The Lost Coin | How Do We Become Lost? | Luke 15 Sermon

[0:00] Good. So we are in Luke chapter 15. So if you have a Bible turn there with me. And I'm going to just read kind of like the introduction to chapter 15.

[0:12] ! And then I'm going to read our text in 15, if that makes sense. Hopefully it does. So verse 1 of Luke 15 says, Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.

[0:25] And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. And so he told them this parable. Now skip down to verse 8, where he's just told us the parable of the lost sheep.

[0:38] And now he goes on and tells us the story of the lost coin. He says in verse 8, Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?

[0:51] And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that was lost. Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

[1:07] Let's pray together. Father, thank you for this text. Lord, thank you for the story. We thank you, Lord, that you are the hero of this story.

[1:18] Lord, and we look to you to help us to see you in this, Lord, and to see, Lord, our lostness, Lord, and the lostness in the people around us, Lord, and how you call us, Lord, to act like you, to be like you.

[1:34] Lord, to help us this morning by your spirit, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So last week we identified that Jesus is talking to two groups of people.

[1:47] So group one, we talked about how he's talking to the tax collectors and sinners, those people who knew they were lost. And then he's also talking to group two, the Pharisees and the scribes, the people who were convinced they weren't lost.

[1:59] And this second group in verse two, they start grumbling about how Jesus is interacting and how he welcomes group one.

[2:12] And so as a result of that, in response to that, Jesus is telling one parable in four settings or one parable with four different stories. He says the lost, he talks about the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost younger brother and the lost older brother.

[2:30] And what we've been exploring like last week and a week before is really what it means to be lost. And then what it means to help people who are lost. And so the second part of the parable that I really want to kind of jump into this morning is the parable of the lost or the story of the lost coin.

[2:55] So we've just read it, but it's good for us just to go back and highlight some few things as we go through. Verse eight says, Jesus begins with this phrase, or what woman?

[3:06] Now to you and I, that's like, it's inconsequential, right? There is no, there is nothing to be said there. But in the first century, this would have been like a proper poke in the eye to the Pharisees and the scribes, right?

[3:21] Because he's not only just compared them to shepherds. So shepherds in the first century were normally hired hands. They were normally people who couldn't hold down a job somewhere else.

[3:34] They were often ex-criminals and they would be sent into the fields. And the scribes and Pharisees wouldn't have anything to do with the shepherd, let alone be associated with one or be called one.

[3:49] And yet Jesus says, which one of you? That's what he says in the first part. He says, which one of you? He's like, how dare you? That was on a front to the Pharisees and scribes.

[4:00] And then this, if anything, to them is even worse. Because now he makes it, he wants them to act as though in their minds, in their imagination, he wants them to think not like a shepherd, but as a woman.

[4:16] He says, or what woman? Let me just put this in context. Like one popular prayer in the first century was this. And it was amongst the Pharisees.

[4:26] They would pray this prayer every single day. They would get up in the morning and they would say, I thank you, oh my God, that I am not a woman. And Jesus says, which one are you?

[4:40] Right? And so Jesus says, well, what if you were? And you can imagine they're just having a meltdown in the back. You know, it's just off the back of which one of you shepherds?

[4:54] Like, how dare you? And now Jesus says, oh, what woman? I want you to think like that as I tell you this story, Jesus says. And so then he says, what woman having 10 coins if she loses one?

[5:15] Now, look, there's four things I want us to notice as we go through this short story. And they, like, are super powerful.

[5:27] The first thing is to notice is that how the coin finds itself lost. How the coin finds itself lost.

[5:41] So unlike the sheep who last time we said, you know, had made daily choices to separate itself from the flock and then to find itself lost. It separated itself from the flock and from the shepherd and it found itself lost.

[5:56] The coin gets lost through the actions of another. So there's a difference fundamentally in how the sheep got lost to how the coin got lost.

[6:09] The coin gets lost. Why? Because the woman lost the coin. And it reminds us, like, that most of the time, most of us think that lostness simply just means rebellion.

