Luke - Part 3 — Zac Poonen

The Lost Sheep, Coin, and Son in Luke 15

We'll continue this evening from the gospel of Luke. We finished at the end of chapter 14 this morning and we'd like to look at chapter 15. We are so grateful that Luke decided to make a careful investigation and get an accurate record of all that Jesus did and that Jesus spoke.

Because of that we have the story of the prodigal son, which we would never have got if Luke had not made a careful investigation. Now here there are three parables in Luke chapter 15 about the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son and there are a number of things that we can learn from these.

First of all the lost sheep refers to a sheep that has gone astray and the shepherd going looking for that sheep. That's a picture of Jesus, the shepherd. The prodigal son is a son who has gone astray coming back to the father and that's a picture of God the father.

So we have one parable depicting God the father and another parable depicting God the son. So if we have three parables, which should the third parable represent? The Holy Spirit. That's pictured like a woman searching for a lost coin.

So why is the Holy Spirit pictured like a woman? I think it's because the woman is the church and the Holy Spirit, when the Spirit of God fills people in the church, the church is going to be searching for lost souls.

Go looking for them and finding them and search until they find. So if we are in tune with the Holy Spirit, we will do what that woman did to search for lost souls and that will be our longing. Not only lost souls in terms of people who are not converted, but I can imagine that this woman had these ten coins.

They were hers already and then she lost one of them. The sheep were already in the fold and then he lost one of them. The son was already in the house and he went away. So they picture backsliders to people who were in the church and fell away or backslid.

And when the Holy Spirit fills us, we have that same burden that he has who does not want anybody to perish, but that all should come to repentance. I would say that any believer who does not have a burden and a passion in his heart for lost souls and backslidden people and that the church of Jesus Christ should be built, he is not in tune with the Holy Spirit.

It is impossible. He is completely out of tune with the Holy Spirit, completely out of tune with the Son of God and completely out of tune with God the Father. Whatever else there may be good about him, we must remember this.

There are believers who pursue only holiness and who have no burden for the lost. They are just interested in purifying themselves. I believe such people are totally out of touch with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

I do not know who they are in touch with. They are probably just in tune with themselves. And there are many churches like this who do not have a desire to reach out. One of the prayers I have prayed myself for many, many years, and I have encouraged all the elders in our churches to pray, is, Lord, if there is anyone in this area seeking for a godly life, please bring him in touch with us.

And if you do not do that, tell us what is wrong with us so that we can set it right, so that we can be in tune with you and find those people. It is very important that the type of fold into which we bring the lost sheep is a good fold.

If a sheep is lost out in the wilderness and here is a fold where ninety-nine sheep are biting and tearing each other and full of disease and sickness, don't you think that sheep is safer out there than coming inside such a fold?

What is the use of bringing a lost soul into a church where people are fighting and quarreling with each other, where people are backbiting, where people have got sin in their life? That soul is far safer there than here.

That is the condition of a lot of churches. So we not only need a ministry that goes out to bring lost sheep in, we also need a ministry that keeps these ninety-nine sheep healthy. Because Jesus said in Luke 15 and verse 7, he described the ninety-nine sheep like this.

Please read carefully. There is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, that's the lost sheep, than ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. What a wonderful church this is. This church comprises of ninety-nine righteous people who don't need to repent about anything.

Now how is it that you get a church where there are people who don't need to repent of anything? Is it because they are perfect? There is no perfect church on earth. There are no perfect people on earth and yet if you read your Bible carefully, Jesus said this flock is not a bunch of ninety-nine people who are half-hearted and fighting with each other.

This flock consists of ninety-nine believers who are righteous in their life and who don't need any repentance. Why? Because they are repenting every day. The true church of Jesus Christ comprises of people who judge themselves every day.

This has been the habit of my life for many many years and as a result of it I've discovered sin in my own life which nobody else can see every day to cleanse myself. And if you are like that, you won't have time to find fault with other people and criticize others because you'll be so busy cleansing yourself that there you can build a church where that lost sheep can come and be healed.

Ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. So if you are an elder of a church, what type of church should you build? I know I'm an elder of a church and I know what type of church I want to build.

