And as I was seeking the Lord, I felt led to speak on the lost
coin. Now the lost coin is part of the
Lost Trilogy. Now I know you will think that
Hollywood invented the trilogy, but no, apparently not.
Jesus actually had three parables about something that's
lost and found Parable of the lost sheep and the shepherd
leaves the 99 and finds the one. Then we got the parable in the
middle of the lost coin, which we're going to look at this
morning. And then we have the last
parable, which is the the the lost son or the prodigal son.
Although you read the story, there's really 2 lost sons in
that story. So why did Jesus choose to have
a trilogy on On Being Lost? Well, because it's extremely
important of course, but it was in relation to and in response
to the Pharisees question about Jesus.
And we're going to turn together to Luke chapter 15, which is
where the power of the lost coin is, and it's only three verses.
But at the very start of the chapter it says now the tax
collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.
This is Jesus and the Pharisees and the scries grumbled saying,
this man receives sinners and eats with them and it goes on
say so. He told them this parable, then
the next parable and the next parable.
Because you see, Jesus came for the lost.
The Pharisees didn't quite get it.
They thought Jesus had come for the righteous, quote righteous,
those that had upheld the law. And they're like, what on earth
are you doing? Jesus, you're a rabbi, you're
supposed to be some, you know, teacher of the law, and yet you
are going to have dinner with the tax collectors.
And by the way, if you work for HMRC, this doesn't apply to you,
Okay. Just to clarify, these are the
tax collectors back then, and they were a little bit
unscrupulous. There's a few jokes and I'm not
going to go there. And the sinners and they're
like, what are you doing eating with these guys and these clubs?
Listen, I haven't come for the quote righteous.
I've come for those that are lost.
And that's why we got the lost trilogy.
Anybody lose anything this week? Anybody.
Has that? Anybody lost anything?
No. Are you not only lost a few of
you, my little boy? Daniel, right.
Funny enough, I was writing this.
I was working on my sermon on Thursday and I was in my garden
office and I hit Dad, Dad, I've lost my football.
And my immediate response, I didn't say this out loud was bad
timing, son. But he he he lost his ball and
it's his favorite ball. So I I finished doing what I was
doing. I was chopping and changing
between different things in the talk.
And I came out. I was like, what's wrong, son?
I've lost my ball, Dad. OK, Don, can you just get it
yourself? No, Dad, I need you to help me.
OK. Where is the ball?
I think it's in the bushes there.
Great. Can you see it?
I think so. So I just pushed the bushes back
and it's right in the middle. And I'm like, there's no way I'm
going in there, son. So the Father sent the son good
illustration, right? Unfortunately, he got quite
scratched up seriously, but he came back and he had saved the
ball. So I thought that was an
interesting illustration, interesting timing.
I didn't choose the lost coin after the illustration, by the
way, just want you to clarify, came afterwards.
But yeah, the father sent the son to get that which was lost.
And that's indeed the story that we read in the scriptures, that
the Father sent the son for the lost.
Now, we've recently been in the gospel series, haven't we?
And we've looked at what it means to be lost.
We've looked at the fact that the good news is good news
because bad news exists and the bad news is as real as the good
news. And so Jesus here in the in the
trilogy is explaining the lost. And so why don't we read this
parable together? It's a good idea, isn't it?
Where can I go on this? Let's go together to Luke and
we're going to read from Matthew 15.
No, we went from Luke one of those days.
Luke 15, here we go versus 8 to 10.
Or what woman having 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin,
does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently
until she finds it. And when she has found it, she
calls together her friends and neighbors saying rejoice with
me, but I have found the coin that I had lost.
Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over 1
Sinner who repents. Wow, I just love that story.
I mean it's only three verses, but wow, what a story.
And I want to ask to unpack this.
You know, one of the things that Chris said last week was that
parable was often like an onion. You know, we think we know a
parable and then we kind of read it again and now the Holy Spirit
to speak to us. And my prayer is that you'll,
you'll catch something new from this parable this morning.
So why a coin? Well, what you may know not
know. And scholars have said that in
Jewish time, it was custom that a bride you see would receive 10
silver coins drachmas as way of a dowry.
