Lost and Found: The Lost Silver!
Reading Luke Ch.15 v 8-10.

Introduction:

One Saturday afternoon King George V and Queen Mary were staying in the home of Lord Stamfordham. They decided to take a walk through the quiet countryside, something they had often done. As they walked Queen Mary felt tired and requested to take a rest. A little labourers cottage was spotted a short way off, the King requested of the good woman who opened the door, to allow them to come and sit for a brief time.

When the royal visitors were seated in the spotless little parlour, they noticed a family bible sitting in a very prominent position. I am glad to see you have the Good Book said the King.

Ay, your Majesties said William, would you like to hear about my conversion? Of course we would replied the King. The story was told with enthusiasm. The Queen, with tears in her eyes turned to the good wife. And have you had an experience like that? Yes! She sure had. And on request rehearsed her testimony to the royal couple. When they eventually took their leave, they were much affected by all they had heard. They thanked the couple and on leaving said, we love him too you know!

Their experience, although their stations in life were poles apart, had brought them together in a bond of love for the master.

And of course similar experiences do just that.

But here we have a trilogy of parables or stories and although poles apart in their station have something very wonderful in common.

Last time we thought about the lost sheep. And in that story we see the Son of God seeking and saving that, which was lost.

Now when we come next time to the lost son we will see the father simply stay by the home until the son has had enough and decides himself to come home.

But in our parable today we have the lost silver being sought in the deep recess of the home, in the darkest place, in its hopelessly lost position. And that surely is a picture of the spirit seeking and finding the most utterly helpless precious person.

Now it's interesting! The sheep was lost and did not know it, but could not find its way home.

The prodigal son was lost and knew it. Was lost and aware the father would be waiting on his return. Was lost and could find his way home.

But the piece of silver was lost and was unaware of it. Was lost and did not know there was a way home. Was lost and unaware that anyone was looking for it.

And do you know we have people just like that. They are lost and unaware of it!

They are lost and do not know there is a way home!

They are lost and unaware anyone is looking for them!

And you know what? Only the Spirit of God can do in their lives what is necessary to show them that they are in darkness and lift them and place them in the place of safety and light.

So here we have the Son, the Spirit, the Father seeking that which is lost! The trinity has a desire to seek and save the lost!

This Is A Precious Piece Of Silver!

This was one of ten coins that went to make up a betrothal band that a wife would wear when going outside her own home. It was to signify that she belonged to another and that she was faithful to him. They were silver as our text reminds us! They were coins of the realm with the king's head on them!

The idea was that if one was lost it was considered that she had been unfaithful to her husband!

So we can understand their value.

Such is the value of souls for whom Christ died!

A. The soul is valuable by its nature and origin!

B. The soul is valuable by the duration of its existence!

C. The soul is valuable by the cost of its redemption!

D. The soul is valuable by the struggle for its possession!

This was a precious piece of silver! You are a precious soul!

Rabbi! Begon! Thy powers bring loss to us and ours:

Our ways are not as thine—thou lovest men—we swine,

Oh get thee gone omnipotence, and take this fool of thine!

His soul? What care we for his soul? Since we have lost our swine.

The Christ went sadly: he had wrought for them a sign

Of love and tenderness divine—they wanted swine!

Christ stands without your door and gently knocks,

But if your gold or swine the entrance blocks,

He forces no man’s hold, he will depart

And leave you to the treasures of your heart. (John Oxenham)

2. This Is A Lost Piece Of Silver!

I got to thinking recently, what does lost really mean?

So I began to list some of the adjectives describing lost. Listen!

(a) Missing:

Rom. 3 v 23. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."

You are missing the mark! You are falling short of what God requires!

(b) Confused:

Just look at a child who has lost its mother! Totally disorientated. Does not know where to look, what way to go, that child will normally simply stand and cry, calling for the one it knows it will be safe again with!

I remember when in the United States in 1996 we parked the car in the car park of one of these multi-story car parks, taking careful note the door we went in.

What we did not know was that each floor had its own car park and each floor entrance and exit looked exactly alike. So while we had noted the door we went in, what we did not note was the number of the floor we went in.

So when we came out of the store we made for the exact spot we parked the car, only to discover, you guessed it, the car was not there. Well you talk about being confused. By the way we did eventually find the car.

To be lost means to be confused as to your eternal destination.

(c) Wasted!

The hymn writer had it right when he said!

I’ve wasted many precious years, now I’m coming home;

I now repent with bitter tears, Lord I’m coming home.

I’m tired of sin and straying, Lord; now I’m coming home;

I’ll trust thy love, believe thy word, Lord, I’m coming home.

You see dear folks, you have a life that was intended for something very different than just wandering through life and wasting that life on foolish and frivolous living.

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Peter 3 v 9.

God is working toward our repentance for he has a better life for us in his Son Jesus Christ! But because we are lost we are wasting that life!

(d) Depraved!

I noticed there was only one adjective to describe depraved, corrupt!

You see the soul that is lost is depraved and corrupt. It's not that the soul is lost and we don’t know were to find it, but it's lost in the sense that it is depraved and corrupt and has only one end.

What do you do with something that is depraved and corrupt?

Why, you dump it in the bin from where it will be transported to a place where it will lie in the darkness of the earth until it rots.

You know don’t you that it’s still there in some form or other in the ground, nothing is ever gone! It’s always around in some form or another.

