Heads or Tails?
The Way of the Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 6 viewsJesus came to seek and save the lost.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
How many here have ever lost something?
That should be everyone in the room, that was just a test to see how many would participate.
How many of you have lost something within this last week?
You have lost something and looked and looked for it but can't seem to find it.
We have an Apple TV at home to stream our movies and spots and it never fails that several times a year we will lose the remote. I mean losing the remote is already an issue but this remote is really small, so it is easily lost. There was a time where we lost the remote and couldn't find it for several weeks. Thankfully, Apple must have thought about their small remote design because anyone with an Apple TV and an iPhone can use their phone as the remote.
I think sometimes in today's society we use the term lost too loosely. When we are on a road trip or don’t know where we are going we say we are lost.
(Share about Kaleb being dramatic about being “lost”)
When we don’t know where we are at in life, we say that we are lost.
When there is something we don’t understand we say that we are lost.
So that begs the question, what does lost mean?
The dictionary definition of lost is: unable to find one's way or not knowing one's whereabouts.
That is definition number one. And one thing I discovered is that this definition is somewhat in line with scripture.
Something we need to understand is that when the Bible speaks of being lost it is speaking to the reality of separation from God.
That's what I would like to speak to you about this morning.
Sermon
Luke 15 has a theme of lost and found.
Background to Luke 15
In Luke 15 we read that Jesus is responding to the Pharisees and scribes. They were complaining because “all the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to him.” They said, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So, Jesus responds to their grumbling with 3 parables.
The first is the parable of the lost sheep, the second is the parable of the lost coin, and the third is the parable of the lost son.
This morning I would like to focus specifically on the second of the three parables. If you have your Bibles I invite you to turn or tap to Luke 15:8-10
It says:
Luke 15:8–10 CSB “Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
Let's take a look at Luke 15:8
“Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
Something to note is that in those days the homes were very dark. They didn't have big extravagant windows that we would have today to let light in. Their windows would be just big enough for maybe some light but the primary reason for the windows was air flow, so they would have been relatively small.
This is why the woman must light a lamp to see.
Also the floor would have been a dirt floor, so sweeping would have been necessary to try and find the coin.
So this gives us some insight into some of the wording Jesus is using.
The first question that comes to mind here is who does the woman represent?
We understand that the parables Jesus told were not literal people but rather representative characters to help reveal a greater truth.
Who is the woman?
The woman is a representation of the church in which the Holy Spirit dwells and works through.
Ephesians 5 expresses that the Church is the Bride of Christ.
One commentator leans into the idea of the woman as the bride of Christ. He suggests that “to understand the value of the coin it must be understood that in Hebrew households of the time, when a woman was first married, she would string ten coins together and wear them across her forehead as a public announcement of her marriage.Losing one coin would be similar to losing the diamond out of one’s wedding ring—a loss not only because of the monetary value, but because of the sentimental value.”
This would explain why the woman looked carefully for the coin until she found it. Another reason could simply be the value of the coin.
First, the monetary value of the coin here is about a day's wage which would be around $20 today. So if you lose $20 in your home, chances are you are going to look for it.
So from these explanations it's clear that this lost coin had significant value. Monetary and personal covental value.
The coin meant a lot to this woman, in fact you could say that it was a part of her very identity as a married woman. Which is why we read that she will light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until it is found.
There are 2 aspects of the coin that I would like to focus on this morning. A coin has 2 sides.
The coin as a representation of lost identity.
The coin as a representation for the state of the soul (yours or someone you know.)
Let's focus on the first aspect of the coin for a minute.
Some of you walked in here this morning missing something. Some of you came in here missing that proverbial coin, a vital piece of who you are.
Some of you walked in here this morning questioning things about yourself or your past life.
And because of that you are questioning your very identity.
Just like the lost coin was a part of the woman's identity as a married woman, you have come in this morning with some sense of who you are that is gone.
Let's remember that the woman is a representation of us, the church.
1 Corinthians 12 tells us that “if one member suffers, then all the members suffer with it; and if one member is honored all the members rejoice with it.”
This is speaking to the community aspect of how the Church is to operate.
WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER.
If someone in our body has lost that proverbial coin, and they are questioning their worth and identity then what are we to do?
Light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until the coin is found.
Scripture is often referred to as a lamp.
Psalm 119:105 “Your Word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.”
If you are here this morning and you are wondering about who you are and whose you are, if you are like the woman in the parable and you seem to be missing a vital part of your being, may I suggest something?
This book we call the Bible is God’s direct revelation for us.
If there is anything that is going to tell you where your identity is or should be, it's this book.
John 1:11-13 says “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.”
Scripture is very clear on where our identity is and should be.
In light of that, if this is you this morning I would like for you to consider these questions: “What is preventing me from recognizing my identity in Christ?”
What circumstances or situations has life brought me to where I lost my “coin.”
“Despite my circumstances, how can I be diligent in my pursuit of who God has called me to be?”
Despite the fact that life happens, how can I be diligent like the woman in the parable, and search carefully until my coin is found.
Now let's look at the second side of this coin.
The coin as a representation for the state of the soul (yours or someone you know.)
There are some of you here this morning that are new to this whole church thing.
