Lost Things Week 2

Let's go to Luke chapter 15. Some of you knew we would be in Luke chapter 15, because we are in this series called Lost Things. And it is a series for seekers. Any seekers in 2026 in faith church? Any seekers in 2026? Come on, seeking after the presence of God, seeking after the will of God, and seeking after that which is lost. We said this was going to kind of mark our whole year. And it has. And we're going to finish this year strong. I'm just telling you now, church, we are going to be hyper focused on reaching the lost between now and the end of the year. And we have some markers that we are praying for that we hit as a sign that we are all being mobilized. I mean, we're praying for, you know, for you all to be just released like an army. And it's just going to be an incredible fall. And so we're just going to focus in on that as we kind of get into this series to be seekers. And some of you are great lookers, like when something's lost in your house. Some of you are great lookers. Like we had in all of our kids, we had one or two of our kids that we knew, man, he's a good looker, get him going on trying to find the car keys. And then some you're not such good at looking for the lost thing in the house. Any not good lookers out there? I'm not great at it. I'll be honest with you, man. My wife will tell you that I am not good because I so many times I've gone to her. And I've said, Honey, we're out of whatever you like you fill in the blank. We're out of it. And she'll be like, No, we're not. I'm like, Yeah, we are. It's like, it's not there because I opened up the refrigerator and I glanced okay, like I gave it a good glance. And we don't have any of that anymore. And then she'll walk over to the refrigerator, kind of like, little within a little attitude, just be honest. Okay, she'll just walk over there. And she'll open up the

refrigerator and she'll move the carton of milk and she'll move the butter. And she'll be like, it's right there. And I'm like, Well, yeah, I'm hiding behind. Why do you have to hide stuff in the refrigerator just to prove? And it's happened so much that now pretty much anything I ever say we're out of she just this automatic. No, we're not. I'm like, I'm holding the empty box right here. All right. So so it's aren't that good at finding some lost little item in our house. But listen, church, we have decided that we're all going to be good at finding the lost people in our life like that. That's not a that's not something that we can just settle in and go Yeah, I'm not good at that. Well, let's let's practice and let's pray. And let's get good at it. That's what we are doing. As a church. Somebody say amen if you're with me. And so Luke chapter 15. That's what this is about. We read these opening verses last week and talked about the first story that Jesus tells in this tirade of parables and stories that he is motivated to tell after he after you'll see what happens here in these first couple verses. So verse one, says these tax collectors and the sinners were all gathered around to hear Jesus. And I want you to remember that in just a moment, I'm going to come back to that. These sinners are gathered around to hear Jesus, but the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, this man welcomes sinners, and he eats with them. And then Jesus told him this parable. Actually, Jesus tells him them three parables back to back to back. And we covered the first one last week, we're going to cover the second parable this week. But let's pray, Lord, thank you for your word. And I do pray God that your word would take root. This is more than just a some habit. This is more than just some exercise. We come

to church and we listen to somebody talk. No, we are diving into the life giving transformational word of God so that God you would transform us and that you would use us in a greater way. We just pray that in Jesus name and everybody said, Amen. Amen. Before we get into this parable that we're on this week, what I love about verses one and two of Luke chapter 15 is that it said that these sinners were coming to hear Jesus. Now remember that and mark that because in church culture, and people that study church culture, sometimes people make the mistake and when they're looking at the strategies that churches employ, sometimes people will make the mistake of kind of categorizing churches. And they'll say, well, this church is a Holy Spirit church, and man, they just go after God. And they're just after God's presence. And so they'll say that about a church. And then they'll say, well, this church over here, they're going after unchurched people and lost people. And so they're very mindful of lost people. Now that church over there, not as much mindful for lost people because they're just going after the Holy Ghost. But this church over here, not so much mindful of the Holy Spirit and letting the Holy Spirit move because they don't want to let the Holy Spirit move because they want to make sure that the unchurched people feel welcomed. And here's the problem in sometimes in studying church culture, people think that it's one or the other. And can I tell you that Luke chapter 15, verse one proves that it's not one or the other, because we see the sinners coming to be in the presence of Jesus. So let me tell you what faith church is going to be. Faith church is going to be a church that's that longs for the presence of God and goes after the presence of God.

