Sermon Illustrations on Lost

Trapped At Pearl Harbor

Scores of sailors were trapped in their ships at Pearl Harbor and there was no way to rescue them. They suffocated, died of thirst, or starved to death. Many lived two weeks or longer while entombed in those hulls - some even survived until Christmas. 32 were saved out of the capsized Oklahoma but others could not be reached. 65 on the West Virginia were abandoned. Louis Grabinski, a 21-year-old sailor from Erie, Pennsylvania, had been sent back to the West Virginia for sentry duty on the night of December 8 when he heard pounding coming from below and reported it to his superiors. Trying to reach them had so many problems, Navy officials finally came to the conclusion that doing so would be impossible - and "there were so many other things to do" - so the trapped men were abandoned.

Richard Goings and 20 others went out to the Oklahoma, which had been hit by 5 torpedoes and was laying on its side. Torches caused the paint and cork to form gases which killed the first two men. Pneumatic chipping hammers were used next. Each time they broke into a compartment, the water rushed in and they had to get the men out while the water was rising - and before they drowned.

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[Grabinski's granddaughter Kim contacted me on July 12, 2001]

Baby Doe and the Matchless Mine

Job 5:5

H.A.W. Tabor was one of the richest Americans of his time, having amassed tens of millions of dollars from his silver mines in Leadville, Colorado, during the 1870's and 1880's. His richest mine was called the Matchless. He lived an extravagant lifestyle, left his common-sense wife Augusta for a beautiful young temptress named Baby Doe, and thought it nothing to wager $3,500 on one poker pot. He gave away hundreds of thousands of dollars to every friend, moocher or confidence man who made a touch. He ran his mansion in princely style; he and Baby Doe bought furs, jewelry, carriages, furniture, art objects. Tabor did not bother to pay the bills. The store owners rarely pressed him. After all, wasn't he a multimillionaire?

When Congress demonetized silver in 1893 and made gold the only standard for money, Tabor lost his wealth overnight. All of their possessions were sold to pay off the debts and the Tabors ended up renting a small cottage in Denver for $30 a month. When they reached the point where there was not a nickel left to buy food, he dropped his pride and went to the Brown Palace Hotel where a dozen of his wealthy friends hung out. He saw a group of mining men sitting in a circle in the foyer. He knew all of them. They had been his pals for years. His old friend Stratton would never turn him down. He whispered over Stratton's shoulder, "Can you lend me $100?" Stratton waved a dismissing hand in the direction of the face at his shoulder, and said coldly: "Go away."

H.A.W. Tabor rushed out of the hotel and half ran, half stumbled along the street, tears flooding down his face. Stratton asked who the fellow was who had just tried to beg. "That was Senator Tabor." "What?" cried Stratton. "Tabor wanted a hundred?" He got up, ran down the street to overtake H.A.W., apologized by saying he had not recognized him, and pressed $500 into his hand. "Tabor, would you like to be postmaster of Denver?" (Tabor had donated the land the post office was on.)

He was an efficient postmaster for just over one year. One day in April 1899, while taking a stroll, he went into the Tabor Grand Opera House and stood gazing at the oil portrait of himself, which the new owners had allowed to remain hanging. Suddenly a sharp pain from a burst appendix cut through his side. As he was dying, he said to Baby Doe: "Whatever happens, hold on to the Matchless. It will give you back all that I have lost."

Baby Doe packed up her two daughters and moved back to the desolate mountain town of Leadville. They lived in the abandoned tool house, one room and a lean-to, its timbers rotting, its broken windows boarded up, freezing cold in winter. When their money ran out Baby Doe dressed herself and the girls in discarded miners' clothing. She wore an aged black dress and a man's overcoat which also served as her blanket at night. For years she kept the water out of the Matchless mine and guarded the property with a shotgun. Baby Doe lived deep into the twentieth century. She never left Leadville and became a ghost wandering around a ghost town. One winter night she froze to death at the mine where she had remained for 30 years, faithful to Horace Tabor and to his parting instructions: "Hold on to the Matchless. It will give you back all

that I have lost."

The one and only thing he never lost was Baby Doe's love.

#1597

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He Drowned Surrounded By Lifeguards

Acts 7

The Times-Reporter of New Philadelphia, Ohio, reported in September 1985 on a celebration at a New Orleans municipal pool. The party around the pool was held to celebrate the first summer in memory without a drowning at any New Orleans city pool. In honor of the occasion, two hundred people gathered, including one hundred certified lifeguards.

As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end. They tried to revive Jerome Moody, thirty-one, but it was too late. He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season.

I wonder how many visitors and strangers are among us drowning in loneliness, hurt, and doubt, while we, who could help them, don't realize it. We Christians have reason to celebrate, but our mission, as the old hymn says, is to "rescue the perishing." And so often they are right next to us.

Rescuing Those In Greatest Peril

Luke 1:74

Roger Storms, pastor of First Christian Church in Chandler, Arizona, tells his story: “One Sunday, a car had broken down in the alley behind our facilities, and the driver had jacked up the car and crawled underneath to work on the problem. Suddenly, we heard him scream for help. The jack had slipped, and the car had come down on top of him.

“Someone shouted, ‘Call 9-1-1!’ and a couple of people ran for the phone. Several of our men gathered around the large car and strained to lift it off the trapped man. Nurses from our congregation were rounded up and brought to the scene. Somehow the men were able to ease the car’s weight off the man, and he was pulled free. Our nurses checked him over. He was scratched up and shaken, but otherwise okay.

“When this man was in peril, people did all they could to help – risking themselves, inconveniencing themselves. Whatever was necessary to save this man, they were ready to try. How we need this same attitude when it comes to rescuing those in greatest peril – the danger of losing life eternally!”

Wrong Way Riegels

The story of "Wrong Way Riegels" is a familiar one, but it bears repeating.

On New Year's Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played UCLA in the Rose Bowl. In that game a young man named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for UCLA. Picking up the loose ball, he lost his direction and ran sixty-five yards toward the wrong goal line. One of his teammates, Beeny Lom, ran him down and tackled him just before he scored for the opposing team. Several plays later the Bruins had to punt. Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety, demoralizing the UCLA team.

The strange play came in the first half. At halftime the UCLA players filed off the field and into the dressing room. As others sat down on the benches and the floor, Riegels put a blanket around his shoulders, sat down in a corner, and put his face in his hands.

A football coach usually has a great deal to say to his team during halftime. That day Coach Price was quiet. No doubt he was trying to decide what to do with Riegels.

When the timekeeper came in and announced that there were three minutes before playing time, Coach Price looked at the team and said, "Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second." The players got up and started out, all but Riegels. He didn't budge. The coach looked back and called to him. Riegels sat and said, "Roy, didn't you hear me? The same team that played the first half will start the second."

Roy Riegels looked up, his cheeks wet with tears. "Coach," he said, "I can't do it. I've ruined you. I've ruined the university's reputation. I've ruined myself. I can't face the crowd out there."

Coach Price reached out, put his hand on Riegels' shoulder, and said, "Roy, get up and go back. The game is only half over."

Riegels finally did get up. He went onto the field, and the fans saw him play hard and play well.

All of us have run a long way in the wrong direction. Because of the forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ, however, the game is only half over.

Nibbling Our Way To Lostness

Luke 15:4

Mike Yaconelli wrote in The Wittenburg Door: "I live in a small, rural community. There are lots of cattle ranches around here, and, every once in a while, a cow wanders off and gets lost... Ask a rancher how a cow gets lost, and chances are he will reply, 'Well, the cow starts nibbling on that one, and then it nibbles on a tuft of green grass and starts nibbling on that one, and then it nibbles on a tuft of grass right next to a hole in the fence. It then sees another tuft of green grass on the other side of the fence, so it nibbles on that one and then goes on to the next tuft. The next thing you know, the cow has nibbled itself into being lost.'

"Americans are in the process of nibbling their way to lostness... We keep moving from one tuft of activity to another, never noticing how far we have gone from home or how far away from the truth we have managed to end up."

LOST

A poor tramp had got lost in the woods in Michigan, many years

before that timbered section had paths running through it. The poor

fellow had tried his best to get out, but he could not. At length as

evening came, tired, he built a fire and sat down by it. Presently,

two men appeared -- a wealthy father and his son. Drawing close to the

tramp, the father said, "Sir, we are lost and cannot find our way

home. If you will direct us how to get out of these woods, I shall pay

you well for it." The tramp answered not a word. Then the father spoke

again, only to be met with silence. The third time he spoke the tramp

looked up and said, "Man, I am lost also." The wealthy man offered

$5,000 if the tramp could lead him out, but the only reply was, "I am

lost also." It was decided that the old man would stay by the fire

with the tramp while his son made another effort to find a way home.

The son eventually did get out and then sought to return with a party

to find his father and the tramp, but they searched in vain. In a few

months the skeletons of two men were found by the ashes of the fire --

the flesh had all been eaten off the bones by the beasts) and the only

way they could distinguish the wealthy man from the tramp was by some

gold lying beside one of the skeletons. There was no other difference.

The rich man and the poor man -- both lost!

William Moses Tidwell, "Effective Illustrations."

A Truckload of Maps and He's Still Lost

Many people get lost today, especially as the world gets smaller and increasingly congested. I'm told the San Mateo County (California) Convention & Visitors Bureau ordered 50,000 maps of the greater San Mateo area for visiting tourists. The driver of the delivery truck evidently got lost on the way to the bureau; he had to phone in for directions.

The world has had people like this for at least six thousand years. The map is right on their coffee table but they're still lost and need someone to give them directions.

Source/Attribution: John Gillmartin

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Ignite Your Passion For the Lost

Luke 15

Apathetic about the unsaved? Here's how to put spark back in your witnessing.

Main questions: Are people really lost? Terminology seems too harsh. We prefer to call sinners "seekers." Is Jesus the only way? Multiculturalism rejects this.

1. Catch the passion from others.

2. Open your eyes.

3. Put yourself in their position.

4. Study their biblical fate.

5. Ask God for a "divine appointment."

6. Be imitators of Jesus.

Hudson Taylor - Pushy Inward

Luke 15:4

Hudson Taylor on the parable of the Ninety-Nine Sheep.