I want to build a church where everybody judges themselves every day so that they don't need any repentance. And those who are not willing for that, well they just get offended and leave the church. And how are we going to build a church where people are going to repent every day and judge themselves every day?

Because we preach repentance. Because we preach from the word of God that we must judge ourselves every day. And we preach continuously again and again and again and again a hundred times a year that we must judge ourselves and that we should not judge other people.

Gradually, over a period of time, you get a church where people have learned to judge themselves and not judge other people. That's the church I want to be in. That's the church into which the lost sheep should be brought.

And if you ever build a church, build that type of church. And the lost coin, it's amazing. It says here that she lit a lamp, swept the house, verse 8, searched carefully until she finds it. She had a passion.

She had lost something and she searched until she found it. And if this is the Holy Spirit moving through the church, what a passion to light a lamp, sweep, search until you find it. This is no casual half-hearted seeking.

Passion for Lost Souls and Backsliders

It's a tremendous passion for lost souls. The Lord has taught me, when I stand up to speak God's word, to think of so many people sitting in the congregation who are bound by sins which they are too ashamed to admit.

Secret sins, fears. Slaves, the Lord says, are sitting in front of you who should be kings. Slaves who should be kings. And the Lord says, make them kings. Make them kings. Don't let them sit in front of you forever as slaves.

That's the commission the Lord has given me. When you get up to preach the word, make those slaves into kings. Let there be a passion in your heart, the passion of the Holy Spirit, to search, sweep, light a lamp, find until you find.

The third story is of the prodigal son. And notice one thing similar. Sometimes we don't notice that in these parables. When the shepherd lost a sheep, whose was the loss? The shepherd's or the sheep's?

It was the shepherd's. When the woman lost a coin, the coin didn't even know it was lost. And that's the condition of a lot of lost people. They don't even know they are lost. You think that coin lying under the bed knows it's lost?

That's the condition of lost people. But the woman, it was her loss. And the father, it was his loss that he lost his son. In all the three parables, the loss was the shepherd's and the woman's and the father's.

It's God who is the loser. We think we are lost. In these parables, Jesus taught that God is losing something. And our work in the church is to bring back what God has lost. That's the message of these parables, if you understand it rightly.

And anyone who is in fellowship with the heart of the father will seek to cooperate with God in this ministry. And when the son came back, you know, one thing the son knew that my father loves me. He came back and when he came back, the father put the best robe on him, took out the ring from his hand and put it on his hand, anointed him with the Holy Spirit and said, come and sit with me.

Now in the story, there's an elder brother and the elder brother did not share the passion of the father's heart. And that's a picture of a lot of Christian workers who are doing a good job. He never left the father's house.

Look what his testimony is, verse 29. For so many years, I have been serving you. This elder brother was no lazy man. He was a hardworking. In fact, he was coming from the fields out in the hot sun, working hard for God, serving the Lord out in the fields, never always serving and not only always serving.

He was an upright man living a good life. Verse 29, I have never neglected any command you gave me. A wonderful example, an upright man with eager to serve the Lord, working out in the fields in the heat, but with no passion for lost souls.

Do you think there are Christian workers like that today? Thousands. No fellowship with the heart of the father. Never once did he tell his father, can I go and look for my younger brother? See where he's lost?

Never. Let him go. I take care of myself. How is it that the father saw the son so far away? Shall I tell you? Because he prayed for his son every day. He would pray and look out of the window. He would pray and look out of the window.

Like Elijah, when he prayed for rain, he prayed and looked to see if the cloud has come. The father was like that. That's why when he looked out of the window one day after many, many, many, many months of prayer for his lost son, he saw him and he ran and welcomed him.

But there are Christian workers today who never pray like that for lost people. They have no burden. They are doing professional work. Okay, I have to teach the Bible. Let's get up and do that. Sunday morning I have to give a sermon or I have to do some other work for the Lord and I'm doing it very hard.

I'm working in the field and I satisfy myself. Lots of people like that, but no burden. You know, I see that there are two types of Christian workers. One is like the father in this story who's got the heart of a father and the other is like the elder brother in the story who has no interest in his younger brother, but he does a faithful work for his father.