She would receive these 10 coins and what she would then do is
she would sew them onto a veil as she waited for the
consummation of her marriage following the betrothal use.
And so while the coin has a monetary value, this was way
more valuable for her. It signified her marriage to her
beloved. And you see what would happen is
they would be betrothed and then the the the the groom would go
to his father's house and prepare the chamber.
And once the father has said to the son, yes son, that's good
enough, he then goes and sends the groom to get the bride.
How cool is this? And you know what they they
would often come at midnight with trumpets.
The last Trump with the wedding party.
And they would get a chair and they would get the bride and put
her on the chair and raise her up.
I'll make this stuff up. That was a Jewish custom of the
day. What does that remind you of
when Jesus says, listen, I'm going but I'm going to prepare a
place for you in my father's house for where there is many
rooms. I will come back for you.
Ow, he's our groom. We're the bride of Christ.
Isn't that beautiful? And what's the rapture?
Well, that's the snatching away the hot pot.
So to be with him in the bridal chamber and they would spend
seven days in the bridal chamber and we spent seven years while
the tribulation is happening, You see, isn't this amazing
stuff? I love the harmony of the Bible.
I love the harmony of the of the story.
And so this woman is in dire straits because she's lost
something so valuable. One of the coins.
Now, she doesn't say we'll blow. It doesn't matter.
I've got nine. She goes to look for that coin.
Now, what does the coin represent when it represents the
souls of men and women who have been called to the marriage and
the supper with the lamb? You see, the coins represent men
and women who have been invited to become the bride of Christ.
Now here's the thing, While the sheep, they wandered, wandered
out of the pen through bad decisions and they ended up in
the wilderness. This is interesting, but the
because the coin is in the home, possibly for the negligence of
someone else. I think that's rather
interesting. And actually, the Sun, your son
is different. He's woefully disobedient and he
wants to make a decision to leave the father.
And you see, all these different stories represent a different
motive and a different way in which we are lost.
And you see some some of you might be in this house right now
and lost. Just because you're here doesn't
mean you're a Christian. Or, as I've heard someone say,
Once Upon a time, you might be a Churchian.
You just come to church. But that doesn't make you a
Christian. And you see, you might be in
this house and lost, and I don't want to leave you leaving this
place this morning without an opportunity to be found.
Maybe you are in a good home, a good Christian upbringing, but
yet you're lost. Now the thing about a coin, you
see, is a coin has value. Why does a coin have value?
Because it has the image of the sovereign imprinted on it.
You gotta love this. Are you getting this?
You see, we think our value is about how clean we are.
I tell you I, I, I when I rummage around for old coins,
they can be pretty dirty. But guess what?
They retain their value and don't.
We look at people and look at that value based on how clean
quote they are. When God sees them, He sees the
image of him on them. And that's the value it says in
the scriptures. It says let us create man and
woman in our own image. He puts his image on us just
like that coin. Oh Lord, here's the other thing
about a coin. You see, a coin has no value if
it's not used. And the other thing about a coin
is it's always owned by something or someone.
A coin doesn't say I am my own creator.
I will go and do what I wish. Does it coin as an owner?
And here's the thing, You see, the coin can't save itself, can
it? The coin isn't there under the
lady's sofa. Help me, I'm very dusty.
I got grim all over me. But no worries, I shall save
myself. I don't know if that's how
Dracula speak, but possibly the coin doesn't do this.
Find a brush and brush it? No, Just as a coin can't find
itself, men and women cannot find themselves.
Your good works are not good enough to be found.
Your Churchian activities are not good enough to be found.
Only Jesus can find you and clean you up.
Oh, come on, what else? Excited as I am, I mean 3
verses. And yet how much is there?
Come on, there's more. This is me editing on the fly.
And this is how serious it is. Because when the trumpet does
blast, or when we die and we go to meet our maker, that's it.
No more chance. This bride is like, I don't want
to find, I don't want my groom to come and see that I've only
got 9 because he's going to take me away and that's it.
Do we sense the urgency in this? I bet she was panicking.
