Gerry van der Wende: A Heart for the Hopeless – there is no hope without Jesus

A Heart for the Hopeless – there is no hope without Jesus

February 23, 2014

Luke 15:4-7

INTRODUCTION

A sheep wandered away from the flock
It had no concept of the danger it was in.
It meandered down the narrow, almost invisible path that sheep make as they find their way across the field, down to the river
It was quiet here, there was shade from the sun, there was water and green grass
It lay down in the grass, slowly chewing its cud. Then its tormentor arrived
A fly kept buzzing around. The sheep shook its head, time and again, till the fly settled on its ear
The sheep could not scratch its ear, so it rolled on its side, trying to get rid of the pesky parasite
It its attempts to get rid of the fly, the sheep rolled over, onto its back
Horror of horrors!
Suddenly the sheep could not right itself
Sheep have a broad, flat back, and they are unable to rescue themselves from this position
The sheep started bleating for help
But it had wandered away from the flock and its shepherd
They couldn't hear the sheep!
As the sheep struggled, it grew gradually weaker and weaker
Its situation was hopeless. Death was only a matter of time.
Today we are going to talk about the rescue of this lost sheep

Reading

What is a lost sheep?

This sheep was lost, not in the sense that it did not know where it was, but in the sense that its situation was hopeless
This sheep had a place where it belonged
It had a flock to which it was attached, it had a shepherd who took care of it
It had food and shelter, everything that it needed
When it left its home and wandered away from the shepherd, suddenly it discovered life could be dangerous, when it was on its own
A sheep could die out there!
People are a lot like sheep
People start off all innocent and childlike
Just like Adam and Eve
God created them, gave them a protected environment
He took care of them and they had all that they could want
But then they wandered away from God
They went ahead and did their own thing
They discovered that the forbidden fruit looked good, tasted great, and it was totally desireable
Having wandered away from God, though, they were now fair game for the enemy
The enemy tricked them, and they rebelled against God
When they rebelled against God, they lost his protection and provision.
It was at this moment, that life became hopeless
There was no hope.
All they could now look forward to, was death
Just like our sheep.

What does that death look like?

This morning I was asking God about the sermon.
About the lost sheep
Here is what I wrote in my journal:
“My thoughts are not your thoughts. I look at things differently than you (Isa 55:8).
“In my presence there is fullness of joy evermore (Psa 16:1).
But for the lost there is only darkness and torment (Jude 1:13, Matt 8:12, 22:13), because they do not want me in their lives (John 3:19), they do not want to walk with me
“Many have said Yes, Yes, but do not do the things that I say (Matt 7:21-23, Luke 6:46-49)
“Their place will be outside the Kingdom, in darkness and pain
“But for those who do choose to walk with me, who have my heart and think like me, there will be joy and fulfillment for ever more.”
Time and time again in the Old Testament, God calls to his people, come back to me, why would you suffer, why don't you change your ways and repent
Jer 35:15
This is God's heart
God is seeking the lost sheep
God's heart is totally motivated by love, he IS love (1 John 4:16)
He has no pleasure in the destruction of the wicked (Ezek 33:11)
He has sent us into the harvest as his workers
Our task is to bring in those who have been sold for destruction, and offer them life instead
We are God's instruments in reaching our world
The mission field starts right outside our front door
2 Cor 5:17-20
God has called us to be his agents in rescuing the lost sheep and bringing them home

CONCLUSION

In the coming weeks we will be exploring and getting fired up for the task God has called us to
We have been called to reach our friends, family and neighbors with the good news that life is not without hope, that no matter where we have been, or what we have done, God has not given up on us
He has called us to bring the lost sheep of Susanville, into the fold, into a saving relationship with Jesus
Let's have God's heart for those without hope

Gerry van der Wende