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Jesus ministry was first and foremost to the Jewish people. He said to the woman of Canaan who desired that Jesus deliver her daughter from an evil spirit, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24) Jesus continually frequented the synagogues with the specific purpose of turning the hearts of Jews back to God. When He sent the twelve into the country side to preach, He commanded them to go only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 10:6) God had a covenant with Israel that no matter how rebellious they became, He would never forsake them.
We also have a covenant with God through the blood of Christ. Jesus said He would never leave nor forsake us. No matter how rebellious we become, we can’t escape His forgiveness and love! In Luke fifteen, we have the account of three lost things and their consequent recovery. There is the shepherd who lost one of His sheep. He left the other ninety-nine and went in search of the stray. When he found it, he called all his friends and neighbors and together they rejoiced and celebrated over the found lamb. There is the woman who lost a coin. She searched her house diligently until she found it. When she did, she called all her friends and neighbors and they rejoiced with her over the recovered coin. Finally, there is the account of the son who rebelled against his father and went out into the world. His father would continually look out toward the horizon hoping that he would return. One day he made out his son, “…Yet a long way off…,” and ran to embrace him. There was a great celebration, for the son that was “dead” was “alive again.”
All the things that were lost belonged to the person who lost them. The lamb and the coin were owned by the shepherd and the woman. The son was part of a family. There was no discovery, but a recovery of what was already theirs. There are many people today who were once part of the Kingdom of God but are no longer serving the Lord. In fact, for every new Believer that comes into the front door of the church, a backslidden Christian goes out the back door. It is pretty much a wash. Many Believers are so excited about “new blood” coming into the church that they fail to see the bleeding and wounded going out of the church. Last year, the media related the story about the sinkhole in Florida where a man’s bedroom disappeared into the ground. Looking at the outside of the house, one would think nothing was wrong. It is just like so many churches today; it looks good on the outside, but inside there is a “sinkhole” into which many are disappearing.
Jesus realized the importance of reaching the backsliders and those with the Egyptian syndrome (returning to their former lives). (See Numbers 12:2-4) We cry for lost souls, but shrug off the misguided souls. We rejoice over new members, but write off the lost members. We attempt to establish new relationships, but fall to reestablish old relationships. We throw out our arms in acceptance of the seeking, but fold our arms when it comes to lost saints. If the Church is to reign victorious, it needs to reach out to those who were once strong in the faith, but are now weak in the flesh. Evangelism is a two way street: it must reach those who were once part of the faith, but are now in the world, and then reach out to those who have never been given the chance to be part of the family of God.
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