"Can all the Christians of England," he wrote, "sit still with folded arms

while these multitudes [in China] are perishing - perishing for lack of

knowledge - for lack of that knowledge which England possesses so richly,

which has made England what England is and made us what we are? What does the

Master teach us? Is it not that if one sheep out of a hundred be lost, we are

to leave the ninety and nine and seek that one? But here the proportions are

almost reversed, and we stay at home with the one sheep, and take no heed to

the ninety and nine perishing ones!"

Taylor became convinced that a special organization was needed for the

evangelization of inland China - to go beyond the five treaty ports to which

nearly all missionary work had been confined. He was determined not to cut

the financial ground from under the feet of the older missionary societies,

but what form should such an organization take?

He began making plans for recruiting 24 missionaries: two for each of eleven

inland provinces of China that were without a missionary, and two for

Mongolia. It was a visionary plan that would have left experienced

missionaries breathless: at the time, a host of seasoned missionary

organizations had, all told, only some 90 Protestant missionaries in China.

Taylor single-handedly wanted to increase that by over 25 percent.

This would be an enormous financial commitment, so Taylor opened a bank

account under the name of the China Inland Mission (CIM). Soon he had money

and five missionary volunteers to send to China - even before he had formally

committed himself to head a new missions society.

#4006

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Are We Supposed To Be Looking For Him?

Luke 15:1

In the film "Forrest Gump" Forrest's bitter, disabled Vietnam veteran friend, Lieutenant Dan, was watching a church choir sing on television. In a sarcastic tone Dan asked Forrest, "Gump, have you found Jesus yet?" Forrest's innocent reply was, "I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for Him."

Many people think like Forrest Gump. They do not know that they need to find Jesus or that He is seeking to "find them." It is our responsibility as Christians to show people the love of the Lord and tell them of His matchless grace.

On-board Navigation

Luke 1:79

Illustration: "Get ready! You’re going to have fewer excuses for getting lost on the road." This sure sounds like it might be from a tract on the Roman Road, doesn’t it?

No, it isn’t! Actually it’s ad copy from an Internet advertisement for "on-board navigation systems" from the automobile industry. These "NAVS," as they are called, use GPS (Global Positioning Satellite technology) to locate a position precisely; the same technology used recently by scientists to determine the exact height of the Washington Monument.

As model years pass, more new cars are being offered with onboard navigation systems, which help you map your route to important meetings, or to that favorite vacation spot near grandma’s, or to a restaurant whose address you've forgotten. NAVS can even help direct you to a local automated teller machine (ATM) or nearest hospital or your next job interview.

Now there’s no real excuse for getting lost, even if you’re one of those guys who refuses to ask for directions.

Comments: However, God has been far ahead of modern technology. In Romans 1:19 Paul says,

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."

God’s plan has always been to provide man with a spiritual navigation system. In fact, Paul clearly says just that. God has given mankind all they need to know to know where they are in relationship to Him: general and special revelation – not to mention the conscience, which the Holy Spirit uses to convict us and guide us.

Source/Attribution: © Sermon-Illustrations-Each-Week 1999

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The Lost

Luke 19:10

I am of the mindset that Sunday afternoons are meant for wandering. At least for me it is a hallowed task. There seems nothing more Sabbath-like than exploring for the sake of exploration, and I am content to do so by car or on foot, in a busy mall or in my mind. On Sunday the journey is not the means but the end -- and it changes my perspective completely.

Last Sunday on our way home from church something different caught my husband's eye, though we were on a road we both use daily. It was a small cemetery, contained by a fence that was deteriorating and concealed by a tiny forest spared by contractors. The cemetery was old; the gravestones were toppled or badly weathered, some dating as far back as the 1800's. The place seemed like it had been forgotten -- or perhaps like someone was hoping it would be forgotten. It was a lost plot of history hidden inconspicuously between large hotels and office buildings.

Scripture often speaks of the omnipresent character of God, and it is this attribute that struck me as I walked among the stones. “He is Lord of both the dead and the living” Paul writes in Romans 14:9. For God there is no forgotten grave or child lost; there is no place we can flee from his presence. Whether we are running from his voice or crying out from the depths, our frames are never hidden from the one who formed them.

It was a striking contrast: I had driven past this cemetery a thousand times and never seen it. But God knew each one buried there by name.

Yet as I walked away, I was seized by the thought that my oversight was not accidental. It was a plot of land that had been concealed on purpose, and then hidden by my own expectation of what belonged there. Contractor, consumer, or neighbor -- we don't want to see cemeteries beside our hotels or grave stones beside our office parking lots. The cemetery was “lost” because we had hidden it from ourselves. It was forgotten by our own doing.

I wonder how often I have behaved similarly with life, drawing fences around questions that haunt or convictions I don't want to see, hiding sin or sorrow until it is forgotten. How often are we the cause of our own blindness or the hands that work to conceal the thing we need most to see? We are so easily misled by own distractions, lost by our own intentions -- while our truest thoughts are like hidden cemeteries in the great worlds we build for ourselves.

For centuries God has been calling us out of these hidden worlds and lost ways. Since Eden, He has been positing the question to hiding people: “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). As with Adam, it is not for God's sake that He inquires -- it is you and I who need to be asked. God knows precisely where we are, and yet He seeks the lost. To those who are hiding from themselves and from Him, He calls them to love with all their hearts, souls, and minds. To those who have forgotten, He urges them to seek and find. To those who do not see, He moves them to sight. And to those who are lost, He sends the Son to save. “For the Son of Man was sent to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Our inability to flee from the presence of God is not a statement about us but a promise about his faithfulness. “'Am I only a God nearby,' declares the LORD, 'and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the LORD. 'Do not I fill heaven and earth?'“ (Jeremiah 23:23-24). However distanced from the Father we have become, it is not far for the one who longs to save. However lost we have managed to make ourselves, the Son has already found us. However thorough our attempts to hide or great the distance we have run away, it is nothing to the one who never lets us out of his sight. Being found is only a matter of turning around.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #12790]

Proud - But Lost

2 Kings 5

I had to laugh as my friend Cathy told me about an experience she had in a former job, because it tells so much about how my half of the human race thinks ... men, I mean. Cathy and her boss had rented a car at the airport for a relatively short trip from the Dallas/Fort Worth airport to a nearby city. We're talking a few minutes' drive here. But not for Cathy and her boss. No, they just kept driving in circles, retracing their steps, turning around. I mean, her boss obviously did not know where he was going. Cathy kept suggesting he stop for directions, but no, no, no - "I know where I'm going." She said she got to the point where she was ready to punch him if she saw this particular restaurant one more time! Finally - four hours later - they got to their destination. Was this man lost? Yes. Could he admit he didn't know where he was going? No. He's a man!

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Proud - But Lost."

That's one of those frustrating things about a lot of us men - they can be lost, but too proud to ask for help. That's a mistake that has made many a man miss his destination - including the meaning of his life and the heaven he hopes to go to when he dies. A man can be spiritually lost - and even have someone in his life who is encouraging him to reach out to God - but he's too proud to do it. That can be fatal pride. You may be a man like that. God loves you too much to lose you, so He'll do whatever it takes to open you up to what only He can do for you.

There's an example of this in our word for today from the Word of God in 2 Kings 5, beginning with verse 1. It's the story of a powerful military leader in Bible times, a Syrian general named Naaman. The Bible says, "Naaman was a commander of the army of the king ... He was great in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory." This is a man who has been very successful - a conqueror who seemingly can handle life's battles by himself. The Bible goes on: "He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy." In those days, leprosy was virtually a death sentence - something beyond his control, beyond his conquering.

Naaman follows a recommendation to go see God's prophet in Israel. He goes with a large military escort, loaded with treasures to help him buy a cure. But the prophet won't take his money and he tells him to go wash seven times in the muddy Jordan River if he wants to be clean. Well, initially, the general refuses, but his servants persuade him to reconsider. Humbling himself, the Bible says "he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy." More importantly, Naaman begins a relationship with God that day.

Do you know what God does with us men when we refuse to admit we're lost without Him? In His love, He brings something into our life that we can't control, and we can't fix. Maybe He's doing that for you right now. He's showing you what's been true all along - you're not really in control, no matter how much you thought you were. And there's only one way to get through to God - it's got to be God's way. And that way is for a man, or a woman for that matter, to come to the cross of Jesus Christ and say, "Lord, You died for the sins I've done, and You're my only hope of being forgiven, of going to heaven, of my life being changed. And I'm Yours."

This may be your day to finally experience the love, the leadership, the healing of Jesus for yourself. Sometimes it's not until we run into a wall that we let Jesus remove the wall between us and God.

Please, don't let your pride make you lost - forever.

________________

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Unchurched Or Unsaved?

Acts 2:47

In 1914, Ernest Henry Shackleton led an expedition to cross the entire continent of Antarctica, but wound up shipwrecked on an uninhabited island. To rescue his team, Shackleton and a few of the men sailed a tiny boat across more than 800 miles of rough seas to South Georgia Island. Despite the cold choppy waters and gray skies, Shackleton was able to safely navigate the boat to their destination. If his coordinates had been off by even one half of one degree, his team would have missed their destination and likely would have perished.

Ship captains, airplane pilots and astronauts will be the first to tell you that the tiniest navigational error can have disastrous consequences. The same is true for those of us who have been commissioned to lead our churches. A seemingly insignificant shift in direction can have major implications.

In recent years, leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention have bemoaned the falling number of baptisms. Pastors, missionaries, professors and analysts all have offered a variety of reasons for why our numbers are declining, along with advice for how we might get back on track. But I wonder if one of the main reasons for the dwindling number of baptisms is represented by a subtle shift in vocabulary -- so subtle that we might overlook it.

There was a time when we spoke of unsaved people as “lost and dying and on their way to hell” -- a phrase that painted a vivid picture of the stakes of being outside of Christ. We spoke of unsaved people in this way for so long that such terminology became something of a cliché.