And you can make a choice today which type of servant of God you're going to be. We're all going to be either like the father like Jesus or like the elder brother who's a picture of the Pharisees. And sometimes I feel this story was spoken to expose the elder brother.

Remember this? The story begins with the elder son inside the house and the younger son outside and the story ends with the younger son inside and the elder son outside. Many Christian workers will be outside the kingdom.

Because they had no fellowship with the heart of the father. Am I talking only about elders? Every brother and sister in the church must be a servant of the Lord. Every single one of you sitting here, if you're born again, you're a co-worker with Jesus Christ and you must share fellowship with the father's heart for people who are lost.

How much of a burden do you have for people who are lost in other parts of India? I had a great longing when I was young to be an evangelist to go to North India, live all my life there. And I said, Lord, I'm ready to go, but he never called me and I wouldn't go if God didn't call me.

So, I have done through these years the next best God called me to teach, I've taught. But I've kept a very keen interest in all those who work in North India. I get magazines, I read about it. For years I've done that in my house.

Because I'm interested in what my fellow workers in other denominations are doing in Gujarat, in Rajasthan, in Himachal Pradesh, where I could never go. I want to ask some of you who are living very contented lives here, do you have any desire even to know what other people are doing?

Even to know, okay, you don't go, but do you have any interest at all in paying twenty-five rupees and getting a magazine to find out what is happening? You got all your doctrines right and you got everything right.

You got such a wonderful holy church, but you are just like that elder brother. You are not like the father. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that's the truth. You are fooling yourself when you think you are spiritual.

The elder brother said, I don't disobey any commandment. I've got victory over sin, I've got victory over anger, I've got victory over the lust of mice. I'm doing such a wonderful thing, but I have zero interest in people who are lost.

Is that God's heart? It's the heart of a Pharisee. Pharisee of the Pharisees. And there are a lot of people sitting in separated assemblies who think they are very holy, exactly like this elder brother.

Jesus’ Teaching on Money and Stewardship

May God give us light. Chapter sixteen to chapter twenty-one is a long, a number of chapters dealing with the subject of money. Some people think I talk too much about money. Jesus spoke about it more than me.

You know, if you were to count all the verses in the Gospels, here's a good bit of homework. If you want to do some homework in your spare time, read all the verses of Jesus' teaching in the Gospels, the teaching sections of Jesus in the Gospels, and you will discover sixteen percent of that teaching is on money.

Do you know that? One in every six verses is on the subject of money. That's the importance Jesus gave. I don't believe I give that much importance to it. And most preachers don't speak about it at all, except telling people to give their tithes, which is what Jesus never spoke.

There are six chapters here, all got to do various things about money. First of all, this man, who was an unrighteous steward, he planned for the future. That's the essence of that story. I don't have time to go into it in detail.

But the point is, he knew he was losing his job, his future was on this earth, so he did some crookery and crooked things. He prepared for the future so that when he loses this job, he'll have friends out there to give him another job.

And Jesus said, make friends for eternity through the mammon of unrighteousness. That means, for that steward, his future was only on this earth. For us, our future is in eternity. What did that fellow do?

He prepared for his future with the use of money. The Lord says, you prepare for your future with the use of money. He made friends for the future with money, you make friends for eternity with money.

How do you make friends for eternity with money? When you use your money for the spread of the gospel. And because you used your money wisely for the spread of the gospel, one day somebody will come up to you in heaven and say, brother, I'm so thankful that you gave money, which resulted in the gospel coming to me, and because of which I was saved, and because of which I'm here.

That's what Jesus said here. So that when you die, those people will receive you, verse 9, into eternal dwelling places. When you fail, and when all your money has failed on earth, when you get up there into eternal dwelling places, somebody will be there to welcome you and say, I'm here because you gave some money for God's work.

That's how I got that tract. That's how I got that tape. That's how somebody came here to give me the gospel because you supported him. That's what Jesus was saying. And he said it immediately after this parable, immediately after this story of all these lost sheep and the lost coin and the lost son.

And then he said these very strong words. I wish I could spend a whole session on it. Verse 10 to 13. If you're faithful in a very little, then you'll be faithful in much. And if you have not been faithful, verse 11, with unrighteous mammon, who will give you the true riches?