[6:25] Yeah, we go to the parable of the lost son, the younger son, and we go, there is rebellion. And absolutely, when we get there, it's all about rebellion. We think about lostness in terms of bad decisions and wild living and running from God.

[6:43] But in this story, this story disrupts that assumption because the coin didn't wander. The coin didn't rebel. The coin did not consciously reject its owner.

[6:59] Now, look, we're not told how it became lost. It just simply was lost. And the state of being lost is described as being hidden and buried and disconnected from where it was supposed to be.

[7:15] It's describing, if you might say, like a state of lostness rather than the cause of lostness. And the key thing for me here is that the coin hasn't changed.

[7:31] So the coin, and we'll talk about this as we go through, the thing that marks a coin being a coin is that it has value.

[7:44] It has worth. It has purpose. You do something with it, right? But the value of the coin hasn't changed. It's just no longer functioning as it's intended to function.

[7:59] In that respect, it has no value because you can't use it. But it still has intrinsic value, you might say. And look, I think like for us, as we think about this, whenever you come across someone who frames their life as though it doesn't matter, that's not a sheep, that's not a belonging issue.

[8:22] That's a coin issue. That's a value issue. And sometimes we need to bring back wandering lost people back to the flock.

[8:34] And sometimes we need to bring value back to those who feel worthless. People who are convinced that they are forgotten and unseen and unusable.

[8:45] And this is where this kind of lostness becomes dangerous because the deeper people fall into it, the harder it is to imagine being found.

[8:59] People begin believing maybe that they are too damaged or they are unwanted or they are forgotten or they are unseen like nobody sees me.

[9:12] Nothing meaningful can come from my life. Nothing meaningful can come from my life. But Jesus is teaching here something quite profound. He's teaching us that lostness changes visibility, not value.

[9:27] And so the question isn't just how do people become lost? It's also what kind of community notices those that are. And this is shown in what the woman does next.

[9:40] And this is the second thing to notice. In what the woman does next. And this is actually posed in the story. Or what woman having 10 silver coins, if she loses one question, what would we do?

[9:54] What would you do? Because like at first glance, this might not seem a big deal. I don't need to see a show of hands for you to recognize that you've been sitting on the couch on a sofa at home thinking that you had change in your pocket.

[10:10] Like that's an old thing, right? Like who carries change around these days. But just imagine that you had change in your pocket. You get up and he's like, I thought I had that pound coin in my pocket.

[10:21] Where has it gone? Or even worse. Even worse. You thought you had the pound coin in your pocket and you get to the supermarket. You know what I'm going to say. You thought you had that pound coin for the trolley.

[10:34] Way to ruin your day right there. But actually in a big scheme of things, it's not a big deal, is it?

[10:49] But look, here's what's going on here. This is not the small change in your pocket. In the first century, what this would look like is that this coin is part of a headdress containing 10 coins.

[11:06] And probably you would recognize them. If you was to look on the internet or Google it, you would see a woman with a headdress with coins going across the headdress.

[11:20] And still actually in some parts of the world, still pretty popular. Yeah. And these 10 coins are most likely this woman's dowry. And so in ancient cultures, and again still in some cultures today, the father of the bride would give a sum of money to the bride at her engagement.

[11:40] And so what happened at the engagement was the groom would make a promise. And this is really key to understanding what's going on here in terms of promise. The groom would make a promise to marry the woman.

[11:53] And then the father of the bride would also make a promise to the bride. That if she didn't get married, or like, you know, for example, the groom died.

[12:05] He would give her then coins as a promise of her future financial security. And so in our story, one tenth of this woman's security is lost.

[12:21] And this is all of a sudden a much bigger deal than losing your pound coin and you can't find it for the trolley. Why coins? Well, simply coins because coins in themselves are promissory, aren't they?

[12:36] Like they don't really hold any value in and of themselves. The only value is in the promise contained on them. And on our notes, the promise, you know, you have the picture of the king, right?

