The Parable of the Lost Sheep • Luke 15:1-7

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Good morning.

I want to welcome everybody.

If you're here with us, if you're joining us online, thank you so much for being here

today to worship together.

If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open up to Luke chapter 15, where we're going

Luke 15 · chapter mention

to talk about the parable of the lost sheep, all right?

So as you turn there or find your spot on your phone, I want to ask you guys a question, something

for us all to engage in, respond in.

How many of you, at any point in time, ever in your life have lost something?

Raise your hand.

All right, put your hands down.

Everybody, right?

Now, how many of you is it in your nature to quite often lose things?

Raise your hand.

That's me, right?

Me and like all the kids.

Thank you all for that.

Yeah, that's great.

All right.

So I struggle.

I lose stuff all the time.

I forget where I set things down.

There are three things in my life that I commonly lose, and I probably most of you who struggle

with losing things lose these three things as well.

I lose my keys, I lose my wallet, and I lose my cell phone.

I've always been this way.

I've always been absent-minded when it comes to setting things down, or maybe even a better

explaining myself is I don't put things back where they're supposed to go to begin with,

okay?

And so when Aaron and I got married, it was not uncommon for me to have to go somewhere

and spend 20 minutes in a mad dash trying to locate in our little townhome that we had

at the time where my wallet was.

So for the entirety of our marriage, my wife and her graciousness has been working on a system

for me so I don't lose things as often.

And so if you walk into our kitchen, there's a little place with some hooks, and that's

where I'm supposed to hang my keys.

When you go upstairs in my bedroom, on my bedside table, there's a little, like, wooden bowl

that her dad made for me that that's where my wallet goes, and then beside that is the

charger for my cell phone.

So that if I do everything the way that I'm supposed to do it, I hang my keys up where

they're supposed to go, I set my wallet where it's supposed to go, and set my phone

where it's supposed to go.

But guess what?

I don't always do that, right?

I still lose things, even though there's the exact location of where it's supposed to go.

Now here's what I do quite often, all right?

I, when I realize my keys are lost, I try to play it off in my house like I haven't lost

anything.

So like open confession time this morning, I couldn't find my wallet, all right?

And so I've just kind of, I've gone downstairs, I was kind of moseying around, it's not where

it's supposed to be, and just like, like I'm just prayer walking the house, right?

Just, I'm not looking for anything, I'm just walking around.

I'm prone to lose things.

How many of you have ever lost something when you found it?

Got really excited, all right?

So when I was a youth pastor still at our previous church, every youth pastor longs for the day

where the senior pastor entrusts them with adult stuff, right?

And so I was at that point in my career, the senior pastors of the churches I'd served at

had yet to entrust me with something like that.

And I get a call from our senior pastor, and he said, hey, can you come up to my office?

I would like to talk to you, because my office was on the other side of our campus.

And I said, yeah, sure.

So I come into his office, and he said, I'd like for you to lead a mission trip in about

five or six months.

I mean, that's fantastic.

I've led mission trips before.

I said, well, give me some of the details.

What's this going to be?

He says, well, we're sending a group of adults to Bolivia to work at a church where there's

a lot of families with kids with autism.

And in the whole country of Bolivia, there were two professionally trained professionals

that worked with kids of autism.

And at our church at that time, we had eight professionally trained individuals.

He said, so there's a church there.

They're really reaching families with kids with autism.

And so we're going to go and send these adults.

And all I need you to do, you don't have to teach.

You don't have to do anything.

I just need you to go with them so that you can get them there, and you can get them back.

It's like, no problem.

I've done stuff like that before.

So we have our meetings.

We get everything lined up.

Me and this team of men and women are going to head down to Bolivia to have this mission

trip.

And so the night before, I begin to pack.

I've got all my clothes.

I've got everything lined up.

I've got my wallet.

I've got my phone.

I've got everything that I need.

It's time to now go grab my passport.

And so I go, and my passport's not here.

Go to the other place where my passport's supposed to be.

It's not there either.

For the next five hours, I turn our house upside down desperately because I need to find

this passport because I'm afraid that my getting them there and getting them back is making

sure that I drop them off at the airport, and I don't want to go to my senior pastor and

say, guess what?

Your boy lost his passport.

And then underneath a bunch of files in a file cabinet, several hours later, I find my passport.

And the excitement that came from me was just something I'd never experienced before because

now I'm not going to get yelled at.

I'm not going to let anybody down.

I've succeeded.

I've found this passport.

