Lost & Found Clutch Student Ministries Pastor Jordan Biel 5.07.2006
There’s going to be some things you simply don’t understand, yet you know that IT”S the ONLY WAY that your Going to get to YOUR DESTINATION – Heaven.
*The Bible is your Map – The Holy Spirit is your On-Star System.
The Adult Leader’s Voice represents the voice of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit If you are committed to serving God, if you’re committed to living for Him, God will speak to you. God will direct your life – tell you where to go, what to do. And it’s exciting! ILL> Pastor Chris and the Mayor Story… ILL> My Decision to go to BRSM …
Ill. Baby Jessica lost and trapped in an 8” hole (get correct details!) After hours of trying to get to her, they dug down beside the pipe, then dug over to her, and found her but she was stuck, tight! The man in the hole said, I’m afraid I’ll brake her leg if I try to pull her out. One of the workers said this: “you may have to break her to save her.” Now in relating this to our relationship with God, if you’re not careful can put a bad name on God. But if you realize that… we all wandered away from Him, fell into a hole of sin that we could not get out of. And to get us out, He came to us – down into our pit of sin – and pulled us out – it caused us some pain – in the process – we had to repent, we had to want out, and thank God - He came to save us!
ILL> Lost in the Airport as a child story Apply> My parents came back for me – frantically looking for me. They had lost their son! They were frantic, desperate to find me. God is the same way about you!
When Jesus was having His last meal with the disciples on Passovers, He said ”You have no idea who much I have fervently been waiting for this moment to be with you.” Jesus was so excited to be with His disciples even knowing that some would soon wander off - He was passionate about just being with them. Jesus feels the same about you, when just take time to be with Him and read His Word – when you are found for the first time, they have a Party in Heaven!
If you haven’t allowed Him to save you yet, He is desperate to find you – for you to find Him by admitting you’re lost and asking Him to save you from your mistakes.
We all wander from God and get “lost” in the world. We wander off with a. our friends b. our relationships, c. media – myspace, im’ing…
To be saved, to be found by GOD and begin a relationship with Him, you’ve got to… 1. Admit You’re Lost Though it is God Who comes for us, we have to want to be saved, we must be willing to allow Him to save us. 1 John 4:9-10 “God showed how much He loved us by sending His only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” NLT
ILL> A man trapped in a hurricane won’t be saved by the EMT’s until he admits that he needs help – he will not be saved until he allows them to save him.
MARILYN MONROE: She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He is a preacher and Evangelist and the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: "I don't need your Jesus" A week later, she was found dead in her apartment. On the 19th of February 1980, Bon Scott was found dead, he had been choked by his vomit.
God will never force His way into your life. He’ll continually, patiently, lovingly knock on the door of your heart until you open your heart and receive Him. Rev 3:19-21 “I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 ‘Look! Here I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends’.” NLT God knocks at the door, satan, the enemy of your life, tries to sneak in the window. He doesn’t tell you that He’s trying to control your life and steal your joy, your purpose… God is a gentlemen and He respects you enough to simply love you and knock on the door of your heart. He waits for you to admit your need for Him and invite Him in.
Ps 107:4-9 Some wandered in the desert, lost and homeless. 5 Hungry and thirsty, they nearly died. 6 "LORD, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. 7 He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live. 8 Let them praise the LORD for his great love and for all his wonderful deeds to them. 9 For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” NLT
To be saved, to be found, you’ve got to… 2. Believe Jesus Can Find and Save You
Luke 15:3-10 “Jesus used this illustration: 4 "If you had one hundred sheep, and one of them strayed away and was lost in the wilderness, wouldn't you leave the ninety-nine others to go and search for the lost one until you found it? 5 And then you would joyfully carry it home on your shoulders. 6 When you arrived, you would call together your friends and neighbors to rejoice with you because your lost sheep was found. 7 In the same way, heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!”
Story of the Lost Coin
8 "Or suppose a woman has ten valuable silver coins and loses one. Won't she light a lamp and look in every corner of the house and sweep every nook and cranny until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors to rejoice with her because she has found her lost coin. 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels when even one sinner repents." NLT
1 John 4:9-10 “God showed how much He loved us by sending His only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” NLT
What’s awesome about God, is that when we were lost, He came to find us. He truly is our “On-Star” System. What’s cool about “On-Star” is that they so organized, I don’t care where you are, if you’ve locked your keys in your car or if you’ve wrecked they’ve got people – police stations ready to go – they are sent out immediately to help get you out of your mess. APPLY> Jesus knows when you’re in trouble – He knows when you’re wandering away whether you push the “panic” button or not. He knows! And He sends out people – Christians who are listening to His Spirit – He sends them out to you to talk to you, pray with you and get you out of your mess!
Jesus teaches us that He is the “Good Shepherd” that comes looking for us when we wander off in sin and get lost. He’ll leave everybody else to find the one that’s lost. “The Son of man, Jesus, came to seek and to save that which was lost.” When we were lost in our failures, when we wandered off-listening to voices of friends instead of the voice of Jesus, He did not get angry and bitter, He didn’t get revenge, He loved us enough to come after us! – to find us in our nasty pit and pull us out!.
Rom 5:6-11 “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (while we were lost) 9 And since we have been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He will certainly save us from God's judgment. 10 For since we were restored to friendship with God by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be delivered from eternal punishment by His life. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God — all because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making us friends of God.”
To be saved, to be found, you’ve got to… 3. Decide To Live for God Everyday - in the world and in your community of believers
We all wander from him and get lost in the world. We wander off from a. our friends at CSM - our Godly relationships b. wander from church – being too lazy to get up on Sunday… ILL> Remember, it’s that animal on Discovery that wanders from the pack that gets eaten!
We just learned about being the Church of Acts – and how important is was for them to get together often – to grow in their faith in God and just to hang-out. It’s important for your spiritual growth that you’re here every week / whenever you Possibly can be! It’s important for your spiritual growth that you’re at Velocity-Care Group every 1st and 3rd Sunday night. You’ve got to get together with each-other and strengthen each-other with your faith!
*When we wander off from a. our friends at CSM – and we get lazy in going to church, it’s not long after that you’re simply wandering away from GOD personally.
Remember, God is the most important person in your life.
Your relationship with Him has got to be your #1 Priority. Above your relationship with a girlfriend/boyfriend. Above sports, above busy schedules, above all else, your relationship with God HAS to take precedent! – It’s got to come first!
SALVATION CALL
you’ve never let God find and save you. Jesus wants to save you from the mess your in. The mess were in is created by the mistakes we make apart from God – and that is called sin. The only way to rid us of this sin and be forgiven of our mistakes is to ADMIT that we need God’s help and forgiveness BELIEVE Jesus can save us and ask Him to do so… DECIDE to live for God for the rest of your life… This is how we are found. This is when we realize what we were made for. We are creation of God. When we were in sin, we were lost and had wandered away from our Creator. But God, our Creator was so kind and compassionate that He sent out His only Son, Jesus to do a “Search and Rescue” – to find and save us from our sins. It’s only in believing in Jesus and confessing that He is the only One in charge of your life that you are saved from sin and Hell and guaranteed Eternal Life in Heaven one day. If you haven’t made that decision, please make it today. It’s the most important decision you have to make in life – will you live for Jesus and go to Heaven or not?
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