There may be some here or watching online that are here for the first time.
Maybe you're here, you were raised in the Church, had Christian parents, went to Church and so on. But that is the extent of your walk.
And because you have not yet bent the knee to Christ you are lost.
Maybe you are here and you are walking with Christ. Wherever you are this morning I believe that we can all learn something from this.
But I want you to notice something about the coin in relation to the other 2 parables in this chapter.
The sheep wondered
Maybe not intentionally, but the sheep saw something that caught its eye and it wandered from the flock.
The Shepard then had to go out, leaving the 99 other sheep to find the one that wandered and carry it back.
The prodigal son ran.
The son ran from his father to live life on his terms.
The father did not pursue the son the way the Shepard pursued the lost sheep. That's because the son made an intentional decision to leave the life that he knew and live on his own. But the father waited for his return and once he saw him peek over the horizon that father ran to welcome his son home.
Here in the parable of the lost coin, the coin did not wander or run. It can't it's an inanimate object.
The coin was lost because of someone else's neglect.
This neglect is not intentional at all, but in the business of life, in the everyday routines that coin is lost.
How often do we go about our days, go through the routine in life and not once think of that lost coin?
Not once do we think about that person who does not know Christ and so that person is lying in the dirt lost.
I would be willing to bet that we all know someone who is in the same state as this lost coin.
They don't know that they are lost. The sheep and the son in the other 2 parables knew that they were lost.
The sheep knew that it wandered from the flock.
The son knew what he was doing when it took his inheritance and ran.
But the coin is just a coin laying on the ground waiting to be found.
There is something that I want you to notice about this coin in both situations.
In the situation of a lost identity and in the situation of a lost soul.
The coin has value. And just because it's lost doesn't mean that the value is lost.
In fact scripture takes the opposite approach that BECAUSE the coin is valuable it is searched for.
God uses his church to seek those that are lost through the exposition of his Word and carefully searching and sweeping.
You see, you may have to be patient in your pursuit and you may have to sweep up dirt and get down into some places that you may not be the most comfortable in but it is worth it because God values those that are lost.
In the creation account we read that God calls his creation good, but it isn't until the creation of humankind that God says it is VERY GOOD.
And that's why I love the next part.
When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
The woman in the parable is so happy that she finds her coin that she throws a huge party.
I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”
We may have these 9 coins here that are established in their value but the joy here is in the 1 coin that is found.
This thing that we call church is good. What we do here week in and week out is honoring God. We are the 9 coins.
There is significant value in that and yet, God rejoices over the 1 coin that is found.
Though what we do is valuable and honoring to God, he rejoices over the 1 person that may be here and does not know him!
The word repent in the Greek means to change one's mind. To think differently.
I would argue that this is the same in both situations. If you are here and you dont know God, he is calling you to repent.
If you are here and you came in missing that piece of identity not knowing who you are and whose you are, God is calling you to repent.
To change your mind. To think differently.
Remember we said that even though the coin is lost it has value.
But interestingly enough, it's not until that coin is found and placed in the hands of its owner that the value is cashed in. That the value becomes tangible.
You can only spend the 20 dollars you lost when you have found it.
God knows your potential, he created you for something greater than you could ever ask or imagine.
You do have value because you are one of his image bearers, but it isn't until you transition from the dirt floor of being lost into the light of being found that your value can be used for his kingdom.
Closing/HAVE WORSHIP TEAM COME UP
Broken world.
Church, we live in a world that is so broken and hurting and lost. It is in desperate need of a savior.
Humanity needs to know why they were created and who they were created for.
And that's something that they will only know if we light the lamp that is God’s word, search carefully, be patient, and get in the mess of things.
The more tragic news stories I see, the more urgent the gospel becomes.
Look, if you are here this morning and you have never truly accepted Christ and you're lost, please know that there is a God who loves you deeply. A God who loves you enough to step down from heaven and pay the price that you could not pay.
“But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath.” Romans 5:8–9.
This boggles my mind that while we were sinners. While we were living doing our own thing Christ died for us. Knowing that there would be some, many in fact that would reject that love.
But when you choose to turn from your ways and seek his, when you repent, change your mind there is joy and celebration.
A few questions to consider as we close; what side of the coin are you?
Have you lost a sense of who you are and whose you are?
Have you allowed circumstances and situations to dictate your value?
I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21
Galaitians 2:20–21.
If this is you this morning let me encourage you that your value and your identity rests solely in Christ alone.
Or are you like the coin that is lost on the ground?
If you are, the light of God's Word is shining on you right now, how will you respond?
The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9.
Or are you here this morning in the place of the woman? You are a part of the church!
Chances are we all know someone that is in desperate need of God's saving grace. How will you allow God to use you and mold you so that you can reach them?
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is good, and it pleases God our Savior, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1–4.
As we sing this song, this is your opportunity to respond to the Holy Spirit. No matter what side of the coin you find yourself on.
If you came in with an identity crisis, you are His and he loves you.
If you came in lost in need of a savior, Christ is that savior who died for you.
If you are here and know someone that needs God, he is not willing that anyone should perish. Be patient and diligent.
Let's sing this song.