And at the same time, we're gonna be a church that's going after people that are lost and we're gonna welcome sinners into the presence of God. And man, that is something beautiful when that happens. And so we're gonna do both. We're gonna let this Holy Spirit be the Holy Spirit and do what God wants to do. But we're also gonna be very sensitive to people who are unchurched and do everything we can to help them encounter Jesus. That's why we exist as a church, man, we never forget it. We exist to help people encounter Jesus. Yes, encounter Jesus for the first time for some, but I want you to encounter Jesus today, fresh and new as well. So the first story that Jesus tells in response to the criticism from these religious leaders where they're going, I can't believe he's hanging with sinners. He's like, let me tell you a story. So the first one is about the lost sheep. And we covered that last week. And if you missed last week, go back and hear that message. But the second, he goes right from that story right into the other story. After last week, we were praying, Lord, give us an eye for the lost. This week, I've been praying, God, give me an eye for the lost,

give me the heart of a shepherd. That's kind of how we ended last week on that lost sheep. And then right from there, without any hesitation, Jesus goes to the next story. And it starts in verse eight. He says, or, so he just told the story about the sheep and the hundred and leaving the 99, going, he said, or suppose a woman has 10 silver coins and loses one of them. Doesn't she light a lamp and 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. And in the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over a one sinner who repents. So here's this incredible, again, a second story about a woman now who has 10 coins and loses one. And it kind of says what her methodology is, okay? She realizes that the coin is lost. And so now she's motivated and she has a method to finding that coin. And I think that same motivation and some of that same methodology can help us today as we go, God, what does it look like in my life? I'm doing my normal thing. What does it look like in my life to be a seeker? What does it look like in my life to go after that

which is lost? And so I think the first thing that jumped out to me at her method, I think we can learn some stuff from would be this, it says, Jesus says, doesn't she, when she realizes about the lost coin, doesn't she light a lamp? I mean, isn't that the first thing she's gonna do? She's gonna be intentional about illumination. Like the illumination for her has to be intentional, why? Because her house was a little bit on the darker side. So there would have been, in first century Palestinian, Galilean homes, there wouldn't have been a lot of natural light. I mean, some of you, man, when you're looking for a house, that's all you're like, oh, look at all of this natural light, it's just so incredible. Well, they weren't going for natural light back then. They were actually trying to keep some of those sun from beating down into those homes to keep them a little bit cooler. So there would have been very few windows, if any, and they would have been up higher. And so really, on the floor of the house and down where she was living, there would not have been a lot of light. And so therefore, she had to be intentional. And what does the Bible say she do? She did, she lit a lamp. Now, I'm not as afraid of the dark, okay? But there are times when darkness

can be a little unsettling. And I remember years ago, I did a mission, we led a missions trip to Haiti. And it was an incredible trip. And man, we loved it there. And God just really did some great things. And one of the things about, at that time in Haiti, is they were having some real inconsistent electricity. And so the area we were staying, I think we were outside of Port-au-Prince, and there would be these blackouts. And so they would happen in the evening, multiple times an evening, and you never knew when they were coming. Like, there was without warning, it would just, you'd be doing something, like, whatever, you'd just be doing normal things. And then it would just go full pitch black everywhere. And I'm not talking about like, oh, this is out, but the streetlights are still on. I'm talking about like, everywhere you could see, it would just go to complete darkness. And usually right when that would happen, people would scream and animals would make noises. And it was just a, then I think some of the screams were coming from our group, because they just weren't ready for that. But still, it was kind of alarming. And so I'm just gonna be honest, like, I'm not scared of the dark.