Today, it seems that many pastors and church members tend to shy away from terms like “lost,” “unsaved,” and “unbeliever.” Instead, we speak of the people we are trying to reach as “unchurched.”

I believe that this change in terminology betrays two mistaken beliefs:

1. First, it indicates that our people believe the goal of the church is to grow the church. Thus, evangelism becomes less about reaching the unsaved in order to see them get saved, and more about reaching unchurched people in order to get them churched (or even worse, reaching other-churched people in order to get them to our church). Outreach becomes little more than an attempt to sell people on the benefits of coming to church.

Church-focused outreach is easier than Christ-focused outreach. In many places in the South, church attendance is still woven into the fabric of the culture. Many unchurched people already assume that they should go to church. So our outreach merely reinforces the cultural assumption that church attendance is important.

Furthermore, we are more comfortable reaching out to people with a Christian background than we are witnessing to Muslims and Hindus. In our increasingly multi-cultural world, it is much easier to reach the nominally “Christian” who already share our assumptions than the foreigners who are moving into our neighborhoods.

2. Secondly, our shift in vocabulary indicates a lessening of the eternal stakes of salvation.

I am thankful for the Conservative Resurgence in our denomination that has brought a renewed emphasis on orthodox theology. But I wonder how much of that orthodox theology is truly believed by the people in our churches.

Do we truly believe that Jesus is the only way to God? Do we truly believe that people outside of faith in Christ will perish eternally in hell? Do we truly believe that people who claim to be Christians and yet show no fruits of repentance have a false assurance of salvation? Do we truly believe that people of other faiths are “lost and dying and on their way to hell”?

If so, why do we lessen the stakes of evangelism by speaking in a way that emphasizes church attendance over salvation in Christ?

Of course, evangelism includes inviting people into our churches. But inviting people to church is not the goal; it is only one means whereby God may accomplish His mission of seeking and saving the lost.

So yes -- we believe that people need what the church has to offer. But we are not called to sell others on the greatness of our church, but to proclaim the greatness of our Savior.

In the choppy waters of our postmodern, increasingly post-Christian society, staying on course is no easy task. Jesus told us the way is narrow. God commanded the Israelites: “You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (Deuteronomy 5:32).

If we need a course correction, let’s do it now. Let’s remind our people of the Christ-centeredness of the Great Commission. Let’s plead with lost people to flee to Jesus and escape the wrath to come. Let’s focus evangelism and outreach on Jesus. Maybe then, we will see lost people be found, unsaved people get saved, condemned people be pardoned, and then (and only then) unchurched people be churched.

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Trevin Wax is minister of education and missions at First Baptist Church in Shelbyville, Tennessee

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #5530]

Leaving No One Behind

2 Peter 3:9

He was last seen in the cockpit of his F/A-18 fighter jet. Scott Speicher's plane never made it back from its combat mission in the Persian Gulf War. For years, Scott Speicher was presumed dead. But as more facts became available about the details of the incident that brought down his plane, there began to be more and more doubt about that verdict. Finally, the Pentagon revised the fallen pilot's status to “missing in action.” Through it all, his family has been doing all they can - and trying to get officials to do all they can - to see if Scott is still alive as a prisoner in Iraq. I saw one family member interviewed on television. In urging an all-out effort on Scott's behalf, this family member said, “Scott was a strong believer in the doctrine of 'leave no one behind.'“

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about “Leaving No One Behind.”

I know someone who's a strong believer in the doctrine of “leave no one behind.” He is, in fact, the strongest believer of all. Jesus can't stand for even one person to be left behind spiritually. In the words of 2 Peter 3:9, He is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Including you. Including someone you may have almost given up on. Including that person everyone has written off or rejected.

Here's the rescuing heart of Jesus - it's in Matthew 18:12-14, our word for today from the Word of God. Jesus said, “If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.”

Sadly, those of us who were rescued by this seeking Shepherd seem all too content to just keep on fellowshipping with the already-rescued, seldom making an effort to go after those who are still lost. We can't imagine living one day without Christ. They've never had one day with Christ. We can't just keep focusing on those who are already in! Someone has wisely said, “The Church is the only organization in the world that exists primarily for those who are not yet in it.” How can the followers of the ever-seeking Jesus just settle into our little Jesus-club, sing our club songs, go to our club meetings, pay our club dues, and forget about the people who have no hope, no heaven unless someone tells them about Jesus. They are Jesus' top priority. Are they ours?

It's easy to forget those who are lost or who have wandered away. It's easy to ignore them, condemn them, give up on them unless we're following Jesus - because I know where He's going - to seek and to save the lost. If you're really following Jesus, you'll inevitably end up in a sea of lost people - because He will leave the 99 found just for one of them. Go with Him to find them. Go with Him to bring them back. We cannot leave them behind.

And maybe you're the one who's away from God. You're not sure He would even have you. But the good news is, He went all the way to a cross to pay the price to get you back. And now He's come right to where you are today. You may be listening to my voice on the radio, but that's His voice in your heart - tugging you to give yourself to Him. If you can sense Jesus moving in your heart, inviting you to belong to Him, you may never be this close to Him again. Open your heart to Him.

Jesus doesn't want to leave anyone behind. Including you. He's come to rescue you - at the cost of His own life. Grab Him - while He's close - while you can.

________________

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #4611]

I Can't Be Lost With You

An elderly gentleman was out walking with his young grandson. “How far are we from home?” he asked the grandson. The boy answered, “Grandpa, I don’t know.” The grandfather asked, “Well, where are you?” Again the boy answered, “I don’t know.” Then the grandfather said good-naturedly, “Sounds to me as if you are lost.” The young boy looked up at his grandfather and said, “Nope, I can’t be lost. I’m with you.” Ultimately, that is the answer to our lostness, too. We can’t be lost if He is with us.

The Race To Save Lives

Luke 19:10

It's got to be one of the most unique sporting events in the world - it's the Iditarod, the ultimate sled dog race in the world This past year, 68 teams lined up for the historic 1,000-mile race from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nome. Of course, it didn't start as a sporting competition. It started in 1925 when the stakes were much higher than a cash prize - it was the lives of countless children in Nome who had been exposed to the dread disease, diphtheria. The only serum to fight it in Alaska was in faraway Anchorage. It had to get to Nome in the shortest time possible. And it was carried in an amazing, Pony Express-like relay by one dog team after another. It took twenty drivers, some of whom braved mountain ranges, brutal weather, a merciless gale. But on February 2 - only 127 hours after the first team left - the last driver arrived in Nome with his tired dog team and 300,000 units of life-saving serum.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Race To Save Lives."

Originally, that's what the Iditarod was. But what was once a life-saving mission is today just an activity. They're still racing on the same course - but they're not racing to save lives anymore. Like many of us followers of Jesus. Like many of our churches, many of our ministries.

Oh, we're racing, all right. But not to save lives. There's a lot of activity and excitement - but it's not about rescuing people who will die if we don't get to them. But that's what we're supposed to be about. At least according to our word for today from the Word of God in Proverbs 24:11-12. God's orders are, "Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, 'But we knew nothing about this,' does not He who weighs the heart perceive it?'"

As we begin to see the unreached people around us through the eyes of Jesus, we begin to realize that they are the ones "being led away to death." Listen to some of the words God uses to describe the people around you who don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ - they're "lost" (Luke 19:10) ... "separated from God" (Isaiah 59:2)..."perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18) ... "without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12) ... and ultimately those who "will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord." (2 Thessalonians 1:9) Not because God wants it that way - He sent His Son to die so they don't have to. But they don't know that yet.

But that's why God has placed you where you are - where you work, where you go to school, where you live, where you recreate. He's put you there to get the "life-saving serum" of the Good News about Jesus to them ... to help some of those people around you be in Heaven with you!

So maybe you're busy in the Christian race, but you - or your ministry - has forgotten the life-saving purpose of the race. And God is calling you to see the "dyingness" of the people within your reach ... to see that He has positioned you to be the one to rescue them. And it is a race - because every day they live without Christ, they move one step closer to an eternity without Him.

But you're there. And you have the serum. You have nothing more important to do with the rest of your life than to deliver life to those who will die if you don't.

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I Know I Am Lost Forever

"You need not tell me there is no hell, for I already feel my soul slipping into its fires! Wretches, cease your idle talk about there being hope for me! I know I am lost forever."

-- Sir Francis Newport, head of an English infidel club, on his deathbed

Lost in A Mine

It is said that a man was lost in a mining section. There were

shaft mines -- great holes hundreds of feet deep and very thick. The

man realized his danger. He knew that if he continued on, seeking to

find his way out, he was very liable to step into one of these holes

and be crushed hundreds of feet below.

So he decided not to take another step. He stopped immediately and

lifted up his voice with all his might and cried, "LOST! LOST! LOST!"

He was heard by some miners, who came with their lanterns and rescued

him. This was a wise decision.

Sinner, you are lost, lost now! Another step may plunge you into

the pit of damnation. Stop, and cry, "Lost!" He who came to seek and

save the lost will lead you out.

William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."

Finding More Than You Look For

Luke 15:8

About eight months ago I lost a pocket knife. It was no ordinary one, but one my dad had carried in his pocket for years. I looked everywhere for it, but to no avail. I even announced it to many in the church, yet no one had seen it.

Then one of my sons gave me a wonderful birthday gift of a very fine pocket knife. I was so proud of it! Then about a week ago I noticed it was not in my pocket. I could not remember when I had last put it in my pocket. I was too ashamed to tell him I’d lost it.

So I began to search in the car, in the chairs at home, in all my pockets. I began to retrace my steps to see whom I might have visited and to ask one and all to search. Then just a few days ago as I was in the home of an older couple, I asked about searching for the knife. The lady was most helpful and began to pull out the cushions on the couch where I had sat during a previous visit. But we didn’t find it. Then her husband, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, reached in his pocket and held something out saying, “I found this on the floor.” I looked and saw, not the new knife my son had given me, but the one I’d lost eight months before! In looking for the one, I found the other.

To finish the story, yesterday, as I began to dress, I noticed something heavy in the pocket of my pants, and there was the new knife! I had looked there three or four times in frantic searching, but to no avial. If I’d found the new one earlier, I would never have found my dad’s knife. I’d have stopped looking.

