Happy Easter! It is a glorious day because Jesus is risen and alive indeed! He is our Lord and salvation – the King of Kings!

 

Today we were blessed by two special guests: Pedro Eustache and John Ramsey. Pedro Eustache is from Venezuela and shared his wonderful gift of music with us. He plays over a hundred different instruments and his music is found in movies such as The Passion of the Christ and King Kong. His music is his ministry and he plays to glorify God. Our second guest, John Ramsey, is the father of Jon Bonet Ramsey who was taken from her home in the middle of the night and was later found murdered. Though many of us were aware of the tragedy of Jon Bonet, Mr. Ramsey also shared about the earlier death of his eldest daughter. The lost of two daughters would be almost too much for anyone but Mr. Ramsey touched us with his testimony as he described how the grace of God got him through, not only the loss of his two daughters but also the wrongful accusations, media frenzy and years of public scrutiny. Both Pedro Eustache and John Ramsey share their testimonies to encourage others and glorify God.

 

                                                      Lost  and  Found

 

Have you ever lost something or been lost? Luckily, misplaced items are often placed in “lost and found” boxes and later returned or recovered by their owners. That’s great for objects but what about when we’re lost? All of us end up in the lost and found box sometimes.  In life, we’ll go through seasons where we’ll find ourselves without any direction – maybe it’s a marriage on hold or a future which isn’t so bright. Sometimes we can even be the lost and not realize it until it’s too late!

 

Well, Easter is a story of the lost and found and Luke 15 talks about three different things that are lost and what God has to say about them.  Each of them represents a type of person and each of them has an appointment with God.  The first lost item we hear about is the lost sheep.

 

 

1.     Parable of the Lost Sheep

 

“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? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have fond my lost sheep.’ 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.”  (Luke 15:4-7)

 

Sometimes, God compares us to sheep. “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way” (Isaiah 53:6).  If you read anything about sheep, you’ll find that they’re not so smart. They also have poor eyesight and don’t walk well either – instead, they boing! Additionally, they have no sense of direction and will follow just about anything. In fact, their sense of direction is so poor that when they are lost, they need to be found.

 

It’s not coincidence that God compares us to sheep because when we’re lost, we also need the Shepherd to find us.  You may feel that you’ve drifted away (or maybe even turned away) from the Shepherd and you cannot find your way back. Jonah was an example of this. God told Jonah to go to the great city of Ninevah but Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish.  It wasn’t until Jonah found himself in a whale’s belly in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, that he figures out what he needs to do. Jonah finally repents and the whale burps Jonah out where God instructed him to go…and Jonah’s life and future are restored.

 

When we are lost and without direction, what should we do? The good news is, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6).

 

Listen, there’s one thing worse than being lost and that’s staying lost and refusing to be found. When we are lost sheep, the Bible calls us to repentance. Repentance is seeing that you’re going the wrong way and turning and going the other way. It’s making a U-turn.  

“Repent then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you – even Jesus” (Acts 3:19-20).

 

A person who repents brings joy to the Father. In the parable of the lost sheep, the shepherd leaves the rest of the sheep to look for the one lost sheep and he rejoices when it is found. If you identify your life with this lost sheep, then you have an appointment with God because the Lord loves you dearly and He wants you to know where you are going.  If you cannot identify with the lost sheep, maybe you are more like the lost coin.

 

 

2.     Parable of the Lost Coin

 

“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? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)

 

In the olden days, coins were minted with the images of kings on them. A coin’s value was determined by its weight in gold; however, over time through wear and tear, the images often wore down. If a coin’s image was worn, it was often weighed by the receiver because the worn image was an indication that some of the coin’s gold was gone; and therefore, the coin was worth-less than its original value.

 

As for us, we have God’s image minted on each of us. Just like a lost or worn out coin, there will be times in life when we won’t feel valuable anymore. It could be because of abuse, molestation, betrayal or neglect. Events or circumstances cause us to feel worthless. When that happens, it’s like the image of God on us (on our lives) has worn thin and you don’t feel worthwhile anymore, but rather worth-less.

 

We should be aware that one of the enemy’s tactics is to keep us feeling worthless because we will disqualify ourselves. “He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints....” (Dan. 7:25). However, for those who feel worth-less like the lost coin, this parable is tells us that the Lord is here to find you. He will sweep the house to find and restore you. Here we’ve identified another type of person who has an appointment with God – someone who can identify with the lost coin and feels worthless.

 

The kicker of these two stories is this…who would leave ninety-nine sheep to go look for just one? Or who would call his neighbor and tell him to come celebrate because he’s found his lost coin? When you think about it, this sounds strange. I don’t know very many people (if anybody) who would do this. So what was Jesus’ point?

 

Well you and I may not have been willing to leave 99 sheep to just look for one, or call our friends over to celebrate because we found one coin, but the point is…the Lord would! Why? Because people in the Lord’s lost and found box are not just coins or animals. They are His precious children. God’s love for His children is extraordinary and absolutely amazing! God calls us sheep who have wandered away from Him to repent and us coins whose value has been worn down by this world to come back to Him for re-imaging. Both the lost sheep and lost coin have appointments with God but there’s still one more type of person who has an appointment with God…

 

 

3.     Parable of the Lost Son

 

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 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. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 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! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 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. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called you son.’ 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. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:11-22)

 

This parable tells us about a lost son in conflict. He had squandered all of his inheritance and had no money to care for himself.  He had no right to ask anything more from his father yet his circumstances required him to do something.  Sometimes God uses this sort of conflict in our life to get our attention so if you are in the middle of a conflict, ask, “Why?” The answer would be:  because you have an appointment with God.

 

Remember, sometimes the problem you’re dealing with isn’t the problem. It’s probably something far deeper. Conflict just brings us to a point where our spirit is open and where God can speak to us through the pain.

 

For example, conflicts are like the rumble strips on the side of the highway. When a driver begins to veer off the road, the noise from the rumble strips reminds him to get back on the road. Likewise, God uses conflict like rumble strips in your life to get your attention. You can either curse the noise and complain about it or heed the warning. God put rumble strips in the prodigal son’s life and the conflict began to surface. This is when came to his senses and realized that he had an appointment with God and returned back home.

 

Listen, it doesn’t matter what kind of a background you have or what you’ve done. You can be as dirty as the prodigal son who probably smelled like a piggery but God can transform you if you are willing to receive the salvation He has for you when you receive His son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

 

In all three parables of lost sheep, coin and son, the shepherd, the woman and the father looks for and finds what was lost and then rejoices! Whether you have wandered away from the Shepherd, are feeling worth-less because of the wear of the world, or squandered away your future with poor choices and judgment, Jesus is looking for you.

 

Jesus is our Shepherd and we are His sheep. He has imprinted us with His image and loves us because we are His children. What more could we ask for? His grace is sufficient. Let’s honor Him by keeping our appointment with Him!

 

 

Discussion Topics

 

1.      In this season, do you find yourself lost, worthless or having conflict? Explain.

 

2.      Is there a deeper issue the Lord is revealing to you? Explain.

 

3.      Have you made a U-turn and repented? How are you doing now?

 

4.      Pray for the Holy Spirit’s refreshing.

 

 

Mahalo nui loa to dedicated volunteer writer Doreen Robaino who is using her God-given talent to further the kingdom of God and help the lost find their way back home to Jesus.