The true riches are revelation on the word of God, original revelation on the word of God. I want to ask you brothers here and sisters, how much have you got of original revelation on the word of God?

I don't mean what you heard from some brother or what you read in a book or heard in a tape. That's good. That's second best. Along with all that, how much are you getting original revelation from the Holy Spirit when you read the word of God?

Shall I tell you why you're not getting it? You're not faithful with money. I don't know anything about your financial dealings, but I can tell you straight. You're not faithful with money. He will not give you true riches.

The second thing we could call true riches is the character of Christ in our life. The character of Christ are the true riches. God gives it to those who are faithful with earthly things. No servant can serve two masters.

Very clear. You got to either serve God or money. Verse 13. The Pharisees who had missionary programs and who are very religious were also lovers of money. Verse 14. And they just laughed at him. Oh, this extreme preacher from Nazareth has come always preaching about money, money, money, money, money.

They laughed at him. And there are people who laugh when we hear such things. And Jesus said to them, you justify yourself in the sight of men. You appear very spiritual in the sight of men. But God knows your hearts.

And what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God, detestable in God's sight. Remember this verse. I have it hung up in my sitting room so that I can look at it and remember it all my life.

I've had it for 20 years at least. That which man esteems greatly is detestable in the sight of God. Make a list of all the things that man esteems greatly and say, Lord, this is all detestable in God's eyes.

I don't want any of it. I will not glory in anything that man values highly. Have you got things that man values highly? Okay, you have them. What can you do about it? But don't think they have any value before God.

Don't gloat over it. Don't meditate on it. Have you got a good-looking face? Well, I'm not saying cut it up and make it look ugly. Leave it as it is. But don't think that that helps you to serve God better.

Have you got a lot of intelligence which man values highly? Okay. But don't think it has got any value before God. Have you got a good house, good job? No value before God. Have you got degrees and titles?

No value before God. That anything which the world values highly is detestable in the sight of God. God values humility, the fear of God which the world does not value. You value those things and your service for the Lord will be far more effective.

Repentance, Faith, and the Rich Man and Lazarus

And then another story about money. The rich man and Lazarus, verse 19 onwards. Again, a man who was entrusted with money by God, a rich man, and he did not use it faithfully. He did not care for the poor.

And that poor man sitting at the door was his own brother. Do you know that? He was a son of Abraham and the rich man was a son of Abraham. Every Jew was a son of Abraham. That person sitting there was his own brother, his own family member.

And if a man does not know how to help his brother when he's in need, if he just prays the Lord, be warmed and filled and you do not give what he needs. The Bible says, how can you say you have faith?

Faith without works is dead. That's why the rich man went to hell. He had no faith. And I noticed here that it's very interesting what Jesus said. The beggar died. The poor man, verse 22, died. The rich man died, verse 22, and was also buried.

And I can imagine he must have had a fantastic burial with the bishop coming there and saying he was a good man and all the nice things people say when a man dies. But the man is in hell while all this funeral is going on.

And the poor man, he doesn't even say he was buried. You know there are some people who join certain churches because they want a decent burial. Marriage and burial, that's why they join churches. The poor man was not buried.

I don't know whether maybe they tossed his body into the garbage bin and the corporation came and took it off perhaps. But the man was already in heaven. What does it matter what they did with his body?

And there in heaven, this rich man could see, this man whom I despised is up there with all my money. I didn't make it. God has chosen the poor of the world rich in faith. Faith without works is dead.

If God has given you money, he expects you to use it to bless other people. Why did the rich man go to hell? He knew the answer because he said to Abraham, please send Lazarus to warn my five brothers because unless someone goes to them from the dead, if someone goes to them from the dead, verse 30, they will repent.

He knew why he went to hell because he did not repent of his sin. And he knew why Lazarus went to heaven because he repented of his sin. Repentance. 99 righteous persons who don't need repentance. That's what Jesus was emphasizing.

He knew that he went to hell because he didn't repent. He said, please go and tell my brothers. They go to church but they haven't repented. And then we come to, in chapter 17, Jesus says about another, he says, if your brother sins, verse 3, rebuke him.