All through the searching I continued to think of the woman Jesus told about who searched for her lost coin (Luke 15:8-10). I hoped that I would be able to rejoice as she did. But the point of Jesus’ parable is that there are people who are lost that we need to search for and welcome back. The lost need saving!

You see, in searching for one lost item, I found another. If I search for a lost soul, what might I find? Something very precious to me? Might I find a part of me that needs finding? The world is full of lost people. The soul I save might be my own.

Almost, But Lost!

Three brothers yonder in Scotland got a boat and went out on one of

the lakes, rowing in the little boat. But those lakes are often swept

by storms and winds that come down upon them all unexpectedly, and,

when those three brothers were far out yonder on the lake, a storm

suddenly swept down upon the lake and turned over the boat. The middle

brother was caught in the rigging and drowned outright, but the oldest

and youngest brothers somehow got out from under the boat and they

swam toward a rock, hundreds of yards out yonder, jutting up in the

lake.

That was their only chance to be saved, and with extreme difficulty

they made their way toward that rock. At last, the older brother

reached it all worn out and all exhausted in strength. He did just

reach it, and he looked back, and there some yards away came the

younger brother barely able to move his hands in those battling,

climbing, waves. This older boy called to him with what little

strength he had left, trying to cheer him to hold out a little farther

that he might reach the rock. But, he came a little farther and then

went down. He could not make the rock. His strength was gone.

The people on the shore yonder saw the distressing scene. They got

another boat and came to this oldest boy, and they found him almost

wild in his grief. Over and over again, he told the story of how it

all happened, and the boy would wind up his story with the plaintive

cry, over and over and over again: "Oh! lads, little brother was

nearly saved! Little brother was nearly saved! Sobbing his heart out,

he would finish his story every time with the plaintive cry: "Oh, I

tell you, little brother was nearly saved, nearly saved!" --George W.

Truett

Crossing the Deadline

Many years ago, in a certain city, Dr.___ took the pastorate of the

First Presbyterian Church. A few Sabbaths after he commenced his

labors he saw an old gentleman sitting in the congregation with

whitened locks and wrinkled face. He said in his heart, "I will speak

to that man before he gets out, after the benediction is pronounced."

He stepped out of the pulpit and came up to him , and the man said "Go

away from me; go after these young people, and get them all to come to

Christ if you can." The minister felt chagrined for a moment, did not

know but he had done something improper. The old gentleman looked at

him a moment and said, " You may think it strange, sir. I have sat in

that pew forty years, and there was a time when I could not listen to

a single sermon without a tender heart, deep impressions, and

sometimes the tears would flow, and I felt that I ought to be a

Christian.

Sometimes I would go from the church to my closet and offer prayer

to God, and think I would then settle the great question. Then Monday

I would go into New York to my business, and I would delay the matter,

and so I kept on. By and by there came a time when I discovered I

could shed no more tears. All these tender impressions were hushed and

gone. I began to examine, and I found by God's word that there was a

sin against the Holy Ghost which would drive Him for ever from me, and

I made up my mind I had committed that sin. Several years now have

proved it to me. Here I am, Sir, a lost soul. Please don't say any

more to me about my soul; it will do no good. I respect you. I shall

be in my pew here on Sunday. I shall pay my money for your ministry;

but, Sir, it is no use to talk to me. Take care of my family; do what

you can for them; tell all these young people what I have told you

today, and tell them not to delay the matter of attending to the calls

of the Holy Ghost, as I have done."

I urge upon every one here tonight the same thing. My hearer, will

you do it? May God help you this night to see to it that you no longer

delay this matter, but while the gentle Spirit comes to your heart,

accept the offers of His mercy, the entreaties of His love. Make sure

of your salvation if it so be that you are now within the reach of

mercy. --Rev. Albert P Graves

Lost Through Folly--Forever!

A foreigner, coming to the United States, for convenient carriage,

invested all his means in a valuable diamond. On the vessel, he amused

the passengers one day by tossing up apples and catching them. His

cleverness being appreciated and applauded, he took out his diamond,

and began to toss it high in air, but the passengers said: "Don't do

that! We like to see you toss the apples, but to toss the diamond is

too dangerous!" "Oh," said he, I'm not afraid!" and he tossed it up

again, and again, and caught it easily. But he ventured once too

often. There was a lurch of the ship, he missed the diamond! It fell

upon the deck of the vessel, and rolled off into the sea, and was lost

forever! --W. A. Foster

Even thus, foolish men and women often lose their priceless souls

and hope of salvation forever. Risking all eternal hope in exchange

for men's applause and attention, many have played the fool once to

often, and the sudden lurch of Divine providence has separated them

forever from the priceless treasure of eternal salvation! --Duane V.

Maxey

So Near Home, and Yet Lost!

Many years ago, on a Saturday morning, while I sat in my

Liverpool study, preparing, my sermon for the following day, a

telegram was put into my hand announcing the wreck of the ship,

"Royal Charter," in Moelfra Bay, on the coast of Wales, and

asking me to go and break the news of her husband's death by

drowning to the wife of the first officer. The ship had gone

almost round the globe. She had been to Australia, and had been

telegraphed as arrived at Queenstown on the previous night, so

that she was anxiously expected that day in the Mersey. But

during the early morning a furious gale which I might rather

call a terrible hurricane--sprang up, and she was driven to

destruction on that fearful shore, with a loss of over four

hundred lives. As I entered the house of my parishioner, I was

met by her little boy, who came dancing to me, and shouted,

"Papa's coming! Papa's coming!" when I went into the parlor, I

found the table spread in expectation of the arrival of him who

would never cross the threshold again. I can not tell how I

performed my mission; but after I had told the heavy news, the

woman seemed almost stricken into marble. Her grief was too deep

for tears; and I can never forget how, as she seized my hand,

the first words that came gasping out were these, "So near home,

and yet lost!"

A Deceitful Double Vision

Be not like the foolish drunkard, who, staggering home one night,

saw his candle lit for him. "Two candles!" said he, for his

drunkenness made him see double. "I will blow out one." As he blew it

out, in a moment he was in the dark. Many a man sees double through

the drunkenness of sin. He thinks that he has one life to sow his wild

oats in, and then the last part of his life in which to turn to God.

So, like a fool, he blows out the only candle that he has, and in the

dark he will have to lie down forever. --W. Wyatt Gill

Lost Opportunity

A man was sitting at twilight dreaming in his easy chair. He

thought he saw the figure of a beautiful being glide into the room and

approach him with outstretched hands. He gazed upon the angelic

creature and was filled with delight at her graceful movements and the

radiance that shone about her. He wondered greatly what was the

meaning of this apparition, but made no motion himself until he saw

the figure begin to draw back and gradually to fade from his sight.

Then he came suddenly to the consciousness that he was about to lose

entirely the presence of this bright being and, springing from his

chair, he sought to detain her. But the form vanished, and when he

called out to her to return a voice replied sadly, "You should have

held me while I was there. My name is Lost Opportunity. I can never

come again." --S. S. Lesson Illustrator

Moving Toward Eternity

Scientific measurements indicate that we are moving even when we

are standing still. Continental land masses sit on enormous slabs of

rock that slide very slowly at the rate of 1 to 8 inches per year.

America is gradually moving westward, away from Europe, at the rate of

3 inches per year.

Our Milky Way galaxy is hurtling through space at 375 miles per

second or 1.3 million miles per hour. But that's not all. Within our

own galaxy the sun and its solar system are zooming along at 12.4

miles

per second (43,000 mph) in the direction of the star Vega in the

constellation Lyra.

Just as we are hurtling through the heavens at unimaginable speeds,

so too we are moving from here to eternity. Our days and

opportunities to live for the Lord pass so rapidly that we cannot

afford to waste time.

Opportunity Passes

Acts of kindness, words of appreciation, ministries of affection,

have their "Now," their "Today," and to say "When I have a more

convenient season" to these great opportunities is to bid them depart

from you.

I did not know how short your day would be!

I had you safe, and words could wait awhile.

And yet, your eyes begged tenderness of me Behind their smile.

And now, for you so dark, so long, is night!

I speak, but on my knees, unheard alone.

What words were these to make a short day bright,

If I had known! Ah, love, if I had known!

Solidified

I was driving down a bumpy country road when I saw a bag of cement

beside the road. It appeared to have fallen off a delivery truck as

it hit one of the bumps in the rough road. Being a person who does not

like to see anything wasted, I stopped to pick up the lost bag of

cement. When I reached down to pick up this heavy bag, to my

surprise, I discovered it was not soft and limber, as I had expected

but had solidified into an immovable piece of cement. Often our lives

are like that bag of cement. They take on shapes that were not

intended and become hardened in that shape. That bag of cement was

meant to become a part of some beautiful structure but, because it did

not reach its place of service, it became a useless rock in the form

of a bag of cement. God wants to make something beautiful of your

life. Don't let this purpose be thwarted by a bump in the road of

life.

The Last Chance

A man in Massachusetts had an unreasonable grudge against his

minister that lasted twenty-five years. But at last the hand of death

knocked at the door of the parishioner, and he sent for his pastor.

The good man hastily obeyed the summons with a solemn delight, as his

being thus called showed a mellowing of the heart of the dying man,

which promised reconciliation both with heaven and himself. "You sent

for me?" he said, as he approached the bedside. "Yes," answered the

dying man, whose breath was now short and difficult. "I have but a few

hours to live, and I sent for you to say that this is your last your

last chance to apologize!"

Wait Outside!

Alas! how many will, when too late, regret their neglect of, or contempt for Christ! A Few years ago, the Prime Minister of England stepped across Downing Street with a friend, who wanted some information from one of the Government officials. They entered the particular office, and on inquired for the Head of the Department. They were curtly told to “wait” by an insolent young clerk, who did not even look up from his newspaper. Presently, he added the order to “wait outside.”

When the principal official returned, he was thunderstruck to find the Head of the Government sitting with his friend on the steps of the stone staircase. Equally surprised was the clerk, when, to his dismay, he learned by his dismissal the result of his careless insolence.

