God Is Searching for You So That You, in Turn, Can Search for Others

Introduction

Robert Thomas died at 26 on a beach in Korea in 1866, holding out a Bible to his executioner. That reckless determination came from a heart that had grasped two very simple things, which Jesus teaches in the last two parables of his series (Luke 15:1-10): God is searching for you personally, and he sends you out to search in turn. This message closes the series on the parables at Tabernacle Church and calls you to grasp the season we are living in.

Message Outline

1. God is searching for you

• Through value: a single sheep, a single silver coin, a single life matters to him, whatever your status, your career, your failures.
• Through initiative: it isn't you who comes back to God, it's him who crosses the hills of Judea to search for you all the way to the cross.
• Through joy: joy is the most-used word in these two parables; God is filled with joy when he finds you, and heaven rejoices with him.
• Through invitation: Jesus tells the Pharisees (and us) to come share in this joy rather than remaining outside.

2. You were sought so that you could seek in turn

• The season: we are in season 4 of the biblical story, the time of mission. Season 5 (the return of Jesus) is waiting for the lost sheep to be found.
• The model: if God searches, we must search. Searching requires movement, intention, action, not passive waiting.
• The people: Robert Thomas was not alone. It took a ship, a captain, a translator, a church that prays and gives. Everyone has a part to play in the mission.
• The cost: devoting one's life to the mission has a price, time, money, comfort. The ultimate cost, Jesus paid at the cross; ours is far smaller.

Key Takeaways

• In God's eyes, no one is insignificant, useless, or inferior. Your life matters, you are known personally by him.
• No other spiritual message in the world offers this perfect balance: God takes the initiative, so there is no room for pride; but he comes to seek you specifically, so you have immense value.
• God rejoices when you return to him, with a joy greater than that of a father who finds his lost child.
• We are not in a time of rest or of return; we are in a time of mission.
• Every disciple carries a share of the price. God rewards those who pay the price for his mission, sometimes in unexpected ways.

Personal Application

1. What inner voice whispers to you that you are worthless? What does the parable of the sheep and the coin say to that voice?
2. Looking back, what steps show that God was already searching for you even before you responded?
3. Could Jesus reproach you, as he did the Pharisees, for hardness of heart toward those who do not know him?
4. Which spiritual season do you think you are living in, rest, return, or mission? Does your life reflect the season where God has placed you?
5. What "cost" is God asking you to pay this week for the mission: time in prayer, a financial gift, hospitality in your home, serving in the church, walking alongside a friend?

Verses Cited

• Luke 15:1-10 (parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin)
• Matthew 24:14
• Matthew 28:19-20
• Acts 1:8
• 2 Peter 3:9

Further reading

• How to Organize a Church's Annual Calendar
• How to Effectively Organize a Local Church
• How to Prepare an Effective Team Meeting

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the parable of the lost sheep really mean?

In Luke 15, Jesus responds to the Pharisees who criticize him for spending time with tax collectors and notorious sinners. Through the shepherd who leaves his 99 sheep to go find the one that is lost, Jesus explains that God takes the initiative to search for every person far from him, because that person has immense value in his eyes, and he rejoices with heaven when they return.

Why does Jesus tell two very similar parables (the sheep and the coin)?

Repetition is a teaching method. Jesus emphasizes the same truth from two complementary angles: a living animal that wanders off (humanity that rebels) and an inanimate object that gets misplaced (the one who is lost without even knowing it). In both cases, it is the one who searches (the shepherd, the woman), who takes the initiative. And the word "joy" comes up several times to drive the point home.

What does it mean to be "in season 4"?

In this message, the preacher presents the biblical story as a six-season series: perfection, promise, redemption through Jesus, the mission of the Church, the return of Christ, and final restoration. We are living in season 4 · the one where the Church seeks the lost. Season 5 will only begin once all the lost sheep have been found (Matthew 24:14). So this is not a time of rest, but a time of mission.