Luke 15 and the Lost Being Found And thatís the main trouble in our churches today, friends. I fear there are a good many people like I was, they responded to a gospel invitation and walked an aisle and repeated a prayer and joined the church, they gave their money and their time, and they sincerely believed themselves to be true Christians, but in reality, if they died, they dropped straight into hell because they died in their sins, even though they were on the roll of the church, they were not in the Lambís Book of Life because theyíd never been awakened to their lost condition, they sat on a false bottom all their lives and had a carnal security of self -righteousness and good works, they were never truly convicted of sin, never exercised repentance toward God, and never truly been converted through saving faith in Jesus Christ, they just mentally agreed with some text, they believed the fact of the death of Christ, but they never believed on the Christ who died, there are many like that today, they are good church members, they are deacons, they are elders, they sing in the choir, they serve on committees, and some even stand in our pulpits, some in pulpits of some of our biggest churches in the land, but theyíve never been lost, theyíve never been found, and theyíve never been saved, theyíve never been born again, Jesus said, for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost, we have the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, they each share a common denominator, they each were lost, then they were found, if you will friends, please turn in your Bibles to Lukeís Gospel in chapter 15, and I want to emphasize what is stated clearly in our passage today regarding how the lost was found, first let us see the lost sheep, what man of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it, and when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing, and when he come at home, he call it together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost, I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven, over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance, either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently, till she find it, and when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I had lost, likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner that repenteth, now listen friends to the story about the prodigal son, who takes his inheritance and wastes it with righteous living, he ends up in a pig pen, filling his belly with the husk that the pigs ate, and the text says, and when he came to himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father's have bread enough, and to spare, and I perish with hunger, I will arise, and go to my father, and will say unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, now you see friends, there is a man who got lost, he feels his need, he is conscious of his lostness, and we'll see how the story plays out, the boy returns to his father, but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him, now look at how the father responds to the elder son, who is angry with the reception of his wayward brother, this is how the father responds to his complaints, and he said unto him, son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine, it was meat that we should make merry, and be glad for, this thy brother was dead, and is alive again, and was lost, and is found, like I said, you must get lost before you can be found, our job as workers of the gospel is to get men lost, get men lost friends, we must get them to the place where they see their need of a savior, oh friends, the gospel is not for the self -righteous, but for those who believe they are sick in sin, it's for the hungry it's for the weary, it's for the thirsty, but before a man can come safely to Christ, he must be conscious of his need, he must be awakened to his lost condition, he must recognize his need of a savior for sin, only a sick individual will take the remedy for sin in the person of Jesus Christ, and apply it savingly, Jesus declared, they that behold need not a physician, but they that are sick, but go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not sacrifice, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, let me ask you friend, have you ever seen yourself as a lost sinner who needed repentance, and a savior from sin, have you ever applied the remedy for sin, be honest with yourself, and ask yourself if you have ever truly been lost, a person who is lost is conscious of his need, conscious that he has a need to be saved,.