And all of you can relate to a similar circumstance.

Whether if it's something small, like you can't find your keys, and so it causes you to be five

minutes late for work, or whether it's that important document that you need for a closing

on a house or something like that where panic begins to set in, we've all lost something,

and we've all experienced excitement when we find it.

So Jesus is going to tell a parable, and the parable that he's going to share has profound

theological implications of understanding the gospel and what Jesus came to do.

But in that moment as he shared it, everyone in the room, just like everyone here, can relate

to it.

And so let's look at Luke chapter 15, starting in verse 1.

Luke 15 · chapter mention

It says,

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him, and the Pharisees and

the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them.

So he told them this parable.

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the

ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it.

And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them,

Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.

Just so I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over

ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

And so Jesus tells a story about something being lost, and then it's found.

He tells a story that everyone could relate to.

He tells a story that shows desperation and excitement.

He shares a story that brings forth from it celebration.

Let's understand why Jesus is telling this story.

And in order to, in the very beginning of the setting of what we find, we see the dynamic

of the relationship between Jesus and sinners.

You see, there's two types of people in the room.

There's two types of people in the audience when Jesus tells this parable.

The first group or the first types are the Pharisees and the scribes.

And it's important, there's different things that we can talk about them.

But it's important for us to know that they saw themselves as both religious and good.

And who they are, they would have seen themselves as very religious.

Ones being able to uphold the law.

Good in all they do.

They would have seen themselves, their view of others and their sin was accurate and was justified.

And at the very heart of their being, they would have thought that everything they've done

from their actions to their thoughts to their words would be pleasing to God.

It's important for us to know that this group of individuals thought that in and of themselves,

as God looked down on them, he was perfectly pleased with who they are and of what they had done.

But also in the room is a different set of people, tax collectors and sinners.

Some of the lowest of the low for the day.

The tax collectors, a group of people who have betrayed their own ethnic group,

betrayed their own countrymen, betrayed their own men and women of their faith

in order that Rome could keep them enslaved.

But also in the room are the sinners.

Now there's not one sin that is designated for this group of sinners.

But in this group of people would have been people who were deemed by everyone,

culturally accepted,

to look at this group of people and said that they're dirty.

They had been people that had had questionable past and more than likely questionable current situations as well.

And this is the group of people of where we find Jesus.

I think it's very important for you and I to know and to understand the dynamic of the heaviness of what's going on in the room.

There couldn't have been two groups of people that would have viewed themselves in more different circumstances.

But it's important for us to know this.

Jesus is with both of them.

And at this time both are with Jesus.

For whatever reason, both groups have sought him out.

And we can speculate on the why, but Scripture doesn't tell us.

But both of them have heard, and there's a part of them, whether it's sinful or not sinful,

that has sought to be with Jesus in this moment.

But I think even more important than that,

Jesus hasn't put a bodyguard at the door and said, stay away.

That in this moment, Jesus has welcomed them in.

Jesus has welcomed both of them in.

And Scripture is very clear.

It tells us that Jesus is doing two things with them.

When it tells that Jesus is there with the tax collectors and sinners,

it means that this, when it says that he received them,

what that means is, and lack of a better term in a way that we can all understand it

in the words that I use in everyday life,

Jesus was just hanging out with them.

Jesus was just spending time with them.

Whether he knew them before this interaction or not,

Jesus was willing to be in a social setting with questionable people.

Jesus was willing to push everything else to the side

for the willingness and the moment to engage with a group of people

who were considered questionable by everyone else.

But not only is he doing that, but he's eating with them.

He's eating with them.

So here's what this means.

When we see in Scripture,

and that's a big thing that comes from the life of Jesus,

that Jesus would eat with sinners.

So in Jesus' day, and we know this,

but it helps us get things culturally.

So picture this, you've been introduced to someone now, right?

Like you meet him at work, you meet him at church,

and so you want to get to know them more.

And so you engage into a conversation to get to know them,

and you take slow steps.

It may be that you have conversations on Facebook,

or you have conversations through text message,

or you meet up at Starbucks to grab a coffee.

Well, Jesus doesn't have these means, right?

And so for Jesus to get to know someone,

for culturally during this time,

for them to decide that they're going to invest into a relationship,

they would share a meal together.

And the beautiful picture, I think,

of what God has set in the heart of humanity,

regardless of what culture you go to,

or what time you find yourself in,

if you really want to get to know someone,

if you really want to invest in the life of someone,

don't meet at a restaurant, meet at your home.

