Are You Feeling Lost and Alone? REST in the Teachings of Jesus Christ. Part 5

Have you been feeling lost lately?

Do you feel like you've been straying away from the path that God has put you on and you don't know how to get back on track?

Do you feel like you're just too far gone?

Like "Why would Jesus care to run after me?"

Trust me when I say.... I've been there

In this episode I go over the teaching of Jesus Christ about the lost sheep and how the good shepherd cares for his sheep and chases after them when they stray away. I pair this with scripture, prayer, and 3 takeaways.

This episode is part 5 of a series I'm doing on resting in the teachings of Jesus Christ. In part 1 we went over the teaching of judging others. Part two was about the parable of the good Samaritan. In part 3 we went over salt and light. Last week in part 4 we went over the parable of the weeds and how we as Christians have to grow with the weeds. So if you haven't checked out those previous four parts make sure you go and check those out.

Before we get into this teaching I want to say a quick prayer.... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. I pray that you open up our eyes to see the truth of your words. I pray that you help us discern the truth. And I pray that we really understand and know exactly what it is that we're supposed to get from this teaching, that we have the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives, and to help make an impact in other people's lives. Holy Spirit please continue to lead, guide, and direct us through every aspect of our lives and help us to portray the fruit of the Spirit to others. I love you with my whole heart Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Alright, here are some scriptures about the parable of the lost sheep:

10 "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

12 "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost."

-Matthew 18: 10-14

1 "Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." -Luke 15: 1-7

So in all of these verses that I just read here we see this parable of the lost sheep. Where Jesus says that if someone owns a hundred sheep and one of them goes missing then the owner of the sheep is going to go and leave the ninety-nine, look for that one lost sheep, and rejoice that they found the lost sheep. I just want to point out something here before I go further into the explanation and us really just diving deep on this parable. I want to go into John chapter 10 in verse 11 and it says, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." Now in that verse that was Jesus talking. He was saying that he is the good shepherd and he laid down his life for us. He died on the cross to forgive us of our sins and we are his sheep.

So like we see here in all these verses about the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus does not want to lose any of us. We are all sinners and when we're lost, we wonder off, we stray away, we do things that we know we shouldn't do, we just lose our way and we get turned around and we get confused, or life gets in the way, Jesus is going to run after us. He chases after us and finds us and whenever he does find us he rejoices and the heavens rejoice. The heavens are happier over one lost sheep or one sinner that finds their way home, finds their way to Jesus, repents ,and ask for forgiveness, then over ninety-nine righteous people that don't need to repent. We are all sinners and that's why Jesus died on the cross to forgive us of our sins, so that through him we can have eternal life in heaven.

These verses just give me so much hope because I've been that lost sheep. I have wondered off more times than I would like to admit. I've wondered off, I've strayed away, I've done things that I'm not proud of, and Jesus has always been right there chasing after me. And he's always showing me so much mercy, love, grace, and just wanting me to come home and rejoicing every time I repent and every time I come to him and I follow him.

Now there's a few other scriptures that I want us to read here:

19 "My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins." -James 5: 19-20

11 " 'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness." -Ezekiel 34: 11-12

"I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands." -Psalm 119:176

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" -Romans 8:31

"My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place." -Jeremiah 50:6

"For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." -1 Peter 2:25

So we see throughout these verses here that a lot of these Israelites and people in the Bible were like lost sheep. They were led astray and they wandered off. Just like in the last verse that we read in 1 Peter, we see that it says they returned to the Shepherd, (which we know Jesus is the good shepherd and he's the Overseer of our souls.) We are all humans, are all sinners, none of us are perfect, and there's going to be times where we're going to feel lost. There's going to be times where things can get overwhelming, or worldly desires, distractions, and the things of this world can veer us off the right path (off the path that the Lord has for us.) It's important that we stay obedient, we follow Jesus, we pray to him, we worship him, we read and study the Bible, and we do everything we can to have a close relationship with him, but it's also important to know that he loves us so much. Jesus is the good shepherd. He laid down his life for us. His mercy, his love, and his grace is overwhelming, and whenever we get lost, whenever we wonder off, and we stray away, he will come and find us and rejoice whenever we come back, we find our way back, we repent and we follow him.

I'm not sure who this is for, but I know someone is reading this right now and they've been feeling so lost. There's been a lot of things that's been going on in their life and there's been a lot of distractions. There's been a lot of things weighing them down, a lot of temptations, they feel like they've been straying away from the path that God has put them on, and like they're too far gone. I know you feel like you're lost and you feel like "why would Jesus care to run after me?" You're a sinner, you've made so many mistakes, you've strayed away time after time, and this is not the first time you've gotten lost. And you're just starting to feel hopeless, like "there's no reason for Jesus to come run after me." "I'm just going to make another mistake." "I'm just going to do something else to disappoint him, my family, my friends, or myself." And I just want you to know that this message is for you. Jesus loves you so much. He laid down his life for you and he's never going to stop chasing after you. He's never going to give up on you. He's never left you and he's always going to love you and show you so much mercy and grace. We all make mistakes and he will forgive you. You just have to come back to him, repent, and follow him. Jesus will take care of you. He will give you peace, comfort, and every single thing that you need. He will make your paths straight and he doesn't see you based on your sins. Jesus doesn't see your past mistakes. He doesn't see any of that. He sees you for you, he sees your heart, and him and the heavens rejoice whenever you come back, you repent, and you find your way home to the good Shepherd (to Jesus Christ.)

So here's a few takeaways from this parable of the lost sheep:

I want you guys to write these down. So pull out a piece of paper and a pen, pull out the notes on your phone, or however you want to do it, but make sure you write these down and really remember and live by these things.

1. Jesus is the good shepherd

- Jesus takes care of his sheep and whenever one of his sheep, or one of us sinners, get lost and stray away, he will go out and find us and rejoice whenever we come back to him and follow him.

- Jesus laid down his life for us. He died on the cross to forgive us of our sins, he loves us so much, and his love is never ending.

2. You are not too far gone

- I know you're feeling lost right now and you don't think you can find your way back, or "why would anyone want to help me find my way back?" And I want you to know that you're not too far gone.

- Jesus, the good shepherd, is already chasing after you. He's already trying to get you to come back to him.

- You just have to let him in, repent, follow him, and know that there's nothing that you can do to make him not love you.

3. Jesus will forgive you

- The heavens will rejoice whenever you come back, you repent, and you follow Jesus, and he will always forgive you.

- He's always been right there just waiting for you to repent, chasing after you, and waiting for you to follow him and return home.

So I hope this episode helped you guys to really know and understand the parable of the lost sheep. Any time you're feeling lost, or you feel like you're too far gone, you've strayed away and you're not sure how to find your way back, you can have hope in knowing that Jesus is the good shepherd, you're not too far gone, and he will forgive you. All you have to do is take his hand, return back to him, repent, follow him, trust that the Lord will make your paths straight, and he will care for you. Jesus's love, mercy, and grace is never ending.

So that concludes this episode. Next week we're going to go into part 6 of the teachings of Jesus Christ, so make sure you stay tuned for that.

I love you guys so much.

Never forget to choose faith over fear.

-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)

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