In earthly things, men bitterly regret “chances” lost or thrown away, and yet we treat with indifference our opportunities in the spiritual life. With slow and sorrowful steps the compassionate Savior obeyed these requests, and departed from those souls whom He would have so gladly blessed. -- W. Hardman

He Refused the Invitation

Genesis 6:3

Dr. Jesse Hendley (1907-1994) tells of something that happened when he was holding a tent meeting in Atlanta. A certain woman and her daughter-in-law came to the meeting and were gloriously saved. Then one night the elder woman said to the preacher, “I am going to bring my son to the service tomorrow night and I want you to pray for him to be saved.” The young man did come the next night and heard Dr. Hendley pour out his soul for the lost. During the invitation he saw the Holy Spirit shake the young man like the wind shakes the leaves on a tree, but the young man made no response. The next morning the mother called the preacher on the phone and weepingly said, “My son was killed on the job this morning.” Apparently God called for the last time, he refused the call and was taken away. Genesis 6:3 -

And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever,...”

Ford, SIMPLE SERMONS FOR A SINFUL AGE, p 29

The Bellbird of Death

John 14:6

Lost in the jungle, a man sought desperately to find his way to safety. His strength was ebbing fast as the insects and stifling heat did their deadly work. Suddenly he heard what he thought to be a bell tolling in the distance. Believing he was nearing civilization, he struggled bravely onward; but he never seemed to draw closer to the sound. Finally he fell to the ground exhausted, never to rise again. The mysterious bellbird had claimed another victim! This story is related in detail by G. B. Robeson. He says that many a traveler in the heart of the rain forest of Central and South America has been led to his death by the uncanny call of this seldom-seen bird. Its enticing, reverberating “toll” produces an almost overpowering temptation to seek its source.

Similarly, Satan employs subtle devices to ensnare the human race. As lost souls seek to disengage themselves from the vines of sin, they are allured by the tempter’s “bell” ringing in the distance. “At last,” they think, “I’ve found a way of escape,” and so, following the call of the evil one deeper and deeper into the jungle of despair, they are eventually lost for eternity.

Many are following the deceptive call of the devil’s “bell-bird” because it “seems right” to them. O that they might realize the truth of these words before it is too late: “The end thereof are the ways of death.” Christ, who declared that “no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6), is the only One who can lead poor wanderers to the promised land of salvation and safety!

I Wish Someone Would Look For Me!

Between the hours of ten and twelve, for many nights, a poor woman might have been seen making her way through the streets of London. A year had passed since her only daughter had left home, and entered service in the great city. There she became acquainted with gay companions, and she was now living a life of open sin. The mother learned that her daughter might be seen every night in a certain part of the town. After many nights of watching, she was about to despair, when she saw a figure closely resembling that of her daughter. She eagerly approached, and was about to stretch out her arms to embrace it, when the light of a lamp showed that it was not her child. In an agony of grief, she exclaimed: “Ah! it is not she! I was looking for my daughter; but, no, you are not my child!” The poor girl burst into tears, saying: “I have no mother. I wish I had; I wish I had someone who would look for me. I wish someone would look for me!”

Alas! there are multitudes who in the bitterness of their souls cry out: “I wish someone would look for me!” Fatherless, motherless, homeless, Christless, they tread their darkened courses, and in the anguish of their stricken spirits cry out: “No man careth for my soul!” Thanks be to God, there is One who is higher than all, whose tender mercies fail not, and who looks with pitying eye on those upon whom others look with hate and scorn. And let us follow the example of Him whose mission here was to seek the ruined, and to save those that are lost. -- Christian Herald

Finding A Dirty Dog

Luke 15:32

“It was right that we should...be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again.” (Luke 15:32)

R. Mactavish was gone. I wanted to wait until morning to see if he would come back on his own. But the look on the other family members faces vetoed that idea. So we climbed into the car to begin looking for our stubborn Scottish terrier who was far more interested in being lost than found. As we slowly drove down street after street, calling his name and peering intently into the darkness, even I became sentimental. What if he got hit by a car? What if someone else picked him up? What if we never saw him again? But we found him. And by the time we did, I was as happy as the rest of the family to see him. Even though he was a mess mud-soaked, foul smelling, too dirty to be anywhere but the floor Mac was a sight for sore eyes. In fact, you could say that at that moment all three of us, my wife Diane, my son Ben, and I, appeared to be far happier about finding and being with that dirty dog than we were about being with one another.

The MISS of A "Miss"

The Miss of a Great "Miss"

I'll never forget the day I first saw "a dream

walking." Her name was Susie Summers (name changed to

protect the fantastic). Her smile, which sparkled beneath

two twinkling eyes, was electric and made people who

received it (especially guy people) feel very special.

While her physical beauty was astounding, it was her

invisible beauty I shall always remember. She really cared

about other people and was an extremely talented listener.

Her sense of humor could brighten your entire day and her

wise words were always exactly what you needed to hear. She

was not only admired but also genuinely respected by members

of both sexes. With everything in the world to be conceited

about, she was extremely humble.

Needless to say, she was every guy's dream. Especially

mine. I got to walk her to class once a day, and once I

even got to eat lunch with her all by myself. I felt on top of the world.

I would think, "If only I could have a girlfriend like

Susie Summers, I'd never even look at another female." But

I figured that someone this outstanding was probably dating

someone far better than myself. Even though I was president

of the student body, I just knew I didn't stand a ghost of a chance.

So at graduation, I said farewell to my first big crush.

A year later, I met her best friend in a shopping

center and we had lunch together. With a lump in my throat,

I asked how Susie was. "Well, she got over you," was the reply.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You were really cruel to her the way you led her on,

always walking her to class and making her think you were

interested. Do you remember the time you had lunch with

her? Well, she stayed by the phone the entire weekend. She

was sure you were going to call and ask her out."

I was so afraid of rejection, I never risked letting

her know how I felt. Suppose I had asked her out and she'd

said no? What's the worst thing that could have happened?

I wouldn't have had a date with her. Well, guess what? I

DIDN'T HAVE A DATE WITH HER ANYHOW! What makes it worse is

that I probably could have. by Jack Schlatter

....from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul

The End of the Maze

John 14:6

During a break last summer for our hard working Native American team, we took them to an action park. Many of them were attracted to the maze at the park. Now, we love to capture team memories on video, so one of our guys managed to find a spot looking down on the maze to shoot some video. And, it's really pretty funny because everyone is running down these twisting passageways, hoping to be the first person to find the exit. Unfortunately, most of those passageways led to dead ends. So people are going full tilt, right into a dead end - hoping, even expecting, that this is the path that will get them where they want to go.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The End of the Maze."

Now, there's a much bigger, much more important maze out there these days - the one that offers all kinds of paths to get to God. If you're an honest seeker, sincerely wanting to experience God for yourself, to know Him here and to be with Him when this life is over, frankly, there's a confusing assortment of roads out there. But the Bible's warning is this: "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12) In other words, a lot of seemingly promising paths in the spiritual maze end at an awful dead end.

But maybe you've already experienced the disappointment of some spiritual roads you've traveled. They've left you still without peace and fulfillment. So you've gone on searching. The trendy thing to do today is to go to the "buffet" route spiritually - don't fully commit yourself to any one way, just try a little of each. Then there's the "any god is fine" approach that seems so open-minded, desirable. But we don't believe that about treating disease - any surgery, any medication is fine. We don't believe it about mathematics - either your sum or mine is fine, even though they contradict one another.

If you want to come to a location where I'm waiting for you, you can't come any way you choose to any location you choose. Only I can tell you how to get where I am. Only God can tell us how to get where He is. And He has. The God of the Bible is unlike any other god in the world. Every other god, every other religion gives us a way to go looking for him. Only the God of the Bible comes looking for us, and dies for the sins that we deserve to pay for, and comes back from the dead, and lives inside those who belong to Him, and makes it possible for us to know right here and now that we're going to heaven when we die.

The God of the Bible is Jesus Christ who says in John 14:6, our word for today from the Word of God, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." He didn't say Christianity is the way - no religion is. The way that leads out of the maze ... the way that leads to God's forgiveness, to personal peace, to heaven is the Man who died for every sin you've ever done and walked out of His grave to prove that He alone can give eternal life.

If you're tired of searching ... if you're ready to find - Jesus is one step of faith away. Picture yourself at the foot of the cross where He loved you enough to die for you - and tell Him you want to be His from this day on. If you want a religion, go somewhere else. But if you want the relationship you were made for, I'd love to send you the booklet "Yours For Life" that I wrote about this relationship. Just let me know you want it.

You don't have to keep looking for God anymore. He's come looking for you - His name is Jesus. And He is everything your heart has been restless for.

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When You Realize You're Lost

Luke 15:17

Firstborn children are usually known for their independence - which can sometimes get them in trouble. When our daughter was four, we were on a family shopping trip to the local grocery store. Her little brother was riding in the cart, and our daughter was walking ahead of Mom and me and the cart. At a moment when we were looking at the corn flakes or something, she wandered off and into another aisle. To this day she remembers the panic of realizing that she did not know where we were. She told me, "The aisle looked so long, the shelves looked so high, and I didn't recognize anybody." Suddenly, our little girl realized she was lost.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Realize You're Lost."

Our daughter never meant to get separated from her parents, but suddenly she was lost. It could be that you never meant to get separated from your Heavenly Father, but you are. And you're realizing that you're lost.

Jesus said we are like sheep. And I don't think a sheep wakes up one day and says, "I'm tired of the shepherd. I think I'll just run away from Him." Sheep don't run away - they wander away. Just a little off the shepherd's path to check out that tuft of grass ... then up that hill ... then over the hill. Until suddenly the sheep says, "Oh no! Where's the shepherd?" Maybe that's your story. You never meant to get this far from God. But one wandering step at a time, you've ended up farther from your Lord than you ever thought you'd get, maybe doing things you never thought you'd do - trying to get other things to meet needs in you that Jesus once met. And those other things aren't working.