[12:48] And on the note, I promise to pay the bearer. That's what it says. Like it's just a bit of paper. But it's the promise that makes the difference. I promise to pay.

[13:03] In short, the value is in that promise. The value is in the image and what it represents. And so this woman has lost a coin.

[13:13] She has lost the promise of future value or perceived value right now. And so what's interesting as we think about that, Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 says that we are created in whose image?

[13:33] God's image. We have that planted on us as human beings. Humans everywhere in all times bear the image of God.

[13:43] This is what gives humans worth. It's what gives humans value. And so you can just imagine what is going on in the hearts and minds of those who are listening.

[13:55] Because Jesus is saying, look, the group one, not group two, the Pharisees and the scribes. Group one, what he's saying to the Pharisees and the scribes. Group one, the homeless guy, is discovering that he can find a home in Christ.

[14:11] Why? Because of that image placed on him. The diseased can discover that they can be healed in Christ. The alcoholic can discover that their thirst can be quenched in Christ.

[14:23] The prostitute finding longing can be satisfied in Christ. The teen mum can discover that shame can be gone in Christ. The mentally ill discovering wholeness in Christ.

[14:36] The refugee discovering a family in Christ. Why? Because of the value that God has placed. And so, look, the question is, as Jesus is framing this, Jesus is saying, what woman?

[14:51] If you were this woman and you lost one of those coins with everything that there is, that value attached to that and worth attached to that, knowing its potential worth, knowing that it bears the image of the promise giver who is always faithful, just as we've sung, who is always true to his promise, what would you do?

[15:13] Would you not, he says, light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until you find it? And the only reasonable answer is yes, of course.

[15:28] In a heartbeat, I'd do that. I wouldn't stop until I'd found it. Why? Because it's precious. And it's lost.

[15:42] Now, notice the third thing, and that is the heart of the woman who searches. So, we've previously said that Jesus in these stories is retelling Old Testament experiences.

[15:56] This is a new theology to the Pharisees and scribes. This is not something they have to wrestle with, like in terms of a concept.

[16:10] Jesus previously had talked about the lost sheep and the lost sheep of Israel and the shepherds over Israel. And he'd used that analogy and said, this is you. I am the good shepherd.

[16:21] You are the bad shepherds. That's what he said, right? It's not a new concept for them to understand. Here, this is not a new concept. Jesus is drawing on the experience of God's people in exile.

[16:36] And one of the most profound connections to the Old Testament experiences is between the book of Lamentations and this story.

[16:46] And we talked about this a couple of weeks ago. The book of Lamentations and this story, the story of the lost coin. And whilst we might say that they portray something precious that has become displaced, hidden, and unable to fill its intended purposes, more than that, these stories are framed.

[17:11] These stories in Lamentations, these stories are framed around a woman and loss. Like, I would encourage you this afternoon. Almost if you can bear it.

[17:22] I mean, it doesn't sound like an exciting read, right? Five chapters of Lamentations. Just go and read it. You can read it fairly quickly. And it's not accidental.

[17:34] Like, Jerusalem in Lamentations is personified as a woman. And for the most part, the person who's speaking in Lamentations is a woman who's lost something.

[17:45] Right? From the opening verse, just look at it. Verse 1 of Lamentations 1. Jerusalem is described as a grieving woman. How lonely sits the city that was full of people like a widow she has become.

[18:02] This is the woman in Luke 15 who has lost something and needs to go and sweep and light a lamp and look for that which is lost. Jerusalem is no longer described merely as a place.

[18:18] Jerusalem is described as somewhere that is abandoned, grieving, vulnerable, and stripped of all kinds of dignity. Throughout the book, actually, Lamentations speaks like a woman who's just lost everything.

[18:36] She says in verse 16 of Lamentations 1, And you'll know, you'll know if you've lost something or someone close to you, those words ring true, don't they?

