Rediscovering Joy: The Value of the Lost

Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost. Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. [00:39:45] (19 seconds)


And then once we find what we're looking for, I mean, that's followed by celebration and joy and excitement. And so during Advent, we are walking this journey remembering the arrival of a king who came to rescue what was lost. And then we are anticipating the second coming of that king so he will make all things new, and his arrival should and does bring us joy. [00:43:52] (32 seconds)


But yet, the response of the tax collectors and the sinners was to draw near. To move closer. Closer to Jesus. And so before we even dive into these two stories, I want to ask you the question, which one are you going to be today? Who will you be today? Are you going to be like the religious leaders and the experts in the law where you think for some reason that you don't need Jesus? [00:49:53] (25 seconds)


We approach life in such a way where we think that we just have to outweigh the bad stuff that we do by the good stuff that we do in order to earn God's favor, and that's not the gospel. There's no amount of good work that you or I can do that will balance the scales of our sin. [00:52:32] (22 seconds)


We can't do it on our own. We can't balance our own scales, but here's the beauty of this. Even though all humans are lost, this is a major part of Jesus's parable is that the lost are infinitely valuable. All those that are lost are infinitely valuable. [00:56:22] (24 seconds)


A shepherd cares for his sheep. A shepherd tends his sheep. A shepherd loves his sheep. And he will do whatever is necessary to save his sheep. In this analogy, Jesus is talking about himself, and he's trying to get all of the people around him, the sinners that are drawing near, and the Pharisees that are grumbling, to understand that the shepherd loves his sheep. [00:58:36] (30 seconds)


And so when the lost sheep, who is experiencing this horrific moment of being lost in the midst of the wilderness, sees the shepherd and enters the presence of the shepherd, what do they do? They draw near to the shepherd. And what does the shepherd do? The shepherd picks up that sheep and places them on his shoulders, where the sheep are. The sheep's head would hang close down by the shepherd's heart. [01:00:16] (26 seconds)


The search flowed from value. Because you are infinitely valuable to God. So who is this seeker? Well, he is the one that will never stop searching. And this is the good news of the gospel. He is the one who in verse 4, it says he goes after the one that is lost until what? He finds it. [01:06:21] (28 seconds)


The wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the prince of peace, the everlasting father, who came for you. And the proof that you have value flows from the manger all the way to the cross and beyond. To when he rose again, defeating death, hell, and the grave so that you may have life and have it abundantly. [01:07:32] (25 seconds)


The joy in repentance. What does this look like? Well, there is an admission of our guilt. An admission that we can't balance the scales. An admission that we are lost. And an admission that we need a savior. It's joy in repentance. It's surrendering our ability to earn any kind of favor because we can't. [01:08:29] (23 seconds)


Worship is not just songs that we sing. That's part of it. Worship is our life. That we grow in relationship with God. If you don't have a personal, intimate, interactive relationship with Jesus. Then I want you to know that that's something that you really need to consider. Because this isn't a get out of hell free card. [01:10:38] (22 seconds)