So how do you get back? The same way the prodigal son got back to his father. Jesus said, "He set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth ... he had spent everything." You know, he ended up feeding pigs - not exactly his dream when he left his father. Now, covered with shame and pig slop, Jesus says in Luke 15, beginning with verse 17 - our word for today from the Word of God - "he came to his senses. He said ... 'I will set out and go back to my father and I will say to him: 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.' ... So he got up and went to his father."

You wandered away from Jesus, but you can't wander back. You have to decide that this is your last day away from home. This is the day you're getting up and going home to your Father. A lot of things may be holding you back: your shame over what you've done, which God is ready to trade for His forgiveness - your fear of failing, which God is ready to replace with His strength - your unwillingness to let go of your idols, wondering if you can do without them now. You've forgotten that the cost of not following Jesus is far greater than the cost of following Him. You've lived that haven't you?

It is never going to be easier to start back home to Jesus than it is today. Every day you wait, the ropes that are holding you get tighter and tighter. Every day you wait, your heart gets harder.

You've been lost long enough. And your Heavenly Father is waiting right now to welcome you home with arms wide open. Don't waste another day. This can be your Homecoming Day!

________________

*

Rescuing the Miners & Rescuing Mankind

After three days, trapped 240 feet underground in a flooded coal mine near Somerset, Pennsylvania, nine miners stepped out, one by one, into the floodlit night. Those of us who couldn't go to bed until the last one was rescued will never forget the wonderful relief as the capsule emerged with the final miner.

Only a few hours earlier, the drillers had managed to lower a two-way radio into the chamber and were thrilled to hear that all nine were alive. Not surprisingly, the miners expressed a keen interest in getting out.

How like salvation it was. Trapped in darkness, the helpless men yearned for deliverance. A narrow but utterly necessary and sufficient way was provided, and they grasped it. Their minds were filled with the vision of light and love and life above.

How strange it is that many are indifferent or hostile to rescue. Just imagine the drillers' getting these radio responses to their breakthrough:

1. "No way I'm getting into that capsule. It's too confining."

2. "I think I'll pass. It's pretty exciting down here, and life up there sounds so boring."

3. "No thanks. They made me third watch captain, and I'm finally somebody. I'm afraid I'll be a nobody up there."

4. "I'm not really interested. There's a lot of this mine I want to explore."

5. "If that loser down the block is up there, I want no part of it."

6. "What's all the fuss? We'll all end up there anyway."

7. "I'm not coming up until you persuade me it's an interfaith rescue team."

8. "I won't come unless I can bring my gear up with me."

9. "Naw, I'll just dig or swim out on my own."

10. "Some of the guys down here are skeptical. What do I know? I'd better hold off."

As crazy as these sound, we hear such things from the spiritually lost, and some from the backslidden. And so the apostle Paul wrote, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." He was oriented on the light and sound from above.

Yes, he was happy to stay on earth (in the mine) as long as God pleased, that he might be a servant and blessing to others trapped below. But, unlike many others, he never confused the mine with home. "Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ ...."

Television coverage was full of talk of prayer, miracles and the goodness of God. Still, there surely were lost people on the scene. Their hearts were fixed on mine rescue. They were indifferent to earth rescue; God had lowered the capsule, and they paid it no mind.

The paper reports that the operation took place on land adjacent to a rural Lutheran church. Perhaps one of the crusty old drillers, a jaded newsman or a desperate relative wandered into that church, slumped down in a pew, lifted a hymnal from the rack and humbly received the message of Martin Luther's "If God Had Not Been on Our Side." It concerns the persecution of Christians on earth, but it points to the one who rescues us from every evil and gives us eternal freedom from sin, want, fear, confusion and suffering:

Their furious wrath, did God permit,

Would surely have consumed us

And as a deep and yawning pit

With life and limb entombed us.

Like men o'er whom dark waters roll

Their wrath could have engulfed our soul

And, like a flood, o'erwhelmed us.

Blest be the Lord, who foiled their threat

That they could not devour us;

Our souls, like birds, escaped their net,

They could not overpower us.

The snare is broken -- we are free!

Our help is ever, Lord, in Thee,

Who madest earth and heaven.

Entombment. Dark waters. God's deliverance. Now that's a rescue. And how might men escape should they neglect it?

*

What's So Amazing About Amazing Grace

Ephesians 2

It seems like it's almost America's spiritual national anthem - even more so after the emotional earthquake of September 11, 2001. It's that centuries-old hymn, "Amazing Grace." For years, they've played it at the funerals of fallen policemen and firemen - and of many everyday men and women. It's been the subject of a public television documentary. And on that emotional first anniversary of September 11 at Ground Zero, what song did the bagpipers play as they approached that site which has become hallowed ground? Of course, they were playing the haunting strains of "Amazing Grace." Even for people who don't go to church or know much about the Bible or even believe much of anything, they know "Amazing Grace."

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "What's So Amazing about Amazing Grace."

Many who love the song "Amazing Grace" have little idea what is so amazing about the grace that it celebrates; or even what "grace" really is. And yet we have a strange sense in our soul that what that song is about is something our soul really needs. And we're right.

Once you dig in and try to grasp what God's "grace" is all about, you really will be amazed. And changed forever. There's no better place to go to get the inside scoop on grace than Ephesians 2, beginning with verse 1 - it's our word for today from the Word of God. It starts with bad news, and then it ends with the best news you've ever heard. "As for you, you were dead in your ... sins." Sins - that's all the things we've done our way instead of God's way. And, spiritually speaking, our hijacking of our life from God has left us dead - which means separated from God. Deep inside, maybe you can even feel being away from God.

The Bible continues: "All of us lived ... gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature ... Like the rest, we were objects of wrath." Translation: we've ended up on the wrong side of God's wrath because we've defied Him and, in reality, we've made ourselves "God" in our lives. The stars obey Him, the planets obey Him, the angels obey Him, even demons do what He commands them. But we are the rebels who dare to defy His authority in the way we live - with our selfishness, our lies, our anger, our lust, the way we treat other people. The song says God's grace is amazing because it "saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see."

The Bible then delivers this awesome news for us "Death Row" rebels: "it is by grace (that's undeserved love) you have been saved, through faith - this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works." The Son of God Himself said, "I will take the punishment you deserve. I will take your hell" - and He died on a cross to take your place and your punishment. You can't do a thing to get yourself to heaven - it's "not by works." What will cost you heaven is depending on anything other than Jesus, anything in addition to Jesus, no matter how Christian or how religious it is.

Maybe you're still "lost," but you're ready to be "found." You've been "blind," but you want to "see." Then it's time to let God's undeserved love - His amazing grace - happen to you. It's time to reach out to Jesus and grab Him like a drowning person would grab a rescuer. He's your only hope.

Tell Him you want to begin your personal relationship with Him today. And I hope you'll let me send you my booklet, "Yours For Life," which is all about this life-saving relationship.

Just like me, you're a rebel who deserves the awful punishment. But God Himself took that punishment. It's amazing grace. It's amazing love, and it can be yours today.

________________

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When You Can't Find the Trail

John 12:12

One of our team members is quite the woodsman; quite the hiker. And one foggy Saturday morning, he volunteered to lead a group of men who wanted to go hike to a distinctive rock formation called Hawksbill Crag. After all, he had the book on the trails in that area, a book written by the man considered the expert. My friend kept consulting the book as they went along, confident that they would soon end up at Hawksbill Crag. They ended up lost in a poison ivy patch. And the fog wasn't helping much. As they tried to retrace their steps, they passed a house set back in the woods - and they happened to see its owner outside. My friend called to him and asked him if he could help them get "unlost." The man went above and beyond. He actually came to where they were, helped them make sense of the map they had, and pointed them right to the trail that got them to their goal. Of course, he was the man who wrote the book.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "When You Can't Find The Trail."

Those men finally found the trail they needed to be on from the person who knew the trail best. There's not one of us who doesn't need that same kind of direction - for our life! Most of us have lived long enough to have already tried several trails that looked good to us, that we were sure would lead us to the meaning we were looking for, to the love we were looking for, to the inner freedom and peace we've always wanted. So far, no trail has led us there. We're lost. In fact, some of us have found ourselves standing in poison ivy rather than looking at the beautiful view we had hoped for.

But all the dead-end trails you've tried, all the fog, all the disappointments have been preparing you to meet the person who knows the trail better than anyone else. And He has our word for today from the Word of God. It's Jesus, of course, and we're reading His words in John 8:12. "Jesus said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" Now, Jesus offers a relationship with Him that opens up the awesome possibility of being led by the very person who designed us in the first place.

So you don't have to "walk in darkness" any more. The problem is that we've all, as the Bible says, "gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way." (Isaiah 53:6) We're lost. We're wondering which way is the right way because we've consistently chosen to go our own way instead of doing it God's way. That's what the Bible calls sin. And we were never meant to blaze our own trail. There's a trail you were made for. But following our own trail instead has left behind us a trail of brokenness, guilt, restlessness, and scars. And ultimately our trail leads right over a cliff into an eternity without God and without hope.

But Jesus left His home in heaven to come where we are - to actually give His life to pay for every wrong thing we've ever done. And today He is saying to you, "Will you follow Me from this point on? I'll forgive your sin, come into your life, and lead you on the trail you were created for." You'll have to resign from being your own guide ... from depending on your religion to get you to heaven, and tell Jesus, "I'm Yours, Lord. You died for me. You've got me."

If you're ready to begin this life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ, tell Him that right now. Don't walk any further down a trail that ultimately goes nowhere. You don't have to be lost one more day. With Jesus out in front from now on, you'll finally be able to find what you've been looking for so long.

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The Missing Person On Your Journey

Luke 2:42

Our daughter's all grown up and a mother herself now. But she still remembers the day she got lost at the grocery store - and all the feelings that went with it. She was four ... her baby brother was in the grocery cart ... she was walking ahead of us as we browsed the aisles for our next meals. Somehow, she got way out ahead of us and into another aisle. She kept walking until, suddenly, she realized that her parents were nowhere around. She remembers it as one of the traumatic moments of her young life - she said, "The aisle was so long, the shelves were so high, and I felt so alone."