[18:58] But where the parallel to the lost coin becomes powerful is that neither God's people nor the coin have ceased to exist. Really, really important that we understand this.

[19:12] They haven't ceased to exist. They've just become displaced or hidden. Now, remember, even further back, as a pattern, if you like, this is one of the first things to have happened to Adam and Eve, right?

[19:28] When they sinned, what happened? They were exiled from the garden. They were put out of the garden, weren't they? Almost sent into exile. Abel and Cain. What happened to Cain?

[19:39] Later, he became a wanderer from his home, without a home. Like, the idea of exile is, it runs through the Old Testament.

[19:52] Disconnection from purpose. Alone. Disconnected. And this is exactly what exile and Lamentations is about. Like, Israel, as a nation still exists, the people still exist, but they are no longer where they belong.

[20:08] They are no longer functioning as intended as God's people. They are living within. They are living outside of the realms of covenant fullness.

[20:20] So what God had promised was not able to take place. Why? Because they were not in the place where they were intended to be. And so lostness in the Old Testament, listen, isn't annihilation.

[20:31] It's dislocation. And this is heavy because theologically, exile in Scripture is one of the deepest expressions of lostness. Exile.

[20:45] You've not merely sinned. That would be one thing. But you're no longer home. And listen, for a Jew, that was massive, right?

[20:56] Because throughout centuries, they'd been taught that the place that God lives is in the tabernacle, or the temple is in a specific place. So they've not merely sinned.

[21:13] They're just no longer home. If they're not longer home, they're outside of God's protection. They're outside of God's presence. They're disconnected from God himself. Lostness. This is why when you read the book of Lamentations, there is a feeling of weight to it.

[21:30] And I think, like, one of the things that the book highlights is that lostness and exile never finish out lostness and exile. There is a hidden cost to it.

[21:42] The lost coin is described in Luke 15 as hidden in darkness and lost amongst the dirt. This is why the woman lights a lamp in the middle of the day and sweeps the floor.

[21:57] Because, like, in Lamentations, and the Pharisees and the scribes listening to this, they're clocking on to this. Jerusalem repeatedly describes herself in terms of humiliation and invisibility.

[22:09] Listen to what it says in Lamentations 1, verse 8. Jerusalem has sinned greatly, so she has been tossed away like a filthy rag. All who once honored her now despise her, for they have seen her stripped naked and humiliated.

[22:24] All she can do is groan and hide her face. She defiled herself with immorality and gave no thought to her future. She now lies, listen, she now lies in the gutter with no one to lift her out.

[22:38] That's the lost coin in Luke 15. And so this exile is not just exile. It's not just lostness. It's what lostness produces, and that's shame.

[22:50] The city that once reflected God's glory now sees itself as discarded, and this is exactly what happens to many people today. Whether it's trauma, whether it's mental illness, whether it's abuse, whether it's rejection, failure, these experiences do not remove value, but they distort perceived value.

[23:10] The lost begin believing, I am a sinner, and therefore I must be worthless. Now look, where these stories take a turn is of course where we see the woman who searches for what is lost.

[23:30] And in Lamentations, Jerusalem is portrayed as daughter Zion, a suffering woman longing to be remembered and restored. And Lamentations chapter 1, just as a way to think about this maybe, Lamentations chapter 1 features 22 verses.

[23:51] Now you might go, thanks very much, who cares? Here's the point. 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each verse in chapter 1 starts with a different letter of that alphabet, so it's an acrostic.

[24:07] That's not interesting in and of itself. There's lots of acrastics in the Bible. Psalm 9 and 10, that's an acrostic. Psalm 119, that's an acrostic. There's a whole bunch of acrastics in the Bible. Brilliant. But what this is doing is, you know, often when writers do that, they're trying to express the fullness of something.

[24:27] So we would say like the sum total, the long short of it, in the New Testament, you get that same idea, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. There's nothing that exists outside of that. Right?

