The Lost Sheep

Luke's gospel chapter 15. Luke's gospel chapter 15. I'll just put that aside for now.

Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him, and the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he, Jesus, spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and goeth after that which is lost until he find it? And when he has found it, he layeth it on his shoulder rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calleth together his friends and his neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.

I say unto you, Likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Now here's our little children's lesson we just shared together. What woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it? And when she has found it, she calleth her friends, her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had lost.

Likewise, I say unto you, There is joy in heaven. There's joy in heaven. There's joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Can we stand together to pray? Father in heaven, we come in Jesus' name. And Lord, we are needy here tonight. We sense our dependency, Lord, upon you.

And Father, we ask in the name of Jesus, that you would have mercy upon us and cause your face to shine upon us, Lord, and cause your Holy Spirit to quicken your word to our heart. Father, grant us ears to hear and eyes to see. Father, we ask in the name of Jesus that this would be a time of drawing nigh to God and God drawing nigh to us.

Father, this would be a time of salvation, Lord, a time of deliverance, and a time of joy. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

You may be seated. The last verse of chapter 14, Jesus lifted up his voice and he cried. He said, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. We talked about that last night. How are we hearing? He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And then this interesting, amazing thing happened. Then drew near unto Jesus, all the publicans and sinners, for to hear him, the publicans and the sinners, drew near to the Lord Jesus Christ. Because, you see, Jesus Christ is the anointed Son of God, and he's declaring the kingdom of God.

He speaks differently than the Pharisees. He speaks with authority from his heavenly Father. His words are words of life giving.

He's not condemning like the religious leaders of the day. Jesus is authentic. He's real.

He's approachable. He's loving. He's compassionate.

Oh, they drew near. Those tax collectors that were despised drew near to Jesus. Those non-Jewish Gentiles who may have been present drew near to Jesus to listen to him.

Sinners. The Pharisees and the scribes, they murmured. They began to complain and think evil in their hearts toward Jesus because they said, Jesus, you're supposed to be holy, separate from sinners.

Why do you defile yourself with eating with sinners? This man receives sinners. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad that Jesus receives sinners? Because I'm a sinner, and I was a sinner, and I still need Jesus to save me continually and to fill me with the power of the Holy Ghost to give me victory over sin every day. Yes, I'm so glad Jesus receives sinners.

I'm so glad that he accepts sinners and welcomes sinners, aren't you? Now, Jesus, after this took place, he spoke three parables in this chapter. We're going to look at two. We're going to go right up to verse eight, to the one that we just talked about with the children, and we're going to start right there in the parable of this woman.

This woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, if she lose one piece out of ten, doesn't she light a candle? Doesn't she find her broom and sweep the house, searching for that one lost coin? And she seeks diligently. You know, it's just one piece. You might say, oh, well, it's not that much.

But no way, Jesus is illustrating something very beautiful. Ah, no. One piece lost is one piece too many lost.

And she lights a candle, and she gets her broom, and she gets her dust brush, and she gets down on her hands and knees, and she sweeps the house. Do you think she skipped any rooms? Do you think she was careless about the corners? No. It tells us she sought diligently for that lost coin.

She sought diligently. That word is epimilos in Greek, and I don't understand Greek, but that word diligently means she was very careful and very purposeful. She was consumed with a desire burning in her heart to find that one lost coin.

She swept the house. She was careful not to miss any places. She didn't mind persevering on her hands and her knees, moving the furniture, looking under the bed, sweeping diligently her house, looking for that one lost coin, holding her candle to illumine the dark places, the dark corners.

She was seeking for that one lost coin. Five minutes? Twenty minutes? An hour? Three hours? I don't know. It doesn't say how long it took, but I believe she was persistent.

She wasn't going to give up. She wasn't going to be dissuaded. She wasn't going to be taken away from her goal and her purpose to find that one lost coin.

Though her back begins to hurt from bending over, looking under things. Maybe she's getting tired, and it's getting toward bedtime. But I haven't found my lost coin yet.

Why do you think Jesus was telling this parable? Was he just talking about a woman who lost a coin and make a nice little story, or did he have a deeper intention and meaning behind it? Let's drop now to verse 3. Jesus spake another parable, and he said, if a man, what man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it. Now he gives the analogy of a shepherd having one hundred sheep, and the shepherd loses one out of the hundred. What percentage is that? Come on, you farmers, you businessmen, what percentage? One percent, okay? So he's got a hundred sheep, and lo and behold, as he brings them back into the fold for the night, and he's counting them as they come in, and all at once he's made aware there's one missing.

So what does he say? Oh well, just one, just one percent. I mean, I mean, come on, I ain't gonna lose no sleep over that. I mean, I'm not gonna risk my life going out there in the dark trying to find this lost sheep.

