the cross. Instead of evangelism, he whispers to me if I can do other service. They say why do you eat good food and do things that insult people? But please don't listen to it. Overcome it in the name of Jesus.
We must listen to the Lord's final command. “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.”
Our God is a seeker of lost souls. For that, the Lord is looking for workers. “Who will go for us?” and looking for someone.
There is a scene that I remember when watching the drama Wang Geon. Before any battle, a staff meeting was convened with Wang Geon as the center. At this time, before the king even asks who will go to the battle, several generals voluntarily beg for their release.
God is also looking for people. You are looking for a crew to join the operation to rescue many lost souls. Who wants to go? We must confess, “Lord, here am I; send me,” like the confession of Isaiah.
At this feast of inviting neighbors, there must be an open resolution to bring joy to the Lord by leading a lost soul to the Lord.