Luke 15:3-7
Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!”
This is what we have to wrestle with. Do we see God’s kingdom in that way? Do we really believe God cares so deeply for those the world has rejected? That he would leave the 99 to go look for the one who is lost?
Or even more provocatively: Are we joining him in that search?
Or are we just pouring out our lives for the kingdoms of this world? Money. Fame. Power. Success. Popularity. Influence. Stuff.
Are we looking for the lost sheep too? Or are we just wearing our nice wool jackets? Where are our priorities?
That’s the first big takeaway. A question of whether we really believe that the kingdom Jesus preached about is one worth living for.
The good shepherd pursues the one lost sheep… will we?
The second big takeaway is far more intimate and personal between you and God.
Because the truth is, there are many of you who struggle a lot with your own self-worth. I know because you’ve told me.
You feel small and unimportant. You feel invisible in this world. You wrestle with your past - your mistakes - your sin. You think to yourself, “if people only knew who I really was, they wouldn’t want anything to do with me.”
Or maybe you’re someone who is crushed by the brokenness of this world. Struggling financially or suffering from abuse or your body or mind are unhealthy. You feel like an insignificant speck in a world full of success.
If any of that is you, I want to remind you of this truth:
The good shepherd pursues the one lost sheep… even you!
Remember, in the story this shepherd pursues the one lost sheep instead of focusing on the 99. To most people, a 1% loss in the flock is just the cost of doing business. But not to God. To God, that one lost sheep is worth everything. And so are you.
This is why Jesus spent time with sinful and broken people - why he touched lepers and spoke to women and ate with “sinners.” This is why Jesus honored those who had no status in his world. Because he loved them. And he loves you.
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'You Were Made for More' because God created you ON purpose FOR a purpose. This is the vision of Grace Church, led by Pastor Barry Rodriguez and based in Indianapolis, IN.
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