But a couple of those moments, I was like, scared. You know, like, man, this is, come on, lights, come back on. Like, I'm just hoping that they would pop in. And then after a few minutes, they'd pop back on until the next time that it happened. So even if you're not afraid of the dark, sometimes being in darkness can be unsettling. Is that true? Sometimes, can you imagine living in darkness all the time? Can you imagine just, there's never light illuminating your path, ever. And so to live in darkness is uncomfortable and it's unsettling, and yet there are people on this planet right now who live their lives in spiritual darkness every single day. And I promise if you hooked them up to a lie detector and said, listen, there's some parts of this that don't feel right, is that correct? People would have to be honest and say, yes, yeah, they're gonna put on a front, they're gonna act like, oh, I'm not interested in what you have to say sometimes. But I'm telling you, inside their heart of hearts, they know that it is uncomfortable and unsettling to live in spiritual darkness. So what is God's plan for these poor people who are living in spiritual darkness? God's plan for that is you.

I promise it is, it could not be more clear in Scripture. Acts chapter 26, verses 17 and 18, this is Jesus talking, and Jesus said, I am sending you to them, pretty clear, to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan, look at that, to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. There you go, there's God's plan for people who are living in spiritual darkness. Jesus said the similar thing in Matthew chapter five. Look at Matthew chapter five, he said, you, you are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden, neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl, no, instead, they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. You and I were God's plan for people who are living in spiritual darkness, and here's the truth, we have to, like, we have to come to grips with this and let this, like, settle in on our heart. The only way that the light of the gospel gets to shine in the dark corners of this earth is when we are intentional about being light, when we are intentional about illuminating the love and the power of God out of our lives, and that means that we live unashamed. Paul said in Romans, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It's time that we live unashamed

of our commitment to Christ. Come on, you are the light of the world, Jesus said. We're not ashamed of that, that this would be an unavoidable call on our life. Jesus said a city built on a hill cannot be hidden, so just accept that, like, look, you're never gonna hide it anyway, so let's quit covering it up, let's let this be unavoidable, uncovered in our life. He said people don't light a lamp and put it under a bowl. It's what he's saying. You don't get Jesus in your life and then hide underneath some rock somewhere. No, this is an, you uncover the love of God oozing out of your life in every way. It's unmistakable. He said let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your God in heaven. Most of you know that your phone, I guess most of your phones would have probably like some sort of dark mode or some sort of night shift type of mode on it where at night, some of you have it already set, like at a certain time, it goes into that mode, but what's it do? It's blocking blue light, so you're looking at the screen, but it's blocking some of the hues of light

that would make you more alert, make you more awake. It's blocking those, and it's coming in more orange and more yellow, and it's supposed to be the kind of light that instead just kind of lulls you and keeps you in this state of near slumber, and so you can look at your, the idea would be that you can look at your phone. I don't recommend this, but you can look at your phone there in bed, and you can set it down, and you'll just doze right off to sleep because your phone's in night mode, in night shift, and the light that's coming out of it is not enough to really have an effect on you. Sound like anybody you know. There are way too many Christians living their Christian life in some sort of night mode, some sort of shifting down their life. I gotta dial my light back, and what happens when we live that way, dialing our light back, here's what happens. We don't make the impact on people. We have no effect on anybody else simply because we're not living the full bright life that God's called you to lead, and I get it. Some of us are going, Pastor, you don't understand, like my relationship with Jesus,

it's private to me. It's not something for everybody else. Listen, Jesus' relationship with you is not private, okay? Like, no, this is never meant to be some private thing. Well, Pastor, I keep my work life and my church life, my work life and my spiritual life, I have to keep those. No, Jesus is your life. Come on, you cannot eliminate Jesus out of any area of your life. I have to keep, you know, my light dim, and so what I do, pastor, is I just wait for them to ask me. I wait for them to contact me. What I see in this scripture, when Jesus tells these stories of these lost things, and as Jesus talks about us being light, what I see is, is that we have to accept the assignment to be light and be intentional about that. So not only does she light a lamp, but Jesus says also she sweeps the house. She sweeps the house. That's her method to find this lost coin. So the clearing and the cleaning away is crucial to her, and it must be crucial to us. Now, I just want you to know, as a church, we are constantly thinking like that. What can we sweep away? What can we clear? What can we clean?

