“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10
Suggested Further Reading: Luke 15:1-7
It is strange what unusual places Christ finds some of his people in! I knew
one of Christ’s sheep who was found out by his Master while committing robbery.
I knew another who was found out by Christ, while he was spiting his old mother
by reading the Sunday newspaper and making fun of her. Many have been found by
Jesus Christ, even in the midst of sin and vanity. I knew a preacher of the
gospel who was converted in a theatre. He was listening to a play, an
old-fashioned piece, that ended with a sailor drinking a glass of gin before he
was hung, and he said, “Here’s to the prosperity of the British nation, and the
salvation of my immortal soul;” and down went the curtain; and down went my
friend too, for he ran home with all his might. Those words, “The salvation of
my immortal soul,” had struck him to the quick; and he sought the Lord Jesus in
his chamber. Many a day he sought him, and at last he found him to his joy and
confidence. But for the most part Christ finds his people in his own house; but
he finds them often in the worst of tempers, in the most hardened conditions;
and he softens their hearts, awakens their consciences, subdues their pride,
and takes them to himself; but they would never come to him unless he came to
them. Sheep go astray, but they do not come back again by themselves. Ask the
shepherd whether his sheep come back, and he will tell you, “No, sir; they will
wander, but they never return.” When you find a sheep that ever came back by
himself, then you may hope to find a sinner that will come to Christ by
himself. No; it must be sovereign grace that must seek the sinner and bring him
home.
For meditation: We all like sheep have gone astray; we have all gone
our own way (Isaiah 53:6); we have all
ended up like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). The Lord Jesus
Christ is the great shepherd (Hebrews 13:20), the good
shepherd (John 10:11,14)
and the giving shepherd who gave his life for his sheep (John
10:11)
and who gives eternal life to his sheep (John 10:28). Have you been
found by him and returned to him (1 Peter 2:25)?
Sermon no. 204365 from sermons preached by Charles H. Spurgeon on
11 July (1858)
Linked with:
Twelve Days of Christmas,
Teach Me Tuesday
Sharing His Beauty
Barn Hop #70
Hear It on Sunday, Use it on Monday
The Garden Showcase
Linked with:
Twelve Days of Christmas,
Teach Me Tuesday
Sharing His Beauty
Barn Hop #70
Hear It on Sunday, Use it on Monday
The Garden Showcase
Amazing and wonderful how far and how wide our Savior will go to retrieve even one lost soul.
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