Don't sit in the living room, but come to your table.

And that's what we find in the dynamic of Jesus

with this group of sinners,

that there's a depth of engagement,

of lostness for Jesus.

The only one who's holy in the room,

the only one who has a proper standing in his perfection,

with what we see is he welcomed both,

he hung out,

and he begins to invest in a depth of person,

of getting to know them in a personal way.

So the question for us,

even before we look at the parable,

is for you and I,

for those of us who gather in a church,

whether we see ourselves as quote-unquote religious,

or true followers of Christ,

are you and I engaging with lostness

in the depth of which Jesus is?

Are we taking the time to invest in,

to build over, to bridge the gap between us?

Now, here's what I'm not saying, okay?

I'm not saying that we hand over

our social security numbers to people.

I'm not saying that we allow people

who are making different decisions

to raise our kids on our behalf,

or even seek out their advice for marriage or finances.

But I am saying that if you and I

are going to invest in lostness in the depth

and in the way that Jesus does,

that we have to evaluate and look at our life

and compare it to the life of Christ

as he models for us.

So I have three questions I want to ask you really quick.

For you and your life of where you are right now

and the journey that you're on,

number one, do you know lost people?

Do you know lost people?

Now, not people who go to church or don't go to church.

Do you know lost people?

Now, let's dig a little bit deeper within that.

Are you in relationship with lost people, right?

Are you willing to have lunch with them?

Do you know their name?

Do you know about their kids, about their family,

about the battles and struggles of life

that they're going through?

Do you know lost people?

And then the third question that I would ask you,

if you say yes to both of those, is this.

If I were to ask them about you,

would they say that you care about them?

Would they say that there's a depth of love

that is shown from you to them

that if a crisis hits their life,

that they're calling you because they know

that you love them and that you care for them?

And it's what we see with Jesus.

That's why they journey to him.

That's why Jesus is such a magnet to lost people.

They don't know the story,

but yet they come to him anyways

because of his depth of caring.

And here's why this is so important

in this moment for Jesus.

As he's got cultures on either side of him,

we see Jesus attack the culture conflict.

You see, for there to be reconciliation,

for there to be unity,

Jesus has to break down both sides of the argument,

both sides of the line that has been drawn.

And so how does Jesus do that?

He welcomes them both.

He doesn't alienate one in the story.

Instead, he begins to speak to the heart of lostness

and what he's there to do.

The parable of the lost sheep

is the parable for the lost.

It's the parable that everyone in the room

except Jesus needs.

So he shares this with the Pharisee.

He shares it with the scribe.

He shares it with the tax collector.

Jesus shares it with the sinner.

And Jesus begins to describe a situation

that just like you,

as I shared the silly story of my passport,

Jesus begins to share a story

that everybody in the room would have understood.

Everybody in the room would have heard about.

Everybody in the room would have gone through.

That there's a shepherd.

And the shepherd's responsibility

is this flock of sheep.

A hundred sheep that this shepherd

has been entrusted with.

That his livelihood comes from this.

That his identity is found in this.

His job and what he's supposed to do

is to care for him.

But there's this one sheep.

And it wanders off.

It leaves from where it's supposed to be.

It leaves from what it knows.

It leaves from the care and the comfort

and the love of the flock.

It leaves from where it's been raised.

And it wanders off by itself.

And so the shepherd leaves the 99

in order to go find it.

I want to talk about the 99 really quickly

and the understanding of the shepherd.

I've heard this talked about before

that the shepherd is more concerned

with the one than the 99.

That's not true.

There's not more love for one

than there is for the other.

You see, because what would have happened

in this moment

is that the shepherd

is equally caring for both

as he searches out for the one.

The scripture's clear that it says

that the shepherd

left the flock in open fields.

And so what would happen is this.

Whenever a sheep would wander away,

which was common,

the shepherd would move the flock

at nighttime

to the middle of the field,

away from the woods,

away from the river,

and in doing so,

would move it away from the darkness

where predators could hide.

Would move them to the dead center

of the field

and then would build a fire

around where they were

so that if a predator

were to think

that they're going to go out,

that they would associate fire

with people

and not get anywhere near.

So do you see what is happening,

what the shepherd does

when Jesus says

that he left the flock

in open field?

Jesus is saying,

I'm still caring about the flock.

In the pursuit of this,

it's for the good of the flock.

I haven't forgotten about the flock

in the pursuit of the one.

But he goes out

having cared for the flock

and he finds the one.