If he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you, 17, verse 4, seven times a day, forgive him seven times a day. And the apostle said, increase my faith. And then he gave another parable about someone who is working for the Lord and when he comes back, the Lord says to him, now prepare something for me.

And this is the word I wanted to show you, verse 10. When you have done every single thing which the Lord has commanded you, say, we are unworthy slaves. We have only done that which we should have done.

The Lord was teaching his disciples humility. He said, after you have done everything possible, come to the Lord and say, Lord, I'm still an unprofitable servant. Keep that attitude all your life. When can you get this degree, unprofitable servant, unworthy slave?

According to verse 10, after you have obeyed every single command of the Lord. When you have obeyed every command of the Lord, you get a degree from the Lord, unworthy slave, unprofitable servant. It's a long road for most of us, right?

To get there. When are you going to finish obeying all the commands of the Lord to get this degree of unworthy slave? But long before that, most of us think we are pretty profitable and pretty worthy.

And that's why the Lord cannot use us any further. We don't take this seriously. Just because he blessed you a little bit here, a little bit there, you suddenly begin to think you are somebody. After you have obeyed everything, the Lord says you are still an unprofitable servant.

Thankfulness and the Coming of Christ

Then we have a lesson on thankfulness. Verse 11 to 21, about this leper who was cleansed and because he came back to the Lord to express his thankfulness, he also got salvation. Your faith has saved you, verse 19.

The others only got healing from the leprosy, this man got salvation as well. You always get more from the Lord when you come back to thank Him. You come to Him for prayer, you ask Him for something, you get something.

And after you get the answer, you come back to thank Him, you'll get something more. Remember that. And then he spoke about his second coming. And I want to say something here about the second coming of the Lord.

The time will come when you long to see, verse 22, the days of the Son of Man, and they will say to you, look here, look there, don't go running after them. Because just as the lightning when it flashes out of one part of the sky and shines to the other part, so will the Son of Man be in His day.

Now let me express my conviction. You probably heard a lot of things I say in these days which are quite contrary to the traditions that you have believed. Let me shock you one more time. I do not believe there is a secret coming of Jesus Christ seven years before His public coming.

I believe there is only one coming. As the lightning flashes from one part of the sky to the other, Christ will come at the end of the world. At the end of the tribulation, we will be here during the tribulation.

We will suffer. We'll stand for the Lord. God is not going to take His best soldiers away at a time when He needs a witness for Him in the days of the Antichrist. It's very clear, you read in Matthew 24, after the tribulation, like the lightning in the sky, and when people say, no, no, no, He has come secretly there, He has come secretly there, verse 23, He says, don't believe them, I don't believe them.

That was a doctrine that originated in England 150 years ago and the echoes are heard all over the world, that's all. But nobody ever believed it for 1850 years. That's how it will be. We must be ready for the coming of the Lord and for the persecution that will come before that.

And in that day, what will happen? There will be two people in one bed, verse 34, one will be taken and the other will be left. There will be two women grinding together in the same place, verse 35, one will be taken, the other will be left.

That's how it's going to be at the coming of the Lord. And so the Lord said, always be ready for it. For example, if you're on the house stop, verse 31, you should not have to go down to your house. If you're out in the field, you should not have to go back.

Today, those days they worked in the field, today we work in an office. I read it like this. If you go to the office and the Lord comes, you should not have to go back saying, Lord, I had a quarrel with my wife this morning, I have to settle that.

No, no, no. You must always be ready. Before you go to the office, please settle that quarrel with your wife and then go. So that in the office if the Lord comes, you don't have to say, Lord, please I have to go back home.

You shouldn't have to turn back. You're up on the roof of your house, you shouldn't have any attachment to anything inside the house. You must be ready to go from there. No attachment to anything on this earth, nothing to set right, an absolutely clear conscience every day of the year, ready for the coming of the Lord.

Persistence in Prayer and Victory Over Sin

That's how we are called to live. Chapter 18 verses 1 to 7. He speaks about prayer. And here he speaks about persistence in prayer. In Luke chapter 11, we saw about persistence in prayer and that was to deal with getting power to help another brother in need.

