Have you ever been lost before?
I’m sure you have - sometime, somewhere
Maybe, it was as simple as when you were a little kid, lost in a store
-terrifyingly lost & separated from your mother by a mountainous isle
-of cereal boxes or shoes or something
Maybe, you were lost while driving somewhere
Some of us have been lost out in the wilderness - or in the midst of a big city
Usually, it’s not a big problem being found again, or finding your way
-the kid lost in the store starts crying & someone helps him/her find mom
-or, there’s an announcement -
“Will the mother of Jonnie, please come to the front desk.
“Your little boy is lost.”
-if you’re out driving, you stop & look at a map, or stop somewhere
-& ask for directions - & most people are very willing to help
-on a number of occasions at night, I’ve had to get out of my car
-look up & find the North Star to figure out what direction I was going
Most of the time, it’s not that big of a deal being lost
-but there are those examples that you’ve heard of & known about
-where some didn’t survive being lost
-there are plenty of tragic examples where people were never found
-until it was too late
-so, being lost can be a serious matter
e.g. Maybe you heard about the 16 y.o. girl, Abby Sunderland - Thurs. p.m.
-who was trying to sail around the world by herself
-was lost at sea in the south Indian Ocean
-she ran into winter storms with 30 foot waves
-hurricane force winds
How do you feel being lost?
How do you feel just thinking about being seriously lost?
How do you feel for people who are lost?
How does God feel for people who are lost?
Well, we know how God feels
-& we’re not just talking about someone lost in North Ironwood for a night
-or even out at sea
-we’re talking about people who are lost on the whole journey of life
-people who are lost eternally & spiritually
-lost without knowing God
-lost without being saved from the guilt & just punishment of sin
Jesus hung out with people who were lost
& He was criticized by the religious leaders for being with them
-& this is one of the stories He told in answer to His critics:
Luke 15:4-7
"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
And He told a story of a lost coin & a lost son
-all of which were looked for until they were found - or returned
God cares very much for the lost & He wants them found!
Jesus once chose to go to the home of Zacchaeus
-a man despised in his community
-because he was an rich tax collector at the expense of the people
-& knowing people were critical of Him for going to his house,
-this is what Jesus said:
Luke 19:10
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost ."
Jesus now calls us to do the same with our lives
To go out into this world, to seek & save the lost
So, it’s good to remind ourselves of what we need to do & why
People are lost!
What would we do, if someone from the nursery came running down here,
-opened the door, “Hey, little Jonnie is missing! We can’t find him!”
-we’d send a few people - down to help find him
-but in a matter of 5-10 minutes, after looking in the bathrooms & closets
-we’d probably all go out & start looking
-& maybe call the police & get them involved
-it would really get our attention!
Consider the community in which we live
-most of the people who live here are lost
-they don’t know Jesus Christ & they aren’t following Him
-they are spiritually & eternally lost
-some may know Jesus & be trusting in Him as their Savior
-but they too have lost their way, because they aren’t following Him
-they are out of fellowship with God & God’s people
-most of the people in our community & most communities in this world
-are LOST
-God wants them found!
Jesus came here to seek & save the lost
& He now gives that mission & purpose to us who have been found
-He sends His disciples out to be “Fishers of men” - & disciple makers
I bring this all up - because we/I need to be regularly reminded of this mission
Now, in particular, we’re endeavoring in a small, but hopefully significant way
-to reach our community, as a church
-in sort of a search & rescue mission
We’ve been calling this the Community Serve Mission
-& it’s starting in a week from tomorrow
-& we have intentions of a similar mission like effort
-extending throughout the year, on a regular basis
Next week, a team or teams from our church are going to go out
-& seek to help people with jobs that need to be done for them
-we are intending to serve our community
What we want to do, is serve like Jesus served
-in however the Lord empowers us to do that
Look at the life of Jesus & consider - how did He reach people who were lost?
As a group we’ll be looking at some of this next week during our mission
Looking at Jesus - He really had a strategic plan
-He went into villages & taught spiritual truth
-however, just about everywhere He went, He also helped people
-He healed people of illnesses - severe handicaps, leprosy, fever,
bleeding disorders - all kinds of impossible to get better, conditions
-He delivered people from demon possession
-He even raised the dead!