I mean, if the dumb sheep was so stupid to get lost, it's his own fault. It's just one after all. No, Jesus says, the shepherd, if he loses one, he leaves the ninety and nine, and he goes to seek that one that is lost.

He goes after that one that is lost. He goes out on the mountain track. He goes out into the dark of the night.

He goes out into places of danger, out on the hillside to find that lost little lamb, or that lost sheep. Because you see, the shepherd, the true shepherd cares for the sheep. The harrowing, he doesn't care.

The harrowing, oh so what? When the harrowing sees the wolf come, he flees away. Ah, but the true shepherd, he lays down his life for the sheep. He seeks out the lost sheep.

Well, Jesus concludes, he seeks that lost sheep. He goes after that which is lost until he finds it. The Lord Jesus is not willing that any soul should perish tonight.

He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. The Lord Jesus gave his life on Calvary's cross to save the lost sheep, to seek and to save that which is lost, and he's searching for his lost sheep tonight. You may be under the sound of my voice here in this tent tonight, and you may be lost.

You may be coming to the age of accountability, and the Holy Spirit's been drawing you, and you've been sensing conviction, and you're beginning to realize, I'm a sinner. Tonight, the Holy Spirit of God is drawing and wooing, and the good shepherd is seeking his lost sheep tonight. He's seeking until he finds it.

Oh, I love that. I am so glad the Lord Jesus was long suffering and merciful unto me, and didn't give up on me when I was going my own way, and I was walking in the paths of sin and self. I'm so glad the good shepherd kept seeking me.

He's seeking his lost sheep tonight. Will he find it tonight? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulder, rejoicing, and he comes home and calls together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. Rejoice, I have found my sheep which was lost.

I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. Oh, can we grasp the depth of the love of the good shepherd that he would give his life, spit upon, beaten, scourged, mocked, ridiculed, blasphemed, all because he came. He came to do his father's will.

He came to seek and save that which was lost. This we find repeated in Jesus' teaching. I have come to seek and to save that which is lost.

I didn't come to condemn men's lives, but to save them. When the disciples said, shall we call fire down from heaven like Elijah did, Jesus said, you don't know what manner of spirit you are. I didn't come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.

Oh, Jesus came to save, to seek that lost sheep. And when he finds it, there's joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. You know, that lines right up with this dear lady who had lost the coin.

She found that coin, and when she found it, she called her friends. You know, maybe she had to send a messenger on a donkey to her friends that lived in the next valley over, in the next little village. And she had to go send a herald to proclaim, I found my coin, come on over, we're going to have a party, we're going to have a celebration.

Yes, she called her friends and her neighbors together, come, come and rejoice with me, for I have found the peace that I had lost. And he repeats again, likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God. Well, imagine what happens in the corridors of heaven when a soul is saved.

Jesus rejoicing with the angels in the presence of God Almighty. Wow. You know, I think we Christians ought to maybe celebrate a little more.

When someone gets saved, we ought to declare it and rejoice with them. Rejoice with me, I have found the peace which I had lost. That's worthy to rejoice about.

When a soul gets saved, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over how many sinners that repent? One, one out of one, one lost coin out of ten, one lost sheep out of a hundred. There is joy in the presence of God, in the presence of the angels, and the corridors of heaven ring out with praise. In fact, you might even get a little charismatic and start clapping.

Praise the Lord, a sinner has come home. There's joy in heaven over one sinner that repented. All we, all we like sheep have gone astray.

All we like sheep have gone astray. We have all gone our own way. You know, that's our sin.

Our sin is focusing on me, myself, and I, and what I want to do, and what I like, and what I want. And it's my way, it's my own way. If you don't want to go my way, well then get out of the way.

I really feel so sorry for some people who though they profess Christ, they are wanderers for many, many years alone, because I believe there's something uncrucified in their life, and they want to go their own way, in their own understanding of the Christian life, and they cannot submit themselves one to another in a brotherhood, in a church, in the fear of God. And some of those stories are so painful. They have no one to support them when their daughter or their son dies.

They're alone. Tonight, are you going your own way? Are you turned to your own way? And you fight against mom and dad. You don't want to come under their authority because it goes against my way.

Or maybe you are going your own way, and you don't want to hear what Brother Jerry has to say as far as an elder in the congregation, a shepherd who's watching over the souls of the flock, and you don't like his ways. You don't like when he gives you reproof or correction and instruction in your righteousness. And so you resist, and you put up walls because you want to go your own way.

Don't tell me what to do. That song was wrong. It's just me and Jesus.

That song is blasphemy. It's just me and Jesus. We got our own thing going.

I don't care what you think. It doesn't matter what you think. That's not scriptural.