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "The Missing Person On Your Journey."

Our daughter didn't realize she was going on without us - and she ended up lost. That might be happening to you - except it's Jesus you're missing.

There's an unsettling picture of how this happens in our word for today from the Word of God in Luke 2:42-45. Speaking of Jesus' parents, the Bible says, "When Jesus was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while His parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking He was in their company, they traveled on for a day ... They began looking for Him ... when they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem to find Him." Then the happy ending. They do find Jesus and "He went down to Nazareth with them."

Mary and Joseph thought Jesus was with them when, in fact, they were continuing on their journey without Him. The Bible indicates that many people - especially those who've been around Christian things a lot - are in danger of making this same deadly mistake. Like our daughter in that grocery store, they are going on without the Person they need to lead them - and they're ending up lost.

Jesus, for example, tells in Matthew 7 about people who will come before Him on Judgment Day, announcing very impressive Christian credentials - including some great work they've done in His name. But Jesus will utter those awful four words - "I never knew you." Somehow, they thought Jesus was with them when, in fact, they were lost.

Now, if there has been a time when you have consciously and sincerely told Jesus you were giving your life to Him, then His promise to you is, "Him that comes to me I will never cast out." (John 6:37) But it could be that you have mistaken knowing so much about Jesus for knowing Jesus ... that because you've been around Jesus so much you think you have a relationship with Jesus. But like Mary and Joseph, you've been making your journey without Jesus.

And that's why God has led me to bring this up today - because He wants you to know Him for real. Jesus died on that cross to pay the death penalty for every wrong thing you have ever done - but the eternal life He paid for doesn't become yours until you fully commit yourself to Him. I'm praying this might be your day to do that. It's hard to face the fact that somehow you've left Jesus out - it was for Mary and Joseph. But they went looking for Him as soon as they realized it - I hope you'll do that today.

If you want to finally begin your own personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please tell Him that right now. And let me send you the booklet, "Yours For Life," that I wrote about really knowing Him. Just let me know you want it.

Don't go any farther without Jesus. It would be awful to miss this wakeup call from God - and wake up some day lost ... forever.

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Known To Be Saved

Luke 10:20

After the sinking of the Titanic, the distressed people in Liverpool, England, anxiously awaited news about loved ones on the ship. Signs were finally put up in the street near White Star Station that read "Known to be saved" and "Known to be lost."

"Tonight, we need to think about who would be on this list, 'Known to be lost,' and what we can do about it. We not only have a responsibility, we have a privilege and a joy to try to win them to Christ."

___________________

Cornelia Williams, an adjunct professor of Christian education at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

============

Another version from Abe Kudra:

On the night of April 14-15, 1912, the White Star liner S.S. Titanic, with more than 2,000 passengers on board, struck an iceberg south of Newfoundland and sank with the loss of 1,515 lives. When news of the sinking reached England, the scene outside the steamship office was indescribable. Relatives of passengers on the ill-fated vessel packed the street in front of the main entrance, and all traffic came to a standstill.

On either side of the doorway two large billboards were hammered up in place. Above one was printed in oversize capitals: “KNOWN TO BE SAVED.” Above the other, in equally large letters: “KNOWN TO BE LOST.” From time to time a man would emerge from the steamship office carrying a piece of cardboard on which was printed the name of one of the passengers.

A deathlike stillness would sweep over the crowd as the people watched, emotions strained to the breaking point, to see which way the man would turn. Would he pin the name up on the side of the saved or the lost? In the end, each passenger would end up in one group or the other – either saved or lost!

Which List Is Your Name On?

Luke 15:24

A friend of mine recently saw an exhibit that I really wish I could see - it's the Titanic exhibit that has been on display in select museums across the country. My friend told me about the re-creation of the Titanic's grand staircase, the simulation of one of the ship's cabins, the artifacts that have been retrieved from the Titanic's watery grave. As you enter the exhibit, you're given a ticket with the name of one of the ship's passengers or crewmen. At the end of the tour is this large wall with two lists of names, one short list and one long list. Next to each name is one of four designations: first class, second class, third class, and crew. But no matter what your class, your name ultimately appears on one of those two lists - which are under one of two headings - "Saved" ... "Lost."

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Which List Is Your Name On?"

Tragically, the short list is the one that says "saved" - the long list is the names of the "lost." As you read the Bible, you begin to realize that all humanity is divided into those same two lists - "saved" and "lost." There's no third list - and you're on one or the other.

Our word for today from the Word of God is one of those passages that helps us determine which list we're on. And, perhaps surprisingly, we determine whether we're saved or lost, not God. John 3:36 says, "Whoever believes in the Son (that's Jesus Christ) has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him." Saved. Lost. Earlier in the same chapter, God says, "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." (John 3:18) Saved. Lost.

One thing is very clear - which list your name is on depends totally on your personal response to Jesus Christ. That's because He is the One God sent to rescue us from the death penalty of all the things we've done wrong. Nobody else died in our place - so nobody else can save us. We tend to divide people up by what class they're in, what race they are, what religion they're from - but God only sees two kinds of people. Saved. Lost.

And today could be your day to move from one list to the other. What sentences us to being "lost" forever is that we simply "do not believe" in Jesus. You don't have to openly reject Him - you can just passively miss Him. And "believing" the Bible doesn't mean just agreeing with Jesus or giving mental assent - it's grabbing Him to pull you into the lifeboat, holding onto Him as if He's your only hope. He is. And it may be that you've never really put yourself completely into His hands to be your Rescuer from your sin.

This could be your day. Tell Jesus that you're putting all your trust in Him to save you from a spiritual death penalty you could never save yourself from. And if you're reaching out to Jesus, I'd love to send you the booklet, "Yours For Life" that I wrote about beginning your personal relationship with Him. Just let me know you want it.

At the moment you open your heart to Jesus, you have literally, in the Bible's words, "crossed over from death to life." (John 5:24) Forever, God will move your name from "lost" to "saved."

________________

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Do You Know Where You're Going?

John 14:4

"If you don't know where you're going, when you get there you'll be lost."

Yogi Berra

Cited in Even More of the Best of...BITS & PIECES

Heartbreak At the Gate

Luke 15:3

I was at O'Hare Airport in Chicago, waiting for my flight in the lounge of Gate B6. Me waiting for a plane in Chicago is nothing new. But what was noteworthy was what happened at that gate while I was waiting. Before the passengers from my flight could board, the incoming passengers, of course, had to disembark. I had not expected to see the unforgettable, emotional scene that unfolded as I watched.

It was shortly after the Gulf War had ended, and soldiers were coming home. Clustered anxiously around the end of the jetway were a boy in a Desert Storm t-shirt, a little girl, and a wife carrying a flag with a yellow ribbon attached, and a friend with a video camera aimed down the jetway. The wife was crying what must have been tears of anxious anticipation as her son was hanging on the corner of the jetway door, peeking down the tunnel. It was actually hard not to watch, and many people in the lounge were doing that just that - some were even wiping their eyes.

As more and more passengers streamed off the plane, the wife was fighting more and more to keep her composure. Then, as a flight attendant came out, the wife asked painfully, "Are there any more passengers?" She said, "Only a few." Moments later, as the last passenger left, that precious wife fell into a chair and melted into tears. I want to tell you, it was a heartbreaking moment. The anticipated reunion didn't happen. The one she wanted home hadn't come home.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Heartbreak At The Gate."

I can't help but wonder if there will be scenes like that at the gate of eternity, as we look to see if someone we love made it home. Jesus did all He could do to bring them home to Heaven. Now it's in our hands to do all we can.

Jesus talks about His extraordinary effort to bring lost people home in our word for today from the Word of God. I believe He wants us to join Him in the shepherd's role in this picture in Luke 15, beginning with verse 3. "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? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.'"

What's it going to take to have the people you care about in Heaven with you? Well, it's in this parable. First, you have to "leave" the comfort of the flock that's already in. If all we do is hang out in our Christian cocoon with our Christian friends going to Christian meetings, the lost people in our world will probably just go on dying. Then you have to "go after" the lost sheep. That means spending time with those lost people where they are, finding common ground, building bridges into their life, looking for, praying for opportunities to talk about the Savior who has changed your life. Going after those lost ones means praying aggressively for them by name and doing whatever it takes to bring them home.

And you go after that lost sheep until you "find it." This isn't some one-shot attempt to show them Jesus - it's a long-term, long-haul, never-give-up rescue effort. And, humanly speaking, the eternity of someone you know may hang in the balance - because you are their closest link to Jesus.

And by God's grace, at the gates of glory, some of those people you know will be there - because Jesus cared ... because you cared.

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Getting Left To Get Found

Luke 15:6

Our church's youth group had just been out whitewater rafting all day, and I had been invited to wrap up the day with an inspirational talk. And when I arrived at the rafting facility they were using, I was expecting to see just the youth group. As it turned out, this recreational company had 1,500 people on the river that day from many different groups! So, I wandered around looking lost until someone from our church found me. And that night we had a wonderful get-together under the trees. Now, I didn't know that one girl at the back that had not planned to be there at all. See, she was a Girl Scout who had been there for the day with her troop. And they had somehow gone off and left her all alone. And she saw this group of teenagers meeting, so she wandered over to check it out. And she stayed ... and she listened ... and at the end, she was one of the young people who indicated they wanted to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A WORD WITH YOU today about "Getting Left To Get Found."

That was one very happy Girl Scout, even before she found a ride home. In a very real sense, she got left so she could get found ... spiritually. Actually, that might be what's happening in your life right now.

You're probably not a Girl Scout, and you're not stuck out in the woods, but it could be that you have been left ... or you're feeling lost. A person you were counting on has bailed out ... or maybe even died. Or something that has been one of your life anchors suddenly isn't there any more. You've been left out ... left behind ... left high and dry. And you're not sure which way home is. Because so much in life is temporary, it's only a matter of time before we all experience the pain of being left or being lost.

Which makes our word for today from the Word of God especially important. It's Jesus' personal mission statement. He says in Luke 19:10, "The Son of Man (that's Jesus) came to seek and to save what was lost." He's talking about you and me. That Girl Scout at the camp that night was lost, separated from the people who could get her home, wandering on her own.

