Our Foundation - Luke 15 Part 1

How This Ministry Started

If you're wondering how this whole ministry started, it was actually inspired by a parable that most people are familiar with: the parable of the lost sheep. This parable is found in Luke 15.

Luke 15:1–7 Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

It's a parable that most people know, it's about a sheep that was lost. The shepherd went looking for the sheep and eventually found it. And when he found it, he rejoiced.

But there's more to this passage than just one parable. Luke 15 is actually made up of three parables: the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the lost coin, and the parable of the lost son.

You should read the entire chapter. The third parable is also very familiar. It's more popularly known as the parable of the prodigal son, but it carries the same basic theme:

Something was lost, but then it was found.

The sheep was lost and found. The coin was lost and found. The son was lost and found.

LOST AND FOUND

So what is the main point of these three parables?

We are all lost in our sin.

By default, we are separated from God. We are without Christ, without hope, and without God in the world.

Ephesians 2:12 says:

“Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

This is the condition of humanity apart from Christ. Whether we consider ourselves to be good people or bad people, we all have the same fundamental problem: we are separated from God because of sin.

And because we are lost, we need someone to come looking for us.

That is where Jesus comes in.

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. We cannot find our way back to God on our own. We need Jesus.

The conclusion:

We need to embrace Jesus as our SAVIOR.

REPENTANCE

There is another important theme running through these three parables: repentance.

Repentance is not something that comes much later in the process of being found and saved. Repentance is part of our response to God.

We see this clearly in the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus says in verse 7:

“There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents…”

We see the same idea in the parable of the lost coin. In verse 10, Jesus says:

“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

But it is in the parable of the lost son that we get a picture of what genuine repentance looks like.

Beginning in verses 17–18, the son comes to his senses. He recognizes his condition, acknowledges that he has sinned, and decides to return to his father.

That is repentance.

Repentance involves recognizing that we are lost, acknowledging our sin, and turning back toward God.

And this leads to another important truth:

Jesus is not only our SAVIOR; He is also our KING.

If Jesus is our King, then He is the supreme authority over our lives. Following Jesus means more than simply asking Him to save us from our sin. It means surrendering our lives to His authority.

The conclusion:

We need to embrace Jesus as our KING.

SUMMARY

Luke 15 captures one of the central themes of the Bible:

We are lost in our sin, but Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

It doesn't matter whether someone is a “big-time sinner” or a “small-time sinner.” We have all sinned, and sin separates us from God.

But the good news is that Jesus came looking for the lost.

The sheep was lost, but the shepherd went after it.

The coin was lost, but it was diligently searched for.

The son was lost, but the father welcomed him home.

And that is the heart of this ministry.

We are lost without Jesus. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Our response is to embrace Jesus as our SAVIOR and surrender to Him as our KING. :::