Or secondly, if something is corrupt we throw it on the fire and burn it up lest it corrupt something else. But again even though it's burned it’s still around in some form or other, nothing is ever annihilated.

What does God do with the depraved, corrupt soul? Why he has no option but place it in the fire and that is the fires of hell.

That place where the fire is never extinguished and where what is placed into it never is burned up. It's like living and burning all throughout eternity

You’re a lost soul and in great need of saving!

3. This Piece Of Silver Is Lost In The House!

This piece of silver was not like the lost sheep, or the lost son, lost far away from home. It was in the house, but utterly lost! It was near to the one who was looking for it, but still lost.

Illustration:

Little Mary Jones is lost, little Mary Jones is lost cried her dad as he ran down the street to the police station. Reporting at the front desk to the police sergeant he said again, little Mary Jones is lost, little Mary Jones is lost!

After calming Mary’s father down, he took down some particulars.

Have you tried everywhere Mary usually goes? Said the policeman!

Did you know this is the Sunday school party at the church said the sergeant? Oh no I had forgotten about that. So off the policeman and dad went and on arrival at the church hall, the hall was in darkness, they were showing lanternslides.

The policeman attracted the attention of one of the leaders and told him what had happened and asked him to make an announcement in the hall. He went to the front and in the glare of the lanternslides he announced, Mary Jones is lost, if she is here would she please make her way to the front door. Nothing happened, dad and the policeman were disappointed and returned to the police station to think again. I tell you what, said the policeman, you go home and wait there and we will ask around some more and we will come to your home in about an hour.

So the sergeant and his officers went out to do their duty. As they did they discovered the Sunday school party coming out and everybody making for home. And what do you think, there was little Mary Jones walking up the street with her friends.

The policeman went across the street to Mary, Mary don’t you know everybody is in a state, they think you are lost. Did you not hear the announcement during the lantern show! Oh, yes sergeant, but I did not think you were talking about me for I was not lost, I was in the Sunday school party.

Here’s a coin and it's lost and absolutely oblivious to the fact!

You say, well of course because it’s an inanimate object it has no sense of lostness, no sense of fear, no sense of death, no sense of judgement.

Ah! But we are not like that, we have certain sensitivities that should alert us to our lostness but sometimes we are like the coin, lost and totally unaware of it. We have become hardened to the fact that we are lost and heading for judgement. The Holy Spirit did not want it like that.

But we have closed up our ears and understanding and hardened our hearts. We have become like that coin, an inanimate object.

And we are lost right in the very House of God. We come here often or to some other place to hear God’s Word but keep ignoring it as though we were just an inanimate object. Wake up! Wake up! You're lost! You're lost! Judgement is coming!

4. This Piece Of Silver Is Lost And In Darkness!

This dear lady goes looking for her silver, guess what? She lights a light. You see when something is lost in the darkness the best thing to do is to light a light! The hymn writer said, "The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin! The light of the world is Jesus."

The long hours of daylight in summer and the short hours of daylight in winter produce some discernible characteristics in the Swedish people. Jan Lindstrom, a columnist for the Stockholm newspaper Expressen, said, "We Swedes have two lives; the dark one in winter and another in summer under the sunlight." Studies have been made of the effect of long daily periods of sunlight on people's behavior, temperament, and work habits. It is thought that people, like plants, are photographic. They blossom in the sun. A Stockholm professor says, "people feel stronger, psychologically are more happy in the summer." In another sense many people lead two lives. They appear to their friends to be walking in the light as Jesus is in the light. In fact there is a dark side to their lives, and they have not forsaken the works of darkness.

The light has come and it's there for you to walk in, not simply to look at.

You know, as we have been hearing with respect to the eclipse, the sunlight cannot be done without. This world would freeze to a standstill if we did not have the sun. And yet if we walk out into the midday sun and stare up at its rays it will blind you. The light of the sun is there for to walk in but not to look at!

But some have spent far too much time looking at the light Jesus brought to this world and they are going spiritually blind.

That light shines in the Saviour, in the Scriptures, in the Saints!

Two Indians who had been watching a lighthouse go up came over to see the thing open on the big day. It was all set up with the lights and the bell and the horn; but the day it was due to open, the worst fog of all fogs came in. One Indian said to the other, "light shine, bell ring, horn blow, but fog come in just the same." We've never had more lights shining, and bells ringing, and horns blowing in the church than we have today. We've never had more fog. It need not be that way, there is light for you! Vance Havner in, 'On this rock I stand.'

5. This Piece Of Silver Is Found Bringing Great Joy!

"Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which was lost."

Just as this woman rejoices over the finding of her lost silver so the Holy Spirit rejoices over the finding of a lost soul.

Three celebrated explorers were invited to dinner at the geographical club in London. Sir Vivian Fuchs had explored Greenland, East Africa, and the Antarctic. Dr. John Hemmin had gone on an expedition to Brazil. Robin Hanbury-Tenison had explored Ecuador, Brazil, Venezuela, the Sahara, and the Amazon. They met at the royal geographical society, a quarter mile from their destination. Within fifteen minutes they were lost in the back streets of London.

The Bible reminds us there is great joy in heaven over one sinner that repents!

Dear friend can you imagine the kind of joy there would be in heaven and on earth if you who are lost would be found of the dear Saviour and be saved even today? Why not call upon His name and repent, believing He and He alone is able to save you?