Any obstacle, any barrier to somebody encountering Jesus, we're constantly thinking like that. So in our church services, and I mean, down to like the locations of our churches, the reason why we do an invite Sunday on August 30th is because we think that that's gonna eliminate yet one more barrier, because you might invite somebody, and they go, well, I don't come to church. And you're like, well, this day, it's gonna be a bunch of people that don't come to church. That's what this day is for. What is that? It's removing yet another obstacle, sweeping away another barrier that might keep somebody. The way we function in our parking lots, that's the idea is to try to have the lost people at every location. I mean, our guest experience team, that's what that's all about. Even, I'll even say this, even our little moment in the service where we go, hey, everybody, run around and greet somebody and talk to somebody, and I know that some of you introverts don't like that part of the service. I know that some of you introverts are sitting there like, please, nobody come to me. I just wanted to go to church. I'm not trying to smile and talk and shake hands.

I know that, but I'm willing to take the risk that some of you maybe don't even enjoy that that much. Why? Because there's gonna be some unchurched person who thinks that they're not welcome in a church, and they come into a church that's filled with people who are going, oh, I am so glad you're here, and somebody who maybe doesn't know Jesus can walk out going, man, I met three people in that church today, and we're supposed to get together for coffee after this week's over. I mean, think about it. Just the things that, all we're doing is eliminating, because sometimes people can come in and have a certain idea of what church people are like. Well, we're gonna sweep that stuff away and do whatever we need to do. Why do we start a Spanish service earlier this year? Because there were people that were coming to our services and listening to a translation in a headset, and we still offer that, and it was effective up to a point. But listen, it was a barrier. So let's remove that language barrier, and let's start a Spanish service for Spanish-speaking people. Again, as a church, we're just trying to, that's why we explain things the way we explain them.

Spiritual things is for that reason. So as a church, we're definitely doing that. Just trying to sweep away any distraction, any debris, sweep away any barrier to someone coming to Jesus. So as an organization, we're trying, but we also have to do that as individuals. Because we could do it all day as an organization, but if we're not doing it as individuals. So what does that look like, and when's the last time you thought about that? Here's the big question. What do I need to sweep out of my life in order for my witness to be greater, in order for me to better find that which is lost around me? What needs to be swept out of my life? Paul, in 2 Corinthians 6, I like how he says it here. He says, we live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and that is, that means that someone can stumble because of you. If Paul's saying, we wanna live in such a way that no one does stumble because of us, that means people can stumble because of me. That means I can be living an inconsistent life, and I may say one thing and do another, and then somebody's going, I don't know if I want the Jesus you're talking about, because the Jesus you're talking about hasn't seemed to have affected your life yet. And so Paul says, no, we're not gonna live in such a way

that will cause someone else to stumble. No, no one will find fault with our ministry. In everything we do, we will show that we are true ministers of God. And what I love about this parable is that this woman actually cleaned and cleared because she was searching, okay? And here's why I point that out. Some of us make the mistake of thinking, Pastor, I will be a seeker. I'll invite people to church. I'll talk to people about the Lord once I get my life a little bit more in order, okay? I gotta get a couple things straightened out. I gotta get a couple more things freed up in my life. I need to get some victory in a couple more areas. And man, look out, I am gonna be so, I'm gonna be on point. It's gonna be awesome. Well, here's the thing. She was living in a bit of a clutter, okay? She had some stuff on the floor. So she's living that way. And then when she starts to look for the lost coin, that's when she decides to clean. What are you saying, pastor? I'm saying that sometimes, if you'll step out and actually start being a seeker, your house might get a little cleaner because of that. Like, you may put yourself out there