The Bible teaches it's me and the Lord Jesus Christ in the fellowship of my brethren and my sisters in Christ. We're not an island to ourselves. We're in a body.

Oh, but I need to give up. I need to give up my own way. It's so hard to die to myself.

It's so hard to surrender everything to the Lord and give it all up. And Matthew's Gospel tells us, how do you think? Jesus addressing the audience around him. How do you think? What do you think? How think ye? Matthew 18, 12.

If a man have a hundred sheep and one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine and goes into the mountains and seeketh that which is gone astray? Now here, we get a little bit of a different glance on this teaching. The other teaching that we have before us in Luke 15 speaks of a lost sheep who's just out there lost and wandering. But now here it speaks of a sheep that one of them is gone astray.

Maybe he was once within the fold, but now he's gone astray. You know, that could be you here tonight. Once you were in love with Jesus, once you were vibrant in your love for the Lord and for His holiness and His truth and His life and His testimony, but now you're gone astray.

You might still look right on the outside. You might still come to church. You might still take communion.

You might still wash feet. You might still dress conservative. But in your heart, as our brother Jerry mentioned tonight, in your heart, your heart is far from God.

You still call Him Lord, Lord, but your heart isn't with Him. Gone astray. Oh, Jesus is seeking you here tonight.

If your heart is cold and you recognize that I love the things of this earth more than I love Jesus, and you realize I've been drawn away, I'm lukewarm, the fire doesn't burn like it once did. Ah, hear the voice of the Good Shepherd tonight. Does He not leave the 99 and go out into the mountain where you've wandered away from Him? Goes out into the dregs and the areas of sin and immorality and whatever it may be to seek His lost sheep? Does He not leave the 99 and seek that which is gone astray? Yes, a thousand times, yes, He does.

I have gone astray. I have gone astray like a lost sheep, cried the psalmist. He recognized and acknowledged that He lost His way, and I've gone astray like a lost sheep.

Oh, is that you here tonight? Jesus loves you, and He's seeking you out. Is that your heart tonight? I have gone astray like a lost sheep, Ezekiel 34, 11. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I. And then He repeats it, Even I, the Lord God Almighty, I searched my sheep and seeked them out as a shepherd seeketh out his flock in that day.

That He is among His sheep that are scattered, so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark days. I want to tell you tonight that the Lord Jesus Christ is our mighty Deliverer. No matter where you've wandered into the cloudy and the dark places of sin, there's no sin, no bondage, no sin so wicked that the Lord Jesus isn't strong enough to deliver you from.

Amen? And there He grieved over a young person who spent time in the missions in Africa, and today He's gone astray. Today He's finding some real inner calm by doing seances and divining with Spirit. He's been led astray with the philosophies and the New Age doctrines and teachings.

Very sad, but the Lord Jesus can deliver him out of all the places in the cloudy and the dark days. He says, I will bring them out from the people. There was a man in our fellowship when I was a youth.

In his rebellious youth, he joined the hell's angels, and he took covenant with them. And I'm not sure of all the rituals they go through, but to become initiated into the hell's angels, he had to go through some covenant ritual. And later, hallelujah, Jesus was seeking his lost sheep, and he began to be convicted.

And faith began to arise in his heart that maybe, just maybe, the Lord will forgive me and I can go back. So he began to move in that direction. And one day he had enough courage to tell the hell's angels' leaders, I am renouncing my covenant.

I am finished. I'm done. I'm going back to the Lord.

And they said, oh yeah? No, you're not. We have authority and power over you. You have covenanted with us.

You're one of us. You cannot leave. Well, somehow word got out to the church, and people began to pray.

And one night he made his escape, and he fled home. But they knew where home was for him, and they came after him to get him. And when he heard the cycles rumbling, fear wanted to grip him, but he cried out to the Lord.

And the rumbling of the cycles stopped short of coming in the lane. A time later, a short time later, the hell's angels' leader contacted him and said, I don't know why, but we couldn't come in your lane. We saw large forms, beings.

And I don't remember all the details, so I want to be careful. I want to speak truth. But they were stopped, I believe, by the angel of God.

They said, you don't leave us and live. That happened. I'm 65.

That happened probably about 40 years ago. And he's still alive today. Bless God.

It's very dangerous to dabble in the occult. It's very binding to be involved in witchcraft and sorcery, magic. But tonight, the Good Shepherd is seeking his lost sheep.

And he will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and the dark day. Maybe tonight you're sitting here and you look very good. And nobody would ever dream of the stuff you're doing in secret in the dark.

Nobody would have any idea. They'd be shocked to know what you're doing in the dark. Jesus is seeking you out tonight.