[24:39] You can't describe something outside of your alphabet. That's an impossibility, right? And so it's the full expression of something. And so the writer of Lamentations is using an acrostic in chapter 1 to describe the full extent of exile and lostness.

[24:57] And then in chapter 2, he does the same thing. And in chapter 4, he does the same thing.

[25:10] He's not just describing lostness and exile. He's saying, there isn't lostness and exile outside of what we experience. This is the full extent of this. But then in chapter 3, and if you know the songs, you'll know chapter 3.

[25:29] We'll get there in a minute. This is the only chapter with any hope. where you find those familiar verses in verse 21.

[25:41] But this I call to mind, therefore I have hope that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercy never comes to an end. And just like the woman in Luke 15 lights the lamp, throughout exile literature, light becomes a symbol of restoration, doesn't it?

[25:59] There's hope. Hope appears in lamentations like the breaking dawn of the rising sun. It's God's lamp.

[26:14] What are God's love and mercy like? Well, verse 23, they are new every morning. Every morning, God lights the lamp and shines His love and His mercy.

[26:26] And in this chapter, as opposed to chapter 1, 2, and 4, which describe the fullness of exile and lostness, chapter 3, the writer doesn't use 22 verses.

[26:42] Because why would he? You might say, well, 22 verses, that describes the fullness of God's mercy and love. Well, not quite. Instead of 22 verses, he uses 66 verses.

[26:54] Why? 22 verses for each member of the Trinity to declare the full extent of God's goodness and faithfulness. Even in exile and lost, right in the middle.

[27:08] And in that way, there is an invitation to the exile and to the lost to remember again that there is a God who keeps His promises. Even in the midst of grief, exile is never presented as the final word.

[27:24] Lamentations 3.31, for the Lord will not cast us off forever. For though He causes grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance. And notice that, the abundance of His steadfast love.

[27:35] God's heart towards exiles is restoration. He searches not to condemn, but to recover. And that's crucial. Because the coin cannot recover itself.

[27:49] Exiles cannot rescue themselves. Restoration begins with God moving towards the lost. And this is a picture then of God moving towards lost people and bringing them back into value and purpose.

[28:10] You can reread, if you want to, Ephesians chapter 2 as the story of humanity as the lost coin. Buried beneath sin, living in the dark, wounded by the world, just sitting there unable to rescue ourselves.

[28:30] And yet relentlessly searched for by the grace of God until our value and purpose are restored in Christ. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, for because we are His workmanship.

[28:42] We are His workmanship. That word in the Greek is poema. It just means a poem. We are God's poems. Created in Christ Jesus for purpose, good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

[29:00] You see, Jesus doesn't just talk about lost things. We're good in the church about talking about stuff, aren't we? We're really good about talking about stuff. We're not so good about doing stuff.

[29:15] But here, God doesn't just talk about lost things. He talks about restoration and does something about it. Verse 9, when she has found it.

[29:27] Pause there. If you haven't got brackets, highlights, underlined around that phrase, come on. When she has found it. Like, praise God for that. Because that means that the darkness didn't win.

[29:40] the dust did not get the final word, right? The lost thing was not abandoned beneath the floorboards forever. She found it. God found it.

[29:54] Which means there is hope for every person who feels hidden today. And then look, finally, see the joy of the woman over what has been restored.

[30:08] When she has found it, what does she do? She calls together her friends and her neighbors saying, rejoice with me for I have found the coin that I had lost.

[30:21] Now, no one does that over the pound coin that you use for the trolley. Okay? There is significant value and purpose to the thing that was lost and significant meaning to what has been restored.

[30:37] And look, what is set in contrast to the failure of the scribes and Pharisees is that finding or having found the lost coin, she has proven her faithfulness.

[30:50] But God in his searching, God in his restoring has proven his faithfulness. And that's in the success of finding the faithfulness of the woman that is celebrated, which leads Jesus to then give this application in verse 10, just so, like in the same way.

