Jesus tells two powerful parables in Luke 15 about a lost sheep and a lost coin that reveal God's passionate pursuit of every person. When religious leaders criticized Jesus for spending time with sinners, He responded by showing that God urgently seeks the lost with the same intensity as a shepherd searching for one missing sheep or a woman hunting for a precious coin. The heart of God is filled with love-driven urgency for every person because we are made in His image and have infinite worth. Our lack of evangelistic passion often stems not from logical concerns but from insufficient love for others. God eagerly waits to receive sinners and celebrates every salvation with heavenly joy.

 

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' Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear him. But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So Jesus told them this parable: “Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it? Then when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, telling them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’ I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent. “Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it? Then when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”'

 

Luke 15:1-10

 

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I.              Burden is based on love (15:4; 8)

a.             Value changes urgency

b.             We must love people like Jesus loved us

 

II.             Burdened searches are not in vain (15:5-6; 9)

a.             God rewards those who join Him in the search

b.             If you never share God’s burden, you won’t share His joy

 

III.            Burden breaks into a banquet (15:7; 10)

a.             Heaven parties when the lost come home

b.             Who will be in heaven one day because of you?

 

Burdened for the One

1.             Ask Jesus to give you His heart for the lost

2.             Urgently seek the lost

3.             Celebrate when the lost are found!

 

Renew your burden for lost souls and join in God’s plan to save them!