Maybe tonight you're questioning whether Jesus is even real. Whether salvation is even real. Maybe you're questioning God tonight.

The Lord Jesus has an answer for you tonight. He wants to show himself mighty and strong to deliver you out of all those lies of the devil. And out of those hopeless situations.

I'll bring them out. I'll feed them upon the mountains. I will feed them in a good pasture.

They shall lie in a good fold. I will cause them to lie down and be at rest. Oh, are you striving tonight? Are you striving against the Lord? Are you striving against your parents? Are you striving against your pastor? Are you striving against your boss at work? It's always everybody else's fault.

It's never my fault. The boss is just so mean. And he's just so unkind.

The pastor doesn't understand me. My parents don't understand me. Are you fighting? Are you striving? Jesus the Good Shepherd is seeking you out tonight.

He says, I will feed my flock and cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which is lost and bring again that which was driven away. Oh, and he doesn't stop there.

He says, I will bind up that which was broken. Are you broken tonight? Have people taken advantage of you? Have you suffered horrible abuse that should have never happened? And you're broken tonight. And you're hurting.

The Good Shepherd came to bind up that which is broken. He came to heal that which is sick. Are you sick tonight? Are you sick of your sins? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? And you're getting weary of keeping up a front that everybody thinks, I'm this lovely Christian.

When inside, you're full of turmoil and wrestling. Are you tired of living in the cloudy and the dark day? Trying to cover your tracks of your secret sins so nobody will find out? Oh, hear the voice of Jesus. Hear the voice of Jesus and hundred sheep.

But one is gone astray. He's seeking you here tonight. Hear the heart and the voice of Jesus.

Just one out of a hundred. He could have said one out of a thousand. He could have said one out of a hundred thousand and it would still be true.

He's seeking you tonight to go after that which is lost until they find it. Are you sick and tired of trying to be a Christian without the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit? Without being born again by the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God coming in you and that same resurrection power that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you and He quickens your mortal body. And you are no longer having to be a slave to sin.

Ah, He's a mighty Deliverer. He's a mighty Savior. He can deliver you from those dark things.

He can set you free from your secret sins. Do you hear Jesus calling tonight? When you hear His voice, don't harden your heart. Tonight.

Oh, why not tonight? Why wouldn't you come to Jesus tonight? Remember what He's looking for? All He's looking for is an honest and a good heart. An honest heart that says, you know what, I'm tired of playing the game. I'm tired of pretending.

I'm tired of being a hypocrite. The young man played the hypocrite. He played the hypocrite.

Some people questioned, is he for real? Others thought he's a very fine young man. But you know what? As time went on, and he did not hearken to the call and the call of God, he went out into abominable sin. And that's where he's at today still.

He was once in our youth Bible school. He was once in our fellowship. He was once there on the front bench, singing loudly, dressing properly, doing all the right things, going through all of the ritual, keeping it perfectly.

Fine young man, so respected and honored that he took a beautiful young virgin from our church and married her and then turned around after a number of years and caved into the sin, just completely had long, and went into the dreaded sin of homosexuality and left his wife and children. Tonight, you may say, well, thank God that's not me. I'm a pretty good person.

I want to tell you here tonight, there's none righteous, no, not one. We have all sinned. We have all gone astray like a lost sheep.

We have all gone our own way. There is none righteous, no, not one. Tonight, do you recognize your need of a Savior? I remember some of the struggle.

You want to do right. I mean, you want to. You were brought up good.

Your parents taught you the right way. And you want to do right. And you are so sorry when that rebellion comes out and you find yourself talking back to Dad or Mom or just that feeling in your heart of just resentment, and you don't want it.

And you try to do better. I'm not going to let it happen again. But after a couple of weeks or months, lo and behold, it happens again.

Why? Because I'm a sinner. And the motions of sin are at work within me. And I can't help myself.

Sinners will sin. But there's a remedy tonight. It's found in the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died to save sinners.

That's why He came to set us free from our sins and to deliver us. Because we can't do it ourselves. We need a mighty Savior tonight.

Maybe tonight the Holy Spirit of God is bringing conviction upon your heart. You're at that age of accountability. And you're no longer innocent.

And you need to get saved. You need to repent and turn to the Lord. And give your heart to Jesus.

And give your life to Jesus. And find new life, abundant life, a life worth living. The real life in Jesus Christ.

Can we stand together? Father, tonight we beseech your throne. In Jesus' name, that you would save the lost that are under the sound of our voice here tonight. Whether they be a pretender.

Maybe they have wandered away. And you're speaking to them tonight. You're convicting them of their sin.

Oh God, we ask in the name of Jesus tonight that this would be a day of salvation for the lost sheep. To come home to the Good Shepherd. And be saved.

In Jesus' name. Amen.