"The Lost Sheep"

John 1:1-10

St. Luke 15 

The Ninety and Nine

Zedekiah was a teenage sheep. He was about 3/4 grown. However, he was almost as strong as his father. His strength enabled him to climb as high as the adult sheep and his size allowed him to squeeze into places the adults couldn't go.

It was a hot Autumn day when Zedikiah was climbing as high as he could to find a cool breeze. As he rounded a boulder he saw a thicket which had already shed its leaves, and in it was a luxious patch of grass. He slipped over to the grass and began to eat. It was strong, and tasty. He hadn't had such a feast in weeks. The outer edge was soon consumed. He stuck his head into the thicket and picked a nice morsel here, and another there. Finally he pushed himself deeper and deeper. It seemed that the farther he went the better the grass. He was caught!  His wool had been penetrated by a limb with briars on it. He tried to turn around and go the way he had come into the bush; but it was impossible. He was stuck.

As the day wore on he couldn't hear his family any more. The sun was beginning to go down. He heard the shepherd's call, but could not respond. There he was alone, hung and easy prey for a mountain lion, or any other animal that needed a good meal.

There were ninty and nine that safely lay
in the shelter of the fold;
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.

Away on the mountains wild and bare,
Away from the tender Shepherd's care,
Away from the tender Shepherd's care.
The text of the morning calls our attention to several important facts.

Points in text:

1. Lost sheep had at one time been in the fold

2. This shepherd was given to absurbty.

Left Ninty-ninty sheep to the whelms of whatever to look for one lost maverick. In the story Jesus was making a point of how special each person is to God.

The shepherd was responsible for the sheep. The sheep provided food, clothing, a money crop for cash, and represented the family wealth. They were not pets. They were the very existence of the owners. They had to be protected at all costs. Jesus reminded those who came to hear him preach that a good shepherd would lay down his life for his sheep. If one was lost it was a difficult choice. What would you do under these circumstances?

If you had to choose between being blind and loosing your hearing ... which one would you give up? This is a similar question.  You would lose either way.  

There are some things in life which are so important that to lose any part  would be almost disastrous.

A family of children ... which one would you give up?

Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?"
But the Shepherd made answer:
"This of mine has wandered away from me,
and Altho' the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find my sheep,
I go to the desert to find my sheep.

The wooly sheep would wonder off from the group to get a tasty morsel of grass. Sometimes the grass would be growing in a thicket. The sheep would push its way into the thicket to get the grass only to find it was stuck and couldn't get out. Unless the shepherd found the sheep it would stay there until a predator came to kill and eat it, or until it starved and thirsted to death. Going after the best it got stuck, and its life hung in the balance.
We all  like sheep have gone astray?
Sometimes we wonder if we can ever get back. We try and we try but the best we can do leaves us short.
Tournier, p.110

Modern Western Society is dominated and governed by noise, newspapers, radio, and speed,so that people have lost the sense of inner meditation, of mature reflection, and thoughtful action. But all of this feverish activity is also a form of flight, by means of which men are trying to cover up the unease in their hearts, their spiritual emptiness, their defeats, and their rebellion.
People get lost from God, and reality at the same time.
Tournier, The healing of Persons; p.95

1. Places to where we escape

a. flight into the past ...Many people have their eyes turned constantly backward. They relive their God Age. In this way they try to escape the problems of the present.

PREACHERS WHO LIVE IN THE DREAM WORLD OF PAST APPOINTMENTS.

SPOUSES WHO REMEMBER THE OTHER SPOUSE, OR FRIEND.

THE JOB IN THE PAST, HOUSE IN THE PAST, CAR IN THE PAST.

b. There is flight into the future. Constantly making plans which they will never complete. A flight of ideas.

THESE INDIVIDUALS SOMETIMES LIVE IN A DREAM WORLD.

MY NEXT TRIP. THE NEXT PROJECT ON THE HOUSE.

MY NEXT SPOUSE, JOB, OR HOUSE.

c. Living with God means living the present hour which he gives us, puting our whole heart into what he expects of us in that hour, and leaving the past and future to him.

ADD TO THESE:

2. There are those who are lost in illegal living.

3. Those lost in the land of drugs

4. Those lost in feverish activity.

5. People who once experienced God and life, and themselves now on the run.

IE.:  The T.V. movie "Fugitive" ...falsely accused of murder. Running for his life, and at the same time trying to find the person who committed the crime. Everything was up to him. He had to survive by his own wits. He was always one step ahead of prison and even death.

This lesson of today reminds us that WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES lost; God is looking for us and will ultimately find us.

God will eventually catch us all! Most fugitives fear their unacceptability.

Once lost; always lost.

Once a criminal, always a criminal.

Once an Alcholic, always an alcholic.

Once a liar, always a liar.

We humans feel that once we have broken over to admitted wrong then we are lost forever. However, it is only when we admit we are out of the fold that Christ can catch us and bring us back into the fold.

" THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HAND"

'TWAS BATTERED AND SCARRED, AND THE AUCTIONEER
THOUGHT IT SCARCELY WORTH HIS WHILE
TO WASTE MUCH TIME ON THE OLD VIOLIN,
BUT HELD IT UP WITH A SMILE.

"WHAT AM I BIDDEN, GOOD FOLKS," HE CRIED,
"WHO'LL START THE BIDDIN' FOR ME?
A DOLLAR, A DOLLAR" ... "TWO!"... "ONLY TWO?
THREE DOLLARS, ... YES THREE, ...GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE;
GOING FOR THREE --"

FROM FAR BACK IN THE ROOM CAME A GRAY-HAIRED MAN
STEPPED FORWARD AND PICKED UP THE BOW; THEN,
WIPING THE DUST FROM THE OLD VIOLIN,
AND TIGHTENING UP THE STRINGS,

HE PLAYED A MELODY SWEET and LOW
AS SWEET AS A CAROLING ANGEL SINGS.
THE MUSIC CEASED, AND OLE AUCTIONEER,
WITH A VOICE THAT WAS QUIET AND LOW,

SAID, "WHAT AM I BIDDEN FOR THE OLD VIOLIN?"
AND HE HELD IT UP WITH THE BOW.
"THOUSAND DOLLARS, AND WHO'LL MAKE IT TWO?
THREE THOUSAND YES THREE ,GOING ONCE; GOING TWICE;
AND GOING, SOLD FOR THREE

THE PEOPLE CHEERED, BUT SOME OF THEM CRIED,
OTHERS WE DO NO QUITE UNDERSTAND.
WHAT CHANGED ITS WORTH?" SWIFT CAME THE REPLY:
"THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HAND."

AND MANY A MAN WITH LIFE OUT OF TUNE,
AND BATTERED AND SCARRED WITH SIN,
IS AUCTIONED CHEAP TO THE THOUGHTLESS CROWD,
MUCH LIKE THE OLD VIOLIN.

A "MESS OF POTTAGE," A GLASS OF WINE:
A GAME --AND HE TRAVELS ON.
HE'S GOING ONCE, AND GOING TWICE.
HE'S GOING AND ALMOST GONE.

BUT THE MASTER COMES, AND THE FOOLISH CROWD
NEVER CAN QUITE UNDERSTAND
THE WORTH OF A SOUL, AND THE CHANGE THAT'S WROUGHT
BY THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HAND.  Myra Brooks Welch

But all thro' the mountains, thunder 'n,
and up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of heaven,
"Rejoice", I have found my sheep!"

And the angels echoed around the throne,
"Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!
Now we are all home!  Thanks be to God.
Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own.."

To all of us the good Shepherd comes. It is his will to bring us into the fold of reality living.