Beach Life: The Mission

“Getting Lost” rarely happens anymore.  If you have cell phone service and a smartphone, you can simply “ask siri” where you are and how to get where you want to go.

There was a time when we could get lost.  There was a time we could be in unfamiliar territory, unfamiliar streets, unfamiliar neighborhoods – and have no CLUE how to get back to familiar surroundings.

I have been lost in the woods. I have been lost in grocery stores. I have been lost on camping trips.

If you remember getting lost as a child, you probably remember being a bit scared. Being LOST stinks.  It is a terrible feeling. Keep that feeling in mind as we look at this passage of scripture.

Luke 15:1-7 (NLT2)
Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2  This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! 3  So Jesus told them this story: 4  “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5  And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6  When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7  In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Did you catch the reason why Jesus told this story? Look at verse 1-3 again.

Jesus told the story of the Lost Sheep because the religious leaders were complaining about the type of people Jesus was spending time with. Tax collectors. Prostitutes. Notorious sinners. Scum of the earth.

These were people who were Jewish by heritage, but did not seek to follow the Old Testament law.  Yet, they filled the space where Jesus taught and hung out. In fact, after they would gather to hear his teaching, Jesus went to lunch and dinner with them, that demonstrated he really wanted to be around them!

But rather than celebrating that broken people were listening to the words of Jesus, the Pharisees complained and insulted them. That demonstrates that…

Sometimes religion keeps people from returning to God

These Religious leaders believed that if more people were just like them, the Jewish world would be a far better place. And in the days of Jesus, the Religious Leaders had a derogatory term they used to classify the people who did not seek to follow the religious law. They called them “People of the Land.”  It was a derogatory term similar to ones we have heard about race.

They were earthly people. People with no spiritual thoughts. They were low, ungodly, people of the land. Religious leaders did not trust these people with money. They would not accept eye-witness testimony from them. They would not trust them with a secret, travel with them along the road, or allow them to be a foster parent and take care of orphans.

The Pharisees did their very best to NEVER be associated with the PEOPLE OF THE LAND.

Religious people today act similarly today — not here, of course. Other places. Other churches. Different people. You know… those religious people.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you understand how much damage can happen when religious people restrict others from returning to God.

And, as long as I am the Pastor here at Beach Church, we will not drift toward becoming a religious people.

If you are a follower of Jesus, that is:

You believe that God created you, but your sin separated you from Him.
You believe that Jesus lived a sinless life and paid the penalty for your sin on the cross.
You believe that Jesus rose from the dead and that one day he is going to return.
And you had a moment of surrender where you committed your life to following Jesus…

Then you have probably heard that the world seems to like Jesus; they just don’t care for religious people. And if you wonder if you are becoming a religious person, here are a few questions to ask yourself.

Do you accept responsibility when you hurt others and apologize quickly? Do you admit your struggles to others?

Your responses will tell you whether or not you are becoming more religious or growing as a follower of Jesus.

If you don’t care that you hurt others, if you don’t apologize, and if you keep your struggles hidden from others, you are going to become just like the religious leaders that Jesus had a problem with in scripture.

If followers of Jesus were honest, we each would admit that we WANDER from God’s path as well.  Even if we consistently spend time with the Lord in the morning, we still wander away from Him during the day.

There is a reason the old hymn contains the words, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it…”  Because we DO!

And yet, even though we are prone to wander, God’s mission to return his lost sheep home continues and…

God never stops searching for the lost

This Shepherd (that illustrates Jesus) keeps on looking for the lost sheep UNTIL HE FINDS IT! The Shepherd did not give up. After a few hours of searching, he could have thrown up his hands and muttered, “It’s a lost cause. He is dead.  Some wild beast has already devoured him…

That’s not what this Shepherd does!

Under the cliffs. Behind rocks. He kept on searching. Listening for bleating. Searching for tracks. In this story, the shepherd does not stop searching for his lost sheep…and GOD HAS NOT STOPPED searching for the lost.

He does not lose interest.
He does not get distracted.
He does not redefine his mission.

God keeps searching...and the reason Jesus has not yet returned is that he wants every single lost sheep to have an opportunity to be found.

2 Peter 3:9 (NLT2)
The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.

Even though you and I have wandered away from God, our value, importance, and worth to God has never changed. Some people believe they have wandered too far from God. They believe they have made too many mistakes, bad decisions, and they have too much history. They think, “At some point, God must be done with me…”

But Jesus describes a Shepherd who keeps going until He finds the lost. That means there is no moment where God says, “I gave it my best shot.” There is no point where He throws His hands up and walks away.

He keeps pursuing.
He keeps drawing.
He keeps working.

Even when the person looks completely uninterested. Even when it feels like nothing is changing. God is still searching. Still calling out.

And when He finds that sheep, he does not lecture it, shame it, or belittle it. He lifts it up. He carries it home. So – be encouraged!

Is your spouse LOST?  God is searching for Him.
Is your child wandering from God? God is searching for him.
Do you have a family member who is lost?  God has not stopped searching for them!

As followers of Jesus, let's determine to wander from the Lord less, synchronize our hearts with God’s heart for the lost, and join Him…and that means…

We join the search as we lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus

When we think about it, this parable of Jesus prioritizing 1 out of 100 can be a little uncomfortable. The longer we are followers of Jesus, the more we think that Church is about us.  We want to grow. We want to be fed. We want to be challenged. It is uncomfortable to think that God calls us to prioritize reaching those without Jesus in our community.

In December 2022, I told Beach Church that if you vote for me as Senior Pastor, the emphasis of my ministry will be on leading people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus in the Grand Strand. And I am so grateful you have joined me!

Since January 2023…

579 followers of Jesus have been baptized.
We have fed roughly 20,000 people in the Grand Strand.
Our weekend attendance has increased 178%.

That’s because ALL of us have joined God’s mission to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus. And we must continue to be intentional about the mission.  If we drift into religion…If we drift into churchiness.  If we stop and make the mission of the church about anything else…We will stop reaching the lost.

No person has ever stood up in a church and said, “Let’s stop reaching people.” It never works like that. But churches shut down every week because they tried to keep searching for the lost, while they turned inward at the same time.

They said the right things. They kept the language. They talked about reaching people.

But slowly, quietly, the mission shifted. It became about keeping the “99” happy. Keeping things smooth. Keeping things comfortable. And if comfort becomes the church's steering wheel, the mission becomes focused on those who are already followers of Jesus. Because reaching lost people is not comfortable.

It is disruptive.
It brings a mess.
It brings tension.
It brings people into the room who do not think like us, talk like us, or live like us.

And churches that are unwilling to absorb the tension that prioritizes the ONE over the NINETY-NINE will start building everything around the ninety-nine. And when that happens, the one does not get reached…and if you are a follower of Jesus, you remember what it was like to be lost. Being lost in directions stinks, and being lost spiritually is far worse.

So, begin to stay focused on the mission to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus by being inconvenienced. Rather than grabbing the closest parking spot, circle and park farther out so a guest can get in more easily.

Or, choose to attend Saturday night worship at 5:00 PM.  It’s not your preference…but you know it will free up a parking spot on Sunday for someone who has never been here. On Saturday night, you can zip in and zip out.

And, when you choose a seat for worship, if you are able, choose a seat in the center and not on the end, so people don’t have to climb over you to get a seat.

Continue to give generously, worship joyfully, attend weekly, and serve selflessly where you can. Because all of those help keep our focus on the mission to lead people to a life-changing relationship with Jesus.