I’m impressed, Jesus didn’t have to spend any money on advertising
-as you may know, everywhere He went, people crowded around Him
-we have problems, as very few come to our outreach events here at the church
-Jesus didn’t have that problem with His outreach events
-in fact, He had the opposite problem - too many people came
Now, I understand, Jesus was different
-but yet, Jesus intends for us to carry on this work - of reaching the lost
-& He empowers us to do it
-in fact, very surprisingly, Jesus said, we’d do greater things than He
-try to figure this out!
John 14:11-14
Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
He goes on, explaining that the Holy Spirit will be living in us, empowering us
-reading the rest of the Bible
-the “greater things” is not doing miracles like Jesus
-& that’s certainly not been the experience of the church over the ages
-so it must have to do with carrying on the mission of reaching the lost
-the making of disciples
-sharing the gospel
Now, why don’t people come to us like they came to Jesus?
-well, one of the missing ingredients is what we call, cultivation
-remember, when we talk about reaching the lost
-we think in terms of eternal CPR?
Cultivation, Planting & Reaping
Cultivation - building bridges with love to people
-helping them to be interested & desirous of our message
-helping to break up the hard ground of a darkened & hardened heart
Planting - is the introducing seeds of spiritual truth to people
-spreading the Word of God to the harvest fields of this world
Reaping - as people are made ready by the Holy Spirit’s conviction
-we ask people & encourage people for a commitment to the gospel
-we invite people & walk with them as they receive Jesus as Savior
-& step into a discipleship relationship with Him - following Jesus
Looking at Jesus - we see He was the master of the cultivation process
-He went out into people’s villages - to their synagogues, homes, streets,
-to the lakeside
-& He ministered love to them
-we can’t expect to stay holed up in our church & expect people to come to us
-some might
-but the Lord calls us to do as He did - reach people with love
Matthew 5:14-16
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise
your Father in heaven.”
God intends for us to light up this dark world
-& the cultivation process - with such things as good deeds
-is a very important part of how God is going to find people
1 Peter 2:9-12
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. 12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
And last week, as we fellowshipped with the Lord
-around the Lord’s supper table
-we considered His command to us to love
John 13:34-35
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
The rescue message that lost people will hear, is our love
I bring this up - because this is what we are intending to do
-in our Community Serve Mission next week
-& hopefully, in weeks to follow
-we intend to express our love for people by doing service for them
-may we pray & may we give of ourselves in loving service to the people
-of this community
However, let me add an important dimension that we need to understand from Jesus
& His approach to reaching the lost
-call it, a word of caution to us to keep things in perspective
Social activism - if we can call it that - isn’t sufficient
-or we can say, the process of cultivation, as we’re calling it
-isn’t sufficient in itself
-there’s got to be the planting of seeds & reaping the harvest
-there’s got to be teaching God’s Word & spiritual truth to our community
When you look at Jesus at these times where He healed & ministered to people
-He was usually, involved in teaching at the same time
-& the times where He was just traveling along
-He’d usually add some teaching to the healing
“Go, & give thanks to God at the temple!
“Your sins are forgiven, Go, & sin no more!”
It is totally clear, Jesus’ primary object (& He had a very well planned strategy)
-wasn’t just helping people with their physical needs
-His primary objective was to help people with their spiritual needs
He taught them about how to relate to God!
-the miracles of helping people - were there to support the message
Now, next week, we’re mainly doing cultivation - with acts of love
-physically ministering to people as we serve them
-our hope & prayer, is that this will open doors of opportunity
-to plant seeds of spiritual truth
-& hopefully, with the conviction of the Holy Spirit
-there will be people through our community who will come to Jesus
-&, let’s have this be just a small part of what we do
-may we find ways to continue this service to people
-& may we all individually, be faithful to show love to people daily
-as the Lord gives us such opportunities
-to show this world, we are His disciples
-as we self-sacrificially love one another - like Jesus loved us!
What’s it worth to reach the lost?
The teenage girl - Abby, who was lost in the winter seas of the Indian Ocean
-as it turned out, her sailboat was hammered by the 30 foot waves
-it broke her mast off & her sail was dragging in the ocean
-her satellite phone didn’t work as the antennae was on that mast
-but she was able to send out a distress signal
-however, she was like over 2000 miles away from help!
-but an emergency responder from Australia chartered a jet
& flew out all those miles & 20 hours later made radio contact with her
-while rescue boats started going in the 2 day journey in her direction
May we sense the need to find the lost
And, may we devote ourselves to being like Jesus
-to doing whatever self-sacrificial love it takes
-to seek & save the lost
|