You know, what they used to do in Jewish culture is they would
always be ready. I mean, there's another parable
there about the the brides, the the, the, the 10 virgins of the
brides waiting without oil lamp for the groom to come.
Can you imagine the urgency of having to find this coin?
Do we have the same urgency to find the lost?
I think it's a challenge. Do we see people with the same
value that God sees them with the image of God imprinted on
them? And what happens next?
She lights a lamp and sweeps the house and seeks diligent until
she finds it. Now what does this mean?
Well, scholars have said, I've proposed that what we see in the
trilogy is actually the Trinity. You see, the Shepherd represents
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the Prodigal Son.
We have the Father. So therefore, what is the bride?
It represents the Holy Spirit in the church now.
Makes sense, doesn't it? Because she's the Bride of
Christ. That beautiful Jesus, the Good
Shepherd, God, the loving Father, and the Holy Spirit
within the Church are all in the business of saving the lost.
How and what does the Bride do? What does the Church do?
What is the Church supposed to do?
She gets a lamp to search. What does the lamp and light in
Scripture represent? Psalm 119104 Your word is a lamp
to my feet and a light to my And how is the lamp lit?
With oil. Who is the oil?
The Holy Spirit of God. You see this?
There are coins in darkness that don't see the darkness until we
proclaim the good news of the Gospel Christ.
It is the Word that brings light into the darkness.
What the Bride was doing, what the Church is should be doing,
is taking the Word of God out into the dark places.
The good news of Christ. That is the role of the Church,
is it not? And then what happens?
She gets a brim, and what does she do?
Sweeps. What does that represent?
Sweeping away the lies of the enemy that will keep people
lost. The church takes the lights of
the word of God and as we do that the Holy Spirit convicts
the hearts of the lost coins and reveals the lies of the enemy.
And the truth is clear to see so much in this parable.
But you see you can't read this parable and get an out clause
because you should be that woman taking the lamp to the dark
places and go find those coins that have been invited to the
marriage ceremony with the lamb. That's our role.
And then what happens when she finds the coin?
I'll invite the band up at this point and when she has found it
she calls together her friends and neighbors saying rejoice for
me, but I have found the coin that I lost.
Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over 1
Sinner who repents. Wow.
We live in a world where success and accolades are based on the
cultural acceptance of success around accumulation, thing,
accumulating things, wealth, all of these things.
And heaven looks at it and says well, well done for being
faithful. But then they look at one Sinner
that repents and a party breaks out.
Are we living our lives based on that value system?
I've been reading a book recently about heaven and near
death experiences scientific research that has looked into
this quote phenomenon and and there is interest in across
cultures the the the commonality with the Bible description of
heaven and of course it doesn't map out hell as well which is a
is a real a reality too. But one of the things that it
talks about is the life review piece and it says you know we
will the Lord will judge all of our works.
Now that's not salvation. We are saved by the blood of
Christ by His grace not by works lest any man should boast.
We're not talking about the white throne judgment that's
that's the salvation piece. If you already save, you don't
have to go through that judgment that there is the beam, a seat
of Christ. Judgment, which happens, which
is the rewards where Jesus will reward all of our works.
Good works. Yeah.
And the beam, a seat was a seat that happened in the Olympics
way back. And that's where the contestants
would go up to receive their rewards based on their works.
And in these life reviews, you see, as it says in the
scriptures, Lord rewards us for those works he's assessed.
Does he not. Do do not build up yourself
treasures on earth where rust and moth can destroy, but build
up yourself treasures in heaven where it does not an indication
that a treasures exist and B we're called to build them up.
But in these life reviews, the the the successes of this world,
the the business accolades, that the money is almost skimmed
over. It was those moments, that of
love, that were shown to one another, of seeking the lost,
finding the coins. And it's striking me as I read
that it is causing me to reevaluate my value system.
And while intellectually I I get it, we all study the word and we
understands, it's amazing how easily we fall into it.
And my prayer is, Lord, would you give me more opportunities
to go and find lost coins? Because that's a value.
That's what's important. It's isn't the word that
everything else is just going to be burnt up, not going to be of
anything of value. You see this woman, this bride,
She got it. My challenge for all of us