Lost People Matter to God

Luke 15.1-7

⁴ “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? ⁵ And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.”

Luke 15.4-5 (ESV)

INTRODUCTION

What Breaks your heart?

Our new DS, Mike Skor, has had me thinking for the last three weeks.

Mike challenged me and us to pray for the 33,000,000 people in our region who do not know Jesus Christ, in saving relationship.

In my prayer time God has been confronting me with a profound truth.

Luke 15 teaches us a profound truth about God.

• A shepherd has 99 sheep.
• That shepherd discovers 1 sheep is missing.
• The shepherd puts forth immense effort to find one lost sheep!.
• The shepherd rejoices and celebrates over that one found sheep!

In Luke 15, Jesus is teaching us that lost people matter to God.

Lost people break God’s heart.

God is a God who would do anything to draw lost people to salvation.

Jesus had compassion on the people as he walked among them. (Matthew 9.35-38)

Do lost people break your heart?

Here is the Math –

• 21.8%, on average, of the people in the Verde Valley claim faith in Jesus Christ.

• There are 53,384 people in the Verde Valley.

• That means there are 11,651 followers of Jesus in our community.

• That also means that there are 41,733 unbelievers in our community, who are lost and in danger of an eternity in Hell.

What are YOU willing to do to see lost people find faith in Jesus?

The Harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray earnestly then that the Lord of the Harvest would send workers into the harvest field. – Jesus of Nazareth

Conclusion