and invite somebody to church. And then the next chance you have to like talk bad about some other employee, when they're all start that bashing of so-and-so, you realize I can't jump into that conversation anymore. Why? Because they know I'm a Christian because I invited that person to church and so I can't be bashing that person. When they're all bad-mouthing the boss all of a sudden, you're not jumping into that conversation. No, it'll cause you to live your marriage. You can't invite somebody to church and then your employee, your coworkers know you're running around on your wife. No, those two things are not gonna work together. So you might actually find a cleaner life if you decide to be a seeker. And I'll say it this way. That may be just the accountability that you have been needing all along. And here you are trying to clean yourself up for whatever ministry, and maybe ministry is supposed to be part of what cleans you up. So she gets a cleaner house. She gets a cleaner house because she's a seeker. So this lost coin for her, it caused her to clear out some things. We see it happen a lot. It's kind of a phenomenon around missions trips.

Sometimes when somebody's getting ready to go on a missions trip, dude, they'll clean, they'll clear their heart, their life. They get so hyper-focused on Jesus, so in tune with the Spirit of God. Why? Because I'm going on a missions trip and I'm praying hard and I'm gonna be you. When I step off that plane, there's gonna be such an anointing on my life that every person I talk to is just gonna find, I'm not even gonna have to, I'm gonna look at them in the eye and they're gonna start repenting. I'm gonna be so spiritual when I land in that foreign country on that missions trip. And so we get so clean in our hearts, so pure in our motives because of the mission that is at hand. I love that, do that, but here's the only problem with that. Every day of your life you're on mission, okay? God has sent you into your workplace just like he sent somebody into that foreign country. And so this idea that, well, I'll say that, no, if you decide and realize that you are called every day, you're on mission every day, so live that mindset. Amen, give God praise if you want to. We're gonna. We got one of those weird moments where somebody was trying to start the applause, but then someone else didn't know if we should.

I wanna be here for the ones that started it. No, you're on mission every day, and it matters how you live. So clearing, cleaning, it's crucial. And then the third thing, Jesus goes, doesn't she light a lamp, and wouldn't she sweep the house? And then he goes, doesn't she search carefully until she finds it? Doesn't she search carefully? And the word that gets translated carefully for us in English is a Greek word that really means like, diligence, hands and knees, moving stuff, sweating, like doing whatever I got to do to find this lost coin. So for her, the searching was sacrificial. It's another method that we can take on that this would mean something to us, that we'd be willing to sacrifice some things in order for somebody who's lost to be found. Why was she willing to sacrifice for this lost coin? It's because it was 1 10th of what she had, perhaps, but there are scholars that think that there's a deeper meaning than just that. So for Jewish women at that time, when they would get married, they would get a headband with 10 silver coins in the headband. And so a lot of scholars think that when Jesus tells the story, he's referencing that headband, and one of the coins was missing from that headband. So it's a little bit of a modern day wedding ring.

Some of you women out there, if you lost your wedding ring, can I ask you, there'd be some diligence, right? There'd be some careful searching. There'd be some moving of some things. There'd be some cleaning of some things because not only is there monetary value to that, but there's also sentimental value to that. So, yes, it's worth something monetarily, but it's also worth something in our heart. And I have just described the plight of lostness in the eyes and the heart of God the Father. They still have value, okay? Even if they're lost, they still have value. But not just value in one sense, but value in a sentimental sense to God. It means something to God. And just because of where they are and what they're going through does not make them lose their value to God. Now to church and to religious people, that's a challenge for us, because we start to look at them and go, yeah, but look at how they're living. I mean, should they even be, is that something we should even talk to? Should we even go after someone's living? So we, it loses value for us sometimes. Let me ask you this, if you're ever at a public, let's say this afternoon you're at a public restroom somewhere and you see a coin down in that public toilet, do you go in after it? Let's say it's a nickel, do you go in after the nickel? I'm seeing some very passionate shakes of head no. Well, what if it was a quarter? Come on, do you go after the quarter? What if it's a dollar bill floating in that public toilet? I'm starting to get some of you, I know, like, and there's others of you that are going

