Matthew 9, The Lost Sheep

I’m in the Airport, and you can tell who is lost. We all know the lost look. That blank stare that is trying to figure out which flight is mine. The child who looks up and realizes they have wandered away while playing. It doesn’t matter if it was your own wrong decision or the playful joy of life; they led you into strange and unfamiliar territory. Being lost is not fun.

I was sitting the airport as I wrote this lesson and read my Bible. Being lost is not fun.

I still remember getting separated from mom in the grocery store as a child. I wandered down the aisleways looking for my mom, something familiar. I found a kind woman who helped me be still and wait until mom found me. I honestly don’t think mom wondered away, it was me, but my mother knew how to find me. How did it feel good when I could see her come around the corner. That must be how they felt in Galilee when Jesus came down to the lake.

Jesus Arrival Brough Hope and Life

In Matthew 9 it says, “36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.'” Jesus saw that lost and stressful look on the face of all the people. He had compassion, and it says his ministry was marked by teaching, preaching, and healing. “Teaching” is a new way of living and thinking about life. “Preaching” was about a new kingdom and God’s love. Finally, healing was the cure for sin and the broken effects of this world. Ask Jesus to lead you home and heal you. Pray aloud those words.

There is a reward for finding lost things and finding them is just rewarding.

Lost but not aware

Years ago, I remembered going to my grandparents on my won. I was driving there, before GPS, using a map and I misread the sign. It was an hour before I realized I was on the wrong path. If truth be told, we know lots of lost of people that are on the wrong road and they don’t know it. You can’t convince them of that truth. “I know where I’m going, and I’m right where I want to be.” If you ask them, they would tell you they are happy. Most of the world is very content on the path they have chosen. I thank God that I discovered I was going the wrong way. It took me a short time to get back on the right path. I pray for my friends that are headed the wrong way, but they are unaware. I also pray that God will help me recognize if I have gotten lost but don’t realize it. That is why I read my Bible every day. I believe the map and the holy spirit will lead me to my destiny.

Search Party Principles

Finding the lost is part of the healing process.

It is normal in our world to gather search parties when we know someone is lost. We believe as a culture now that lost people matter. Earlier, generations thought that was your rotten luck, the survival of the fittest. Christianity has impacted or learning for good. We believe that the lost should be brought home. We now send out search parties, form lines, and grids to search for lost people. Jesus sent out the 12 on the first search for the spiritually lost rescue. We also learn here for the first time how much fun it can be. That is why people volunteer for search and rescue, it is rewarding to be a part. That is why I love the church, we are continually looking for lost people.

A father’s love is powerful when rescuing a lost child.

Psalm 85 teaches us that God has always been into search efforts and saving people. Psalm 85:4 Restore us again, God our Savior. He is the “salvation that is near.” Verse eight speaks of listening for the lord. When you figure out, you are lost, you will watch and look for a savior. I like to sit quietly with my Bible because that is where I hear my savior. Sometimes he shows me other lost people to gather around me for a grander rescue mission. It is fun being found! Lost is not fun.