[31:10] And he's talking about group one. He's talking to group two about group one, which wasn't awkward for group one at all. Right? He's talking to group two.

[31:23] He says, just so, in the same way I tell you. Look, that's an emphatic statement. He said, just like the woman, Jesus says. And she called her friends to rejoice over a recovering lost coin.

[31:35] I tell you, Pharisees, I tell you. And he's pointing right at them. I tell you, now awkwardness is on the other foot. There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

[31:54] This message is all about promise and it's all about full things. So we have a coin in exile and fully lost and we have a God who is fully loving loving and merciful and he goes and searches until the coin is fully found.

[32:19] At no point does the woman say, oh, there it is. At least I know where it is now. No, that's not fully found.

[32:30] That's just fully known. That's a different parable. And as a result, we find like this coin that was fully lost, God who is fully loving, searches until it is fully found.

[32:46] Finally, we see joy full as a result. Jesus said in John chapter 15, these things I have spoken to you that your joy may be in you or my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.

[33:02] Like that's, that's convicting, isn't it? Like how often am I joyful? So there are two questions that come from that verse.

[33:15] Two questions that we should probably think about as we close. Two questions. Number one, whose is this joy? I.e., who does it belong to? And number two, secondly, what is the reason for the joy?

[33:29] Whose joy? Who does it belong to? Number two, what is the reason for the joy? And so, whose is this joy? Well, look, we might assume in, in this verse, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

[33:44] We might assume that it is the angels rejoicing and you've heard that, right? You've heard when, when someone gets saved, all the angels start going crazy and there's one massive heaven party and everybody's singing and, and, and joyful.

[33:58] Okay, that's not what the text says. Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's not what it says. Now, I'm not saying that's not what happens. I'm just saying that's not what the text says. It says there is joy.

[34:12] Notice the word before. Did you see that? There is joy before. And that word, that word in the Greek is enopeion and it just means in the presence of.

[34:26] there is joy in the presence of the angels. Oh, now that reads a little bit differently, doesn't it?

[34:41] Because, because that leads me to believe then it's not the angels joy. There is joy in the presence of the angels of God. So, in the presence of the angels of God, there is joy.

[34:54] Now, listen carefully. The joy that Jesus is speaking of is not the angels joy. It doesn't belong to that. The joy that Jesus is speaking about is God's joy. It's the joy of God that surrounds the angels.

[35:10] It's the joy of God that fills heaven before the angels. Like, heaven is this place, if you can imagine this, and you do well to try, to spend time trying to imagine this.

[35:27] Heaven is a place full of God's full joy. That's what it's like. You want to, you know, you want to know how the Bible most commonly speaks of heaven?

[35:46] One word. Joy. Heaven is a place of joy. And so, in answer to the question, whose is this joy? The answer is that it's God's joy. And it fills all of heaven so that it is a place of joy.

[36:04] Next question, what is the reason for the joy? Or answer, because joy is the delivery of the promise. Now, get that. Joy is the delivery of the promise.

[36:17] joy comes from the promise that was made and the delivery of that promise. The coming good on that promise.

[36:29] This is why Jesus uses the coin as an example, because in the coin is held a promise. It's promissory. Think about it.

[36:42] When you look at your life, whatever you do in your life, whatever you pursue, whatever you accomplish, whatever that is, you do it because it is intended for you to bring about a level of fulfillment.

[37:01] That's why we do what we do. A sense of happiness, a sense of delight. However small, when you feel like you are fulfilling your job or your role, that fulfillment brings joy, doesn't it?

[37:18] Otherwise, we're really good at stopping things that don't make us happy, or that we don't find fulfillment in. We're really good at that. And so in heaven, heaven is filled with complete, permanent, eternal, unending, undiminished joy.

[37:43] Why? Because God has delivered on his promise. Jude 24. Sometimes we read this as a benediction to close a service.

[37:56] It's a really, like whatever. 24. Jude says that he is, Jesus is, able to keep you from stumbling, and then to present you blameless, notice this, before the presence of his glory with great joy.

