Cross Creek Community Church, Pastor Dave Martin – May 10, 2015
“LOST and FOUND”
Reaching our World
Acts 15:1-32 & Selected
Tribute to Mothers:
Proverbs 31:10-31 10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. 11 Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. 12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. 13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar. 15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. 16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. 19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers. 20 She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. 21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet. 22 She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land. 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes. 25 She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. 27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 "Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all." 30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 31 Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
“LOST and FOUND”… Reaching our World
Welcome to Cross Creek and our 30-Day Church Challenge… This series focused upon the early church to help us discover and engage in the five purposes the church engaged in from Acts 2:42-47. We’ve been learning how we can take big steps toward reaching our God-given potential, and to strengthen our relationships with God and one another. As we embrace these challenges we can experience the love, joy, peace, and fulfillment that comes from doing God’s will for your life. We also said that at the end of this series we’ll be transformed in our thinking about the church, not just viewing it as a place to come to, but realizing that it is a vibrant family to belong to; we want to become the church: a community of faith—powerful, inspirational, and transformational—touching our community and the world with the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! That is the vision we have for this campaign, and I pray we’ll continue to apply the truths we learn long after this series is over… Spiritual growth, becoming more Christ-like in our thinking, words, actions…
Five activities the early church was committed to were… Brief background and read Acts 2:41-47
30-Day Challenge, Acts 2:41-47
Cultivate authentic community
Experience worship as part of your daily lifestyle
Take successive steps of spiritual growth
Practice personal stewardship
TodayReach out to the world around us
Acts 2:47 “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
- People heard about Jesus… Repented of sin and were spiritually born into God’s family! “Lord added”
Luke 15,Parable of the lost sheep, coin and son… “Lost and Found, reaching our world”… Remember last week’s definition of a parable? An earth story we can relate to but along with it a heavenly theological truth…
We see the context in vs 1-2… Sinners & tax collectors gathered to Jesus… Haughty religious Jews disgusted! All three parables speak of something/someone being lost and then found… Tremendous rejoicing that follows
Reaching Out…(With love like Jesus)
- Finding the Wandering Sheep, Luke 15:3-7
Luke 15:3-7 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 "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.
- Look at the theological truth when Lord added daily those being saved… Jubilant rejoicing in heaven
- The self-righteous Jews didn’t need Christ & resented when “Sinners” - Lost people came to Jesus
- God’s Word tells us we’re all like that lost wandering sheep… For whom Jesus came & died for… Sins
Isaiah 53:6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him [Jesus] the sins of us all. nlt
- Finding the Valuable Coin, Luke 15:8-10
Luke 15:8-10 8 "Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.'
10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
- Woman carelessly loses a coin great worth… She searched diligently her house until at last she finds her highly valuable lost coin… She found & rejoiced… Again we see the profound effect when a sinner comes to faith in Jesus Christ… Angels in heaven express gladness, joy, high fiving when disciples made
- No comparison when you compare this life to eternity… You are an eternal being created in God’s image… You are highly valuable… God has never made junk… He has a plan for your life!
Luke 9:25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self [soul]?
Finding the wandering sheep… Finding the valuable coin… And the third lesson is…
- Finding the Wayward Son
Luke 15:11-12 11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
- Very unusual… Normally not divided till father could no longer manage his property… But the father agreed to the demands of his younger foolish son… Son chose wrong path, that escalated
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.
The Son’s Life…Let’s trace his experiences…
- Unwise Decisions, vs11-12
Luke 15:11-12 11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
- Every decision leads to another decision… Must break the downward destructive cycle
- Running Away, v13
Luke 15:13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.
- Took time to liquidate his assets and headed out of town… to a distant country… When things begin going bad we too are prone to “run away” from the situation we find ourselves
- Rather than working things out, this young man split town… heading for greener pastures
- Life Wasted, vs13, 30
Luke 15:13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living… Luke 15:30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
- He arrived and squandered his wealth, wasted, scattered, spent it all in the wild “fast lane”… Verse 30 we see the words of his older brother, “squandered his wealth with prostitutes”… ‘Porne’ where we get the word porn… Sexual immorality… Wasting his life
- Trials Mounted, vs14-16
Luke 15:14-16 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
- Money all gone, friends all gone, and pleasures of sin for a season all gone… Severe famine struck the region… He got extremely hungry… Found a job feeding pigs, but for a Jewish boy this is forbidden… BUT he took the job and continued in his downward spiral… So starved he longed to eat the food he fed the pigs… His trials mounted & he finally hit bottom…
- Thinking Shifted (Repentance), v17
Luke 15:17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
- To “repent” means to change one’s mind… we read, “he came to his senses”… His thinking shifted… I’m starving to death, my father’s servants eat well… Began seeing the reality of his situation… He came to his senses (There’s an insanity to sin… A lust/blindness/deception…
- Course Changed, vs18-19
Luke 15:18-19 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.'
- The young man changed his mind about himself, his situation and admitted he was a sinner He saw his father in a “new” way… Generous, merciful, forgiving, loving, good… He made a conscious decision in his heart… I will set out… I will go… I will say… Faith in action, Jam 2
Luke 15:20-23 20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate.
The Father’s Response…(This Mother’s Day… If you can)
- He Saw, v20 “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him” – See your mom
- He Loved, v20 “Filled with compassion” – Love your mom
- He Ran, v20 “he ran to his son” – Visit your mom
- He Hugged, v20 “He threw his arms around him” – Hug your mom… Dr. Satir says:
Hugging can be vital for your emotional well-being. Everybody feels skin hunger throughout their lives, and unless that hunger is satisfied by touching, there’s a vital void in the emotional make-up that’s going to cause deep unhappiness. We all know that babies thrive on frequent stroking. Well, adults are no different. When they are not patted on the hand, embraced around the shoulder or hugged, they withdraw into themselves… I prescribe four hugs a day for survival, eight for maintenance and twelve for growth.
Dr. VirginaiSatir in Homemade, March, 1990
- He Kissed, v20“and kissed him”… The Greek word used here to describe what the father does is kata-phileo. Literally it means, “to kiss again and again.” This was not just a simple peck on the cheek, but kisses upon kisses! – Kiss your mom
- He Gave, vs22-24 “Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet”… The father wants the whole village to know that he has accepted his son. So he sends his servants to get his own best robe so the son can wear it as they walk the village… Believers are robed with a white robe, the “righteousness of Christ”, Rev 6:11… The ringmay be a signet ring. It’s the ring the father would use to sign legal documents, which means the son is a trusted, empowered member of the family… The sandals are a sign the he is a free man, not a servant. Servants didn’t get shoes. They walked barefoot… Finally, the father says, “Bring the fatted calf and kill it” Not the fatted goat or sheep or chicken. The fatted calf. Why a calf? Because a calf had enough meat on it to feed the whole village.
Do you see what the father is doing? He’s inviting the whole village to share his joy… All heaven rejoices when a sinner repents and believes in Jesus, the ONLY WAY!God wants everyone to have a relationship with his son… Go find the lost and make disciples… Wow! WHY?
Luke 15:24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.
God has made a way for us to come to Him… GRACE – JESUS – FORGIVENESS – REJOICING – ETERNAL LIFE
Reaching our World…
Pray: Lord, give me a heart for the lost!
Invite: A relative or friend to church next week!
Share: Your personal faith with someone this week!
"And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Reaching Souls for Eternity!
Let’s Pray