Luke 15:1-7 [1] Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. [2] And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” [3] So He spoke this parable to them, saying: [4] “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? [5] And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. [6] And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ [7] I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
In Luke 19, Jesus said that He came to save that which was lost. My question for us today is this, "Do we have that same desire, and are we living with the intentionality needed to seek out those who are lost, and need to hear the Gospel message?" What do we seek each day as we live out our lives here on earth? Are we walking with Jesus with such intimacy that His desire that none should perish has become our desire? Sadly, I can truly attest to the fact that we, as born again followers of Jesus, have fallen way too short of letting the Lord develop that desire in our hearts. We want God to fulfill the desires of our heart, but we do not want to delight ourselves in Him. The result is that we want our desires to become His desires for us, and fulfill our selfish wants. We want God to fulfill our misguided desires for prosperity, an easy life, and worldly success. These desires, in part, have been ignited in us because of some of the false teachers we have chosen to follow and listen to. However, deep down inside, the real reason is that we have neglected our prayer time, our time in God's Word, and have failed to let God transform our desires so that they line up with His. I believe that we will come to the tragic realization, when we finally stand before the Lord, that we passed up many opportunities to share Christ with others and lead them to Him; because we were to busy chasing after our own selfish desires and the things of this world. My dear fellow brothers and sisters, let us stop today and re-evaluate why we rise each day to a new day and opportunity. Let us start each day asking the Lord to bring those people to us that He is convicting and drawing near to Christ, and give us the wisdom and sensitivity, in the Spirit, to recognize those opportunities. Then, let us be like the one in Jesus' parable who left the ninety nine to find that one lost sheep. The fact of the matter is that if we cannot find at least one in our lifetimes, it's not because God didn't bring them to us. It's more likely because we didn't care enough to be intentional in trying to find one. That, my friends, is a tragedy for both us and them.
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on the Name of Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive His free gift of salvation (Romans 10:13).
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