And when he finds it,

Scripture tells us

he doesn't grab it by the neck

and drag it back.

He doesn't wrap a rope around

to use as a leash

to guide it back

to where it's supposed to be.

He doesn't go up

and kick it

and push it

and do any of those things.

The shepherd reaches down

and picks up the sheep

and puts the sheep

on his shoulders

so that he can get it back

where it needed to be.

The sheep who got itself lost.

The sheep who put itself

in that situation.

The sheep who couldn't

come back on his own.

You see, one of the characteristics

of sheep,

when they get lost,

a lot like us sometimes,

they get afraid.

And when they get afraid,

they get anxiety.

And when anxiety

begins to build up

in a sheep,

the sheep just lays down

and won't move.

And so what does

the shepherd do?

He reaches down

into the situation

where it's gotten itself.

He says,

now it's not about you

coming back to me.

It's not about you

coming to find me.

But it's about

the holy hands of God

reaching down

and picking up

that which is lost.

And then you can't

even get yourself back.

So I'm going to carry you

in the weight

of your burden

back to the flock.

Back to where

you're supposed to be.

This is where

the family

is.

And then Jesus says,

that as the shepherd

returns,

he tells his neighbors,

he tells his friends,

and the rejoicing

that takes place

because of the one,

because of the one.

Church,

this is what salvation

looks like.

This is what God

is doing.

This is what he is

in the pursuit,

in his pursuit

of us

as we've wandered

away,

as we've left

what we know,

as we've left

what has been set

in our hearts

for something more,

that God is

in the pursuit

of us.

And Jesus says

that this pursuit,

that it begins

and is found

in him,

and it's a call

on our part

to repentance.

In verse 7,

I'm going to

reread that to you.

Jesus,

his words,

just so I tell you,

there will be

more joy in heaven

over one sinner

who repents,

who repents,

than over 99

righteous persons

who need

no repentance.

So Jesus looks

and says,

it's not about

getting it right.

Getting it right

doesn't bring the praise.

It's not about

learning how to

manage your sin.

It's not about

figuring out

how to clean yourself up.

It's not about

all of the works

that you can do.

He says,

if you want to hear

the celebration

of angels,

if you want to know

the celebration

of God,

if God's people

want to know

what to celebrate,

it's not about

a group of people

sitting in a room

thinking that they've

got it all figured out.

It's about when one

who's broken

says,

I need you.

It's the heart

of repentance.

It's the beginning

of faith.

It's the cry

of the sinner.

It's what we desperately

need.

So that just begins

with us.

Our brokenness.

That you and I,

regardless of how

many church services,

how many mission trips,

how many offerings

we've given,

how many works

we've done,

how many people

we've shared

the gospel with,

that you and I

recognize that

at the core

of what establishes

the foundation

of the relationship

in our life

is for you and I

to recognize

we are sinners

who desperately,

desperately need

him.

And then what we

can experience

is the love

of the shepherd.

I want to read

this quote to you

I found from

Pastor John Piper

talking about this

scripture.

He said this,

in spite of his

majesty,

holiness,

and universal

power and greatness,

he astonishly cares

for individual human

beings one at a time.

It blows my mind

to think about this.

Of all that God sees,

of all that God knows,

of all that God is doing,

God in this very moment

is not ignorant

or unaware of you.

Think about that.

Of all that is going on

with the world

as he upholds

the universe

and galaxies,

as he manages

governments

and continues on

in the movement

of the church,

God thinks of,

knows of,

sees,

hears you

at this very moment.

And that cannot

be taken away.

There is 100

sheep,

one wanders away

and the shepherd

immediately notices.

The moment

never gets

too big

for God.

That God

in his fullness

sees all,

knows all,

pursues all

and it's what

we understand

in the love

of the shepherd.

And then we see

what God's desiring.

We see what

he longs for.

The whole

family worship.

The shepherd

comes back.

The shepherd

comes with

the sheep

on his shoulders.

And now

the party

begins.

Now

the celebration

happens

because

of what

the shepherd

has done.

We're not

celebrating

the fact

that a sheep

got lost.

But we're

celebrating

the fact

that the shepherd

found

the sheep.

Jesus'

talk

speaks in

John 4

John 4:23

verse 23.

He's talking

about faith.

He's talking

about worship

that will

please God.

The worship

that God

longs for.

He says this,

but the hour

is coming

and is now

here

when the true

worshipers

will worship

the father

in spirit

and truth

for the father

is seeking

such people

to worship

him.

