PASTOR RYAN LADEN – DEVOTIONALS
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A Story of Grace
I do not know what you are going through today, but I bet you could use a big shot of grace. Today we will be listening to a story that Jesus Christ told to those who were also in need of grace. In this story, Jesus reminds us that we are blessed to have a compassionate and loving God that blesses us even when fail to measure up.
Listen to this example of grace:
3 Then Jesus told them this parable:
4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home.
Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’
7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
(Luke 15:3-7 NIV11)
Elements
There is a lot going on in this teaching from Jesus. In the material that follows, we will hear about some of the bigger elements of this teaching.
Loss
Jesus opens his teaching by describing the situation of a shepherd who is watching his flock of 100 who realizes that one of his own has gone missing. In John 10:28-29, Jesus described himself as the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep by name, who speaks to his sheep, and who seeks to care for those entrusted into his care.
Sometimes we can feel like no one knows what we are going through. We can feel like a sheep who has wandered away and that no one around us seems to notice. Here, the Lord Jesus is reminding us that he knows, he sees, and he cares.
The Lord knows when we wander off, when we are in need, when we begin to drift away from the path and plan that the Lord says is best for us.
Assumption
Jesus then speaks to a very important assumption. Jesus assumed that anyone who noticed that one of his sheep had gone missing would care enough to stop what he was doing and go find the one who wandered off.
This assumption needed to be spoken because it exposes the fact that this is not always the case. Not everyone cares about the needs and concerns of those God has placed within our sphere of influence. Many would be happy to have one less mouth to feed or one less head to count.
The Lord cares. When we wander, drift, stray from the truth about our identity in Christ and pretend that we are free to leave the care and protection of the Lord, the Lord notices.
God knows your situation and your need and he cares.
Work
When the shepherd finds the lost one, he is filled with joy and he carries the lost one home.
It is important that we note the fact that the shepherd has done all of the work in this situation. The shepherd is the one who notices the missing sheep, he is the one who pursues the lost, and he is the one who picks the sheep up into his arms and carries the lost one back to where he belongs.
Jesus is reminding us that this is all by God’s grace, not by our efforts. The Lord seeks us out when we try to run away. The Lord loves us so much that he does not allow us to stay lost, instead he seeks us out. The Lord picks us up into his arms and carries us home.
We do not do any of this work by our own strength and will. It was our so-called strength that we wandered off and became lost, it is by his grace that we are delivered by God’s strength into our place of care and safety.
Share
When the lost one is found in his place of wandering, the Lord celebrates his return. We need to see the way in which the shepherd celebrates, he shares his joy with others.
The Lord is modeling something that we need in our own lives. We often keep the works of God’s deliverance and care to ourselves. We do not share with others the way in which the Lord meets our needs.
We too should share the good news of God’s loving grace and provision and not keepo these wonderful truths to ourselves.
Verse 7
In verse 7 we heard, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”
God rejoices when we see the error of our ways, when we submit our struggles to the Lord, and when we allow the Good Shepherd to carry us home. It is good to be captured by God’s grace and restored into fellowship and service.
Those who feel they have it all figured out, those who feel confident in their own false sense of righteousness, they are not only wrong but they displease the Lord.
The Lord does not rejoice over us when we smugly condemn others for their failures, nor does the Lord throw a party for those who feel that they are doing a great job for God. Instead, the Lord celebrates those who see their need for the Savior and submit to his leadership and mercy.
In Christ,
Ryan Laden
PASTOR RYAN LADEN
Senior Pastor at PARK HILL BAPTIST CHURCH
Worked at MTN. CHURCH
Former Senior pastor at Warnbro Community Church
Studies at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Studied at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Studied at Baylor University
Studied at Texas Tech University
Went to Castle Hills First Baptist
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