A HEART FOR THE LOST
Matthew 18:12-14 (ESV)

We live in a broken world filled with broken people. In truth, all sinners are broken in one way or another-some more and some less. The truth and good news is that God can only use a broken person because they have “been there” and have “empathy” for the lost and broken world. In Matthew 18, Jesus gives us a blueprint for what and how to live as Christian in a broken world. Let’s get started.

THIS IS WHAT JESUS SAID:

Matthew 18:12-14 (ESV)
“12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my[a] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

JESUS’ BLUEPRINT
Let’s now break down the words of Jesus to better understand His blueprint for our being used by God to reach a lost and broken world.

1) (Verse 12) Jesus opens with saying, 
“What do you think?” 

Why would Jesus open with a question? The answer is to get our attention and to get up to put on our “thinking caps”. Jesus wants us to stop and pay attention. 

2) (Verse 12 goes on to say) “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray,…” 

Here, Jesus is grabbing our (the reader’s) attention and refocuses our attention on a story. Notice that Jesus uses “story” to teach us. In this story or scenario, Jesus gives the hypothetical regarding a man who has 100 sheep, and one and ONLY one of them goes astray and get’s lost. Jesus has our attention and we are thinking about what a shepherd who has 100 sheep is to do when just one of them get’s lost. Does he rest on a good track record of still retaining 99? Does he call his family or friends to help him? What does he do?

3) (Continuing on Verse 12) Jesus gives a second hypothetical or scenario as to what the shepard may do. This seems to indicate what the shepherd SHOULD do: 

“Does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?” 

5) (Before Jesus gives the answer, in verse 13 He gives us but a another hypothetical, stating):

“And IF he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.” 

In other words, “IF” he finds the lost sheep, then this is what will happen. This is the centerpiece and the hinge of the entire parable. Everyone who reads this parable is relieved, excited and is very happy that the shephard found the one in a hundred lost sheep! But we are not sheep, so what exactly is Jesus telling us? In verse 14, Jesus goes not to connect the dots and tell us the meaning of the parable and the point of His message.

7) (Verse 14) gives us the answer and central point of Jesus’ lesson, saying:

“So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

SO WHAT?
First, we are all shepherds (small “s”) and God is the Ultimate Shepherd (capital “S”). Second, we are all called to not stay in the church pew with the 99 after church. Instead, we are to go out into all the and make disciples in our lost world (Matthew 28). 

We are all called to share our faith with those in our lost and broken world. And we are all called to do this with an attitude that we want what God wants…that none should parish. And this is God’s blueprint provide to us by Jesus Himself a blueprint for what and how to live as Christians in our broken world. So, what are we waiting for. Let’s get started.

A few stats show how quickly the moral majority has frayed. In 2011, only 23% of conservatives supported gay marriage — by 2021, 55% did. When it comes to faith specifically, the shifts are no less substantial. In 2016, roughly 63% of Republicans believed that “being a Christian” was an integral part of being an American. But in 2020, that number had plummeted to 48% — a 15-point drop, and during a Republican administration. Even self-identified Christians seem to be losing key tenets of the faith. A recent poll of American evangelicals found the number of respondents who agreed with the statement “Jesus was a great teacher, but he was not God” rose from 30% in 2020 to 43% in 2022.

Christians were given another chance live in a free country advance the Christian faith in America and around the world. It’s a matter of perspective-God’s perspective. And we ought to adopt God’s perspective.

If the past four years has taught us anything, it’s that Christians are not accustomed to adversity, and that needs to change, because while good times are here today, there is always tomorrow. In America, we are not accustomed to “bad times” eluding to a country where Christians are persecuted on a serious level. I find it amazing that God has blessed us repeatedly despite our moral decline and slow abandonment of Him.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 is a productive and sober reminder that yes, God has once again to bless His people. If honest, we will admit that God it’s out of God love, that he allows pain, suffering, persecution and sometimes loss of earthly things that we hold onto too tightly. WHY? Because as C.S. Lewis says, “God whispers to us in our pleasure and screams to us in our pain”. In other words, when things are good, we don’t really listen all that closely to God. But when we are in times of trouble, we come close to God, pleading for his blessings, mercy, protection and provision.  This is how God draws us back to Him and tunes us up as “authentic”Christians. I have lived an incredible life experience having been born in NYC, raised in the Washington D.C. area and now having lived in Charlotte, NC for the past 25 years. The 2024 election was a great reprieve for Christians, but we are no way out of the woods of trials and persecution. In other words, we are wise not to get to get too comfortable. So, how should we respond?

FIRST: By thanking God for all the great good times, He has blessed us with.

SECOND: By praying for His will and guiding hand for us in this new anti-Christian world that has emerged.

THIRD: By preparing our children and grandchildren to do the same.

FOURTH AND LASTLY: By being joyful that God has chosen you and I to live during such a time in history whereby we can serve the Lord in such special times…despite the cost. This what God says about the matter through Solomon…

Ecclesiastes 7:14 ESV SAYS “In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.”

IN CONCLUSION:

Ecclesiastes makes clear that we as Christians have been given another chance to live in a free country advance the Christian faith in America and around the world. If the past four years has taught us anything, it’s that we as Christians are not accustomed to adversity, and that needs to change, because while good times are here today, there is always tomorrow.

“Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34).

NOW LET’S GET TO WORK!! THANK YOU, LORD JESUS!