The heart

of what we

are to be.

The heart

of what he

is calling us

to.

What does

true

worship

look like?

It looks

like this.

People

as God

seeks them

who are

worshiping

him

in the spirit

and truth

of understanding

of what

he's

done

for them.

Would you

pray with me?

God,

we come

to you

this morning

with a

beautiful

picture

of what

you've

painted

for us

today.

One sheep.

One sheep

matters enough

to the

shepherd

for him

to go.

Not to

leave

the sheep

in its own

circumstances

to find

its way

back

but for

the love

and pursuit

of the

shepherd.

God,

I thank you

so much

that for

so many

of us

in this

room

watching

online,

it's the

love that

we've

experienced

when we

were desperate

and we

were lost

in our

sins

and our

trespasses.

but you

and your

faithfulness

you

and your

righteousness

you

and your

holiness

pursued

the

hearts

sinful

people.

With every

head bowed

and every

eye closed,

God,

for those

of us

who have

experienced

this

love,

put

yourself

in that

room for

a moment.

what is

your

heart

for

lostness?

What does

it look

like?

Is it

invested

into a

relationship?

Is it

invested

into care?

Is it

invested

in love?

To lead

them to

their

Savior

who

desperately

seeks

them.

But I

want to

ask you

another

question.

How

desperate

are you

for

Jesus?

I'm

not talking

about that

you've done

religious

things.

I'm

talking about

a level

of brokenness

in your

heart,

of true

repentance

before him,

of not a

10-step

plan about

how to

fix

yourself

or figure

this out.

But a

genuine

desperate

cry

for

brokenness

because of

the sin

that's in

your life.

Whether

you're the

Pharisee

or the

sinner,

the

scribe

or the

tax

collector,

a

desperate

cry

of repentance

before him.

God,

I pray

this

morning

for the

hearts

of the

individuals

who are

gathered here

with us,

who are

online,

for the

hearts of

our

neighbors,

of our

friends,

of our

family,

of our

loved

ones.

Lord,

I pray

that you

would bring

them back

to you.

Lord,

that they

would respond

to your

kindness and

love with

brokenness and

repentance and

that in

that moment

is where

the celebration

begins.

In that

moment is

where life

happens.

In that

moment is

where people

move from

dark to

life.

In that

moment is

where people

move from

death to

eternal joy

with you.

Jesus,

may we be

willing to

be broken.

May we be

willing to

be vulnerable.

In your name

we pray.

Amen.

In just a

moment we're

going to

stand,

we're going

to respond

in worship.

We just

talked about

the heart

of worship

that God

longs for.

A heart

that's desperate

for repentance,

that's desperate

for lostness.

A heart

that worships

and sings

and responds

not out of

comfort or

ability to sing

but because of

a redeemed

life before

Him.

If you've

been saved,

whether you're

sitting on your

couch at home

or you're

gathered in

here,

worship Him

like it

matters.

Worship Him

because you

were dead

and He

brought you

back to

life.

Worship Him

because you

were lost

and you

were found.

Worship Him

because you

and I

were like

one of those

sheep and

we wandered

off and He

loved us too

much to leave

us out there

so He

went and He

brought us

back in.

Then there's

something else.

You're here

in the

auditorium with

us today.

I'm going to

be back out

in the hallway,

all right?

And if you

want to come

talk to somebody

about repentance,

let's not talk

about how to

fix everything.

If you just

want to get

to the heart

of a salvation

conversation,

about Jesus

Christ,

it begins

with repentance.

We're not

going to talk

about how to

fix all the

problems,

but we're

going to talk

about brokenness.

We're going to

pray and cry out

to God for that.

I want to

encourage you to

come talk to me.

If you're at

home and you're

watching this right

now, here's what I

want you to do.

I want you to get

online, send us an

email, like send us

the text message that

Pastor Dave has put

through for us.

We want to have a

conversation with you.

We don't want the

moment of the delay

of you being at

home and the

internet to stop

this, because

salvation and

eternity hangs in

this.

God desperately,

desperately loves

you.

He's calling.

He's calling.

We'll stand and

worship Him.

Thanks again for

listening to the

Willow Ridge Church

weekly podcast.

We hope that you

enjoyed listening to

this week's message.

If you'd like to

learn more about who

we are or explore

additional resources,

visit us online at

www.willowridgechurch.com

or by searching for

Willow Ridge Church on

Facebook and Instagram.