Now that's the picture the Bible paints of you and me. Oh yeah, sure, on the outside we look like we've got it all together. But inside, there's a lot of loneliness, a lot of hurt, and a lot of unanswered questions. We are, in Jesus' words, "lost" because we're separated from the one Person who can get us home - who is home for our searching heart ... our Creator. In God's own words, "Your sins have separated you from your God." (Isaiah 59:2)

See, we have broken God's laws and we're paying the price - a wall between Him and us. A wall that's there forever if we die with it still there. A wall that Jesus died on a cross to remove by paying the death penalty for the sinning we did. But He has a hard time getting us to realize that He is the only one who can finally fill the hole in our heart. That may be why God has allowed you to be left or to be lost - so you'd finally realize that no earth-love is enough, no earth-empire, no earth-spirituality. Often it isn't until our earth-anchors let us down and leave us stranded, that we finally realize we were made for Jesus and paid for by Jesus.

And now this Savior has come seeking you. The tug you feel in your heart is Jesus Himself, knocking on the door of your heart. Your relationship with Him can begin right where you are if you'll just tell Him you're trusting Him to be your Savior from your sin. All the disappointments have been so you could finally find the one love that will never let you down.

If you want to begin this relationship, I want to send you the booklet I wrote about it called "Yours For Life." We'll tell you how to get in touch with us in just a moment.

Jesus has allowed you to be left, to be lost ... so you could get found. By the One who went all the way to a cross to bring you home.

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Child Snatching

Luke 7:12

It was a mother's nightmare. A mother had just finished shopping at Wal-Mart and had just situated her three children in her mini-van and was returning her shopping cart. In that moment, a woman who had been cruising the parking lot snatched little month-old Nancy from her seat and started driving off with the baby. The mother raced to that fleeing car, and hung onto the door as long as she could. But the kidnapper got away with her precious baby. A store security camera actually caught the abduction on video, and millions of us saw it on the news. But, thank God, this was one child abduction that had a happy ending. Thanks to some alert citizens and good police work, she was found safe and her abductor was arrested. Needless to say, it was a beautiful, emotional scene when they returned that little girl back to her mother's arms. A family member said of that month-old little treasure, "It's like she was born again today."

Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Child Snatching."

Jesus made this revealing statement about the devil's modus operandi - "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy." (John 10:10) And one thing that Satan tries to steal is the sons and daughters of people who belong to Jesus. In fact you may be listening today, knowing all too well the grieving of having a child who is away from the God you love. It's a spiritual kidnapping, and it hurts.

But God is in the business of going after children who have been snatched away spiritually. There's a beautiful picture for many a hurting parent in the story that's told in our word for today from the Word of God. Luke 7, beginning with verse 12, tells us that as Jesus approached the gate of a town called Nain, "a dead person was being carried out - the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, 'Don't cry.' Then He went up and touched the coffin and those carrying it stood still. He said, 'Young man, I say to you, get up!' The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother."

Man, I love those words. And over the centuries, Jesus has given many a lost child back to their father and mother. If Jesus can raise a child from the dead to return him to his mother, don't you think He can bring your son or daughter back from wherever they have wandered. Jesus is calling out to you this very day to say, "Don't give up. Don't lose hope. I've heard your prayers. I'm after him. I'm after her."

Jesus restores lost children. He resurrects lost children. Your job is to just keep bombarding heaven on your child's behalf, even praying that God will literally do "whatever it takes" to bring them home to Him and home to you. And keep loving them unconditionally with the love of Jesus. Your job is not to nag them about God. Let God bring them home. You just keep the door of your heart open, and only pursue steps that God Himself clearly prompts you to do.

Jesus has been finding and restoring children who've been stolen for a long, long time. And He's lovingly, skillfully pursuing that child of yours who's away. And by God's grace, you have every reason to hope sooner or later that Jesus will return that lost one to your arms ... to His arms. Remember that miracle of so many years ago, and claim it for the child you love - "Jesus gave him back to his mother."

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The Divinity of Christ

Romans 9:3

“For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom [pertain] the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service [of God], and the promises; of whom [are] the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ [came], who is over all, [the] eternally blessed God. Amen.” (Romans 9:3-5 NKJV)

The Divinity Of Christ

• for…wish — Ex 32:32, 2 Tim 2:9-10 — lit. I was going to wish, or pray; i.e., I should have wished, had it been lawful (Vaughan, Bengel). Were it possible (Chrysostom)

• accursed…brethren — separated from Christ instead of my brethren

• kinsmen [countrymen]…flesh — related by descent from a common ancestry

• Israelites — Deut 7:7, Hos 12:3, 5 — so called from Israel the prevailer

• adoption — Ex 4:22, Jer 31:9, Deut 14:1 — sonship; of Israel, national, external, typical

• glory — Lev 16:2, 1 Kg 8:11, Ps 63:2, 78:61, 1 Sam 4:21 — the Shekinah

• covenants — Gen 17:1-2, Ex 31:16-17, 34:27-28, Deut 29:12-13 — (1) with Abraham; (2) at Sinai

• service — the public worship, sacrifices, ceremonial observances

• fathers — the patriarchs

• as [according]…flesh — John 4:22 — as to His human nature

• who — Gk., He that is the being One: i.e., Christ

• over all — Phil 2:9, 1 COr 15:27, 1 Tim 3:16, Heb 1:8, 1 Jn 5:20 — the supreme and universal ruler

• God — distinct assertion of His Divinity

• blessed…ever[eternally blessed] — worthy of eternal praise

• Amen — emphasising the foregoing statement

The Deity of Christ — S. Hayward

I. The Scripture proofs of it:

1. Incommunicable titles are given Him by Divine authority;

2. Perfections are ascribed to Him, which are peculiar to the supreme God: that He is –

(1) Eternal;

(2) Almighty;

(3) Immutable;

(4) Omniscient;

(5) Omnipresent;

3. Works are ascribed to Him which God alone can perform;

4. Worship is given to Him which only belongs to the Supreme Being.

II. Its importance

1. It was absolutely necessary for the work He had to do. None but God could accomplish His work –

(1) On earth;

(2) In heaven.

2. It is a powerful motive to admiration, obedience, and love.

3. It is an inexhaustible fund of consolation.

4. It renders Christ infinitely amiable to His people, and should do so to all.

Accursed from Christ — J. Guthrie M.A.

I. Shall we understand this to mean that, if his Jewish kinsmen could thereby be saved, he would consent to his own damnation?

II. May we accept it as it stands, only in a qualified and softened sense, that shall fall short of final doom?

III. Neither of these will do; there is a safer solution of Paul’s words. Literally translated, it is not “I could wish,” but “I wished;” that is, before his conversion. Thus we solve the problem. [Not really; not consistent with the rest of the verse — RGH]

Application:-

1. Let the reckless dealer in oaths beware;

2. Be not hasty in your conclusions;

3. Learn to love your enemies;

4. How solemn is life!

5. How indispensable is the Gospel!

6. And how free is that Gospel!

Anathema from Christ — E. H. Plumtre M.A.

I. That which Paul prayed for, was in its very nature impossible.

II. Though impossible in itself, human history has shown wonderful approximation to it.

III. There is in these approximate instances a wonderful union of joy and suffering, curse and blessedness, of defeat and victory.

Paul’s wish to be accursed from Christ — Homilist

The grand principle –

I. Contained in our text;

II. Embodied in the Apostles:

1. The correction of a popular error;

2. The essential purpose and work of Christianity;

3. The reality of human redemption

The Divinity of Christ — In a tour which Dr M. lately made, in company with his pupil, Mr B., along the shores of the Mediterranean, they slept one night at the little town where Bonaparte landed, and in the very room in which he reposed on his return from Elba. About daybreak, Mr B. heard his companion thus speaking in an audible, distinct, and deliberate tone, “Took upon Himself the form of a servant. Now, every creature is, by the mere fact of his creation, the servant of his Maker. Not so of our Lard Jesus Christ, for He took upon Himself the form of a servant; therefore He is, He can be, no creature — therefore He is the Creator — therefore He is God over all, blessed for ever.” And then followed, in expressions of the deepest fervour, and of the most elevated sublimity, a solemn dedication to this Lord Jesus Christ, as his Maker, Redeemer, and ever-blessed God and Portion, of himself, of his person, of his ministry, of his all. Mr B. was electrified, and rivetted; but he thought it to be the morning meditation of his reverend companion, unconsciously uttered aloud, and would not intrude on so hallowed an exercise. As they rode along, however, in the course of the day, he could not refrain from saying, “I was deeply interested, sir, in your reflections this morning.” “What reflections?” asked the doctor. “The reflections you uttered before you rose to-day.” “I remember none; what were they?” Mr B. repeated them. As he was doing so, his [the doctor’s] mind seemed caught by the novelty of the conception, and powerfully struck also by the weight and conclusiveness of it. “Perfectly new!” he exclaimed; I never saw the passage in that light before — it is a finishing stroke. It cuts them up (the Socinians and Arians) root and branch. But — I remember nothing of the morning.”

“Since there is a possibility, facility, a proclivity of erring herein, and so many conditions and circumstances required to make an impression just and lawful, the best way is to forbear them or to be very sparing in them.” — Dr Donne

“Christ having Adam’s nature, as we have, but incorrupt, deriveth not nature but incorruption, and that immediately from His own person, into all that belong unto Him. As, therefore, we are really partakers of the body of sin and death, received from Adam; so, except we be truly partakers of Christ, and as really possessed of His Spirit, all we speak of eternal life is but a dream. That which quickeneth us is the Spirit of the second Adam, and His flesh that wherewith He quickeneth.” — Hooker

“This is as great an honour to all mankind as if the king should marry into some poor family of his subjects.” — Trapp

“It may seem a dreadful wish; but so much doth he value the salvation of so many thousand souls above the saving of his own one soul, and so much desire the glorifying of Christ and His grace in the salvation of them.” — Dr. Lightfoot

91 Sermon Illustrations on Lost