Here it is persistence in prayer for my own need. We need to persist in prayer for two things. One for our own need, Luke 18, and the other is for other people, Luke 11. Here it is, Lord, my enemy is harassing me.

Every day is harassing me. Every day is making me fall into some sin. Please help me. No answer. The judge says, don't disturb me. And the widow doesn't give up. It's interesting that the Lord pictures us like widows.

A widow without any male member in the house is one of the most helpless human beings on earth. And the Lord pictured us, the church and we believers like that. Widows, helpless. If some of you think you're not helpless, maybe that's why you don't go to God in prayer.

The more helpless we are, the more we go to God in prayer and say, Lord, deliver me. I've had young people come to me and ask me, brother, how to get victory over dirty thoughts. I said, I'll tell you.

Every time you get a dirty thought, repent deeply, cry out to God and say, Lord, I'm sorry I've slipped up. Weep on your pillow at night and cry out for victory. That's how I got it. I want to ask you, when was the last time your pillow got a little wet with tears because you were crying out for victory over sin?

Never? And you're surprised that you don't get victory? I'm not surprised. Who are the ones who get victory? Those who weep in sorrow because they dishonored the Lord by sin in their life that day. The others will only argue whether it's theologically possible to get victory.

You can keep arguing about that. The ones who weep get the victory. That's all I can say. Blessed are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. Lord, my enemy is troubling me. Lord, my enemy is troubling me.

Lord, my enemy is troubling me. And Jesus says, do you think God who listens to his elect, verse 7, crying to him day and night. When you cry at night, what happens? Your pillow gets wet. It's there in the Bible.

It's not my doctrine. They cry to him day and night. And do you think God will not answer them? He will speedily give them victory. Take that seriously. Cry out to God, Lord, my enemy is harassing me.

Then another parable on prayer about the Pharisee and the publican. That is particularly for those who think they are very righteous and everybody else is not so righteous. There are multitudes of Christians like that in the world who consider themselves to be extremely holy and other people are not so holy.

And this prayer, if you are in that category, this parable is especially for you. And this Pharisee, he was praying. He wasn't even praying to God. It says, have you noticed that verse? To whom did the Pharisee pray?

Have you noticed it? Verse 11, he prayed to himself. Who was his God then? He himself was his God. He prayed to himself. Verse 11, Oh God, he's talking to himself. Oh God, I thank you. It's written there.

Jesus said it. He prayed to himself saying, Oh God, I thank you that I'm not like other people. This is basically a proud man. A proud man basically worships himself. And he's very proud of his fasting and his praying and his tithing and his service and his missionary work and this and that and the other thing.

And he worships himself. And the poor publican over there who belongs to some despised denomination, he says, Oh God, I'm a sinner. And that man goes home justified. Remember that. The first will be last and the last will be first.

Riches, Zacchaeus, and Faithful Stewardship

And here's another story about money. Verse 18 onwards, the rich young ruler who was not willing to pay the price. And another story of money in chapter 19 of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a rich man who had cheated many people in his life.

And one day, but he had an eagerness. Sometimes we think these crooked tax collectors and all, they will not find God. Even today, you know, we have these income tax inspectors and sales tax inspectors.

We think they're all crooks. They all just take bribes and they're not interested in God. But Jesus loved even them. Among them, Jesus knew some of them are interested in the Lord. Zacchaeus was so eager, he climbed up a tree.

And I see something about the way Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived on earth as a man. As he walked through the road, the Holy Spirit said to him, Just look up now. There's a man in that tree.

And he looked up. There was. It's wonderful to listen to the Holy Spirit. That's how you can be led to lost souls in the most efficient way. Learn to listen to the Holy Spirit, my brothers and sisters.

And he told him, I want to come to your house today. And it says, As soon as he came to the house, Zacchaeus stopped. Verse 8. He stopped outside the house and he said, Lord, you're a holy man. You can't come to my house.

I built this with black money. I cheated so many people. I didn't pay the wages properly to the laborers who built this. And I've taken a lot of money wrongfully, a lot of things inside this house, which I got with illegal money, unrighteously.