[38:20] Why the great joy? Because God is able to fulfill that promise. And so if someone were to ask a simple question, what is happening in heaven right now?

[38:39] And don't get all metaphysical at me, just bear with me. If someone was to ask, what is happening in heaven right now?

[38:51] Jesus answers it for us in Luke 15. He says, there is perfect joy. perfect joy. Not distant joy. Not occasional joy. Not reluctant joy.

[39:05] But overflowing, searching, celebrating joy. Because Jesus says that one sinner is found. And that sinner turns to God.

[39:17] Heaven explodes. for all eternity. Constantly. One joyous explosion.

[39:33] And that means right now, this is what God is like. Not waiting for the end of time to become joyful. Not hoping things will finally turn out.

[39:46] Not looking at Simon and going, well, I'm not sure. Not sure he's going to make it. But he is actively rejoicing as lost people are sought, found, and brought home.

[40:05] And in this story, it is God in Christ, not the Pharisees, who is the woman. It is God in Christ who turns on the light in the dark world.

[40:17] dark house of this world. He sweeps through the dust and debris of human brokenness. He refuses to stop until what belongs to him is found.

[40:31] It is God in Christ who searches because what is lost still belongs to him. And so he does not wait for the coin to climb out of the dust.

[40:43] He goes down into the dust. He does not call from a distance. He comes close. He doesn't leave value buried beneath shame.

[40:55] He restores it. And when he finds it, when he finds us, he lifts what was hidden back into place where it was always meant to be. And so let me ask you this final question as we close.

[41:11] Have you lost sight of the joy of being found? Have you forgotten that heaven is not indifferent towards you but rejoicing over you?

[41:24] Because the gospel is not only that we are forgiven. The gospel is also that we are found. And when the lost are found, heaven doesn't whisper.

[41:39] Heaven sings. And so let's join heaven this morning and sing joyous songs to our God.

[41:51] Let's pray. Father, thank you that you restore the things that were broken, things that were seemingly of no value and worth.

[42:03] And you have, your word says, seated us in the heavenly places. Amen. Thank you, Lord, for your great love.

[42:17] That is new every morning. Thank you for your faithfulness. Thank you that you are a restorer of lost things.

[42:31] Lord, thank you, Lord, that as we turn to you, all of heaven erupts, not because of the joy found in them and that place, but because of the joy found in you.

[42:47] Lord, we pray that you would forgive us of all the times where we have not been full of the joy of the Lord. Your word says that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Lord, we want to be joyful people.

[43:02] And we are joyful people when we remember you. And so help us, Lord, this morning to remember you. To remember there is a God who has sought us and found us and restored us.

[43:14] Help us to live in that place rather than in the darkness of the world. Lord, thank you to ask, Lord, we pray that we would take joy in knowing that we are found, knowing that you have found us and placed us and that you have a purpose for us.

[43:35] Lord, we're sorry for all the times that we have not lived out that purpose on this earth. We pray, Lord, that you would make us people who are like you and go searching for that lost coin.

[43:51] Lord, we pray that you would help us to understand what it means to do that each and every day. Lord, we pray for all of those lost coins that we know, those people who are hidden, those people who are buried in shame or guilt or past experiences, maybe even bad experiences with churches.

[44:13] Lord, we pray, Lord, that we would be like the woman who turns the light on, the light of your gospel, shines the light in the dark places. Lord, that we wouldn't stand back and say, well, God, if you're going to do it, then we'll just let God do it.

[44:28] Lord, you've called us to be on your mission. Lord, and with the same rebuke that you rebuked the Pharisees and the scribes for not doing that, Lord, we pray, Lord, that there would be your joy in us as you see us going and finding these people.

[44:46] And Lord, by your grace, through the power of your spirit, Lord, we pray, Lord, that we would see many lost coins be found. Lord, we ask this in Jesus' name.

[44:59] Amen. Amen. Amen.