like this, but your heart's going, I probably would, but I can't, all right, what if it's a hundred dollar bill floating in that toilet? Public toilet, there's a hundred dollar bill floating. What if you look into that public toilet and it's a rolled up wad of one hundred dollar bills? Yeah, that's what I thought, I'm getting some of you now. Why would you go after that? Because it still has, you know it still has its value. You're going to pull it out, it doesn't matter where it was or what's on it at best, toilet water at worst, let's not even talk about it, but because you know that just because it's gone through something, just because it's not where it's meant to be, it still holds value. And so she searches diligently, willing to sacrifice. And if I can get a little bit of the heart of God in my heart, and if I can start seeing lost people just some of the way that God does, I'll move out of my comfort zone. I will sacrifice my comfort zone, say, God, this is the easiest way for me to live. I'll just stay here and it'll be just me and you, Jesus, but if I value that, I'll step out of my comfort zone, I'll face possible rejection. Pastor, what if they say no? Yeah, they say no, and you'll live through it, like you'll survive it. You might even be a better Christian because of it. So they might say no, there might be a rejection there, but that's the sacrifice I'm willing to make. But Pastor, what if we get into a conversation with somebody and they bring up that one verse in the Bible that nobody understands what it means, and I don't know what it means, and they go, that's why I'm not a Christian, because of this one verse, what am I supposed to say? Here, I'll tell you what to say. You say, I don't know about that. I do know that Jesus is real and that Jesus changed my life, and if you come to my church,

we can probably find somebody who can give you an answer to that question. You can do that. You really can. But Pastor, what if I lose a friend over this, or what if my family member quits talking to me because we're not supposed to talk about religion? You know who started that whole, we're not supposed to talk about religion? The devil. Yeah, he did. It was his thing. He's like, hey, don't talk about religion. And plus, I'm not asking you to talk about religion. I'm asking you to talk about your relationship with Jesus. I'm asking you to have the mindset of God the Father and realize, come on, that there is value in those that are hurt, broken, and lost. And I guess maybe before we pray today that this would kind of, again, become part of our spiritual DNA as a church and as individuals, both, and it has to be both, I'd say the most quoted, referenced verse in the whole Bible, if you had to think of it, what do you think it would be? It's probably John 3, 16. See it up everywhere, and man, we love us some John 3, 16. It's the gospel. It is powerful. For God so loved the world that he sent, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Boy, the simple power of the gospel presented in John chapter 3. But I'm going to ask you to go now to John chapter 20. We're going to turn the few pages. Yes. sent his son. We love that story. And there's such life change because God sent his son. And anything is possible for

somebody who's lost because God sent his son. Let's go to John 20. Now verse 21. And again, Jesus said, Peace be with you. Look at this. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. Oh, we love the results of John 3.16. We love that anything is possible with John 3.16. But maybe you've never thought about this. You're kind of you can really bring some legs and some momentum and some weight to John 3.16. If you'll live John 2021. As a matter of fact, John 2021 was always a part of John 3.16. God sends his son and his son sends you and me like that's what makes John 3.16 so powerful. And so for us, for us just to decide that it's just not my style. So no, I just I don't talk about it. I don't think about it. No, we're, we're not going to just accept the lowest common denominator for our life. No, instead, we're going to say God help me to overcome. God help me to be intentional about the way I shine. The brightness in my life. Lord, let me sweep away. And God's going to speak to some of you today even about just Lord bring conviction. Some Christians that just need to sweep some things away. Clear some things out some, some compromise and hypocrisy that are weakening your witness. No, let's get, let's get this cleaned out. And we're going to pray that we're willing to sacrifice and step out of our comfort zone. And I'm telling you once you do and once you see God use you, man, it's the sacrifice will be so worth it.