In the year 2000 a six-year-old boy Named Jeremy Drew from rural Kentucky Went missing he strayed away from his Family's property while playing outside In a massive search was organized to Find him for several days the community Searched for Jeremy covering vast areas Of wilderness and terrain his family and Friends never gave up hope and kept Searching for him even as time passed And the chances of finding him alive Grew slim on the fourth day of the Search a rescue team finally found Jeremy alive and well he had wandered Into a cave where he sheltered from the Elements and was eventually discovered By the rescue team the community Celebrated his safe return and the Reunion with his grateful family was a Heartwarming one this story of Jeremy's Disappearance and eventual safe return Is a powerful illustration of the Parable of the lost sheep and that's What I'm going to be talking about in in This video but before I do that I'd like To thank give glory to him for Sponsoring this video give glory to him As a YouTube channel that produces Inspiring Christian music videos to Bless and uplift people here's a clip From their latest video entitled Wonderful Merciful Savior Thank you Foreign
Click on the card in the upper right Hand corner of the screen or the link in The video description to subscribe to Give glory to him and check out some of Their videos today the parable of the Lost sheep is mentioned in Matthew Chapter 18 verses 11 through 13. and it Reads for the son of man has come to Save that which was lost what do you Think if a man has a hundred sheep and One of them goes astray does he not Leave the 99 and go to the mountains to Seek the one that is straying and if he Should find it assuredly I say to you he Rejoices moreover that sheep than over The 99 that did not go astray Jesus used This story as an illustration of the Father's Love showing how he would do Absolutely everything to bring back a Sinner who has strayed from him Jesus is The Shepherd in the parable in John Chapter 10 verse 11 Jesus said I am the Good Shepherd the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep and sheep in the Bible represent followers of Christ Jesus said in John chapter 10 verse 27 My sheep hear my voice and I know them And they follow me the fact that the Lost sheep was part of the shepherd's Fold and under his care before it became Lost shows that the lost sheep Represents those who have once known The Father's Love But now have strayed away From him so these were believers who
Were part of the family of God also the Reason why sheep were used as an Illustration for believers may be Because sheep were very valuable in Bible times sheep were used for meat Milk wool and trade and sheep were a Measurement of wealth speaking of Abraham Genesis chapter 26 13 says the Man began to prosper and continued Prospering until he became very Prosperous for he had possessions of Flocks and possessions of hers and a Great number of service so the Philistines envied today people display Their wealth through their cars clothing And jewelry in Bible times the richest Man was the guy with the most sheep and People went to Great Lengths to ensure Their sheep were safe Proverbs chapter 27 verse 23 States be diligent to know The state of your flocks and attend to Your herds with all that being said how Much more value do you think we are to God than sheep were to people in Bible Times we are infinitely more valuable to God and he will go to whatever lengths It takes to make sure that we are safe And accounted for in his flock that is His church oh yeah by the way A Flock is A symbol of God's Church Acts chapter 20 Verse 28 says therefore take heed to Yourselves and to all the flock among Which the Holy Spirit has made you Overseers to Shepherd the Church of God
Which he purchased with his own blood But as much as people in Bible times Tried to keep their sheep's safe they Had a tendency to wander and some of the Reasons sheep's stray can be compared to Reasons why Christians leave the church For example one of the reasons that Sheep stray from the flock is in search Of better pastures this happens to Christians sometimes when they become Distracted by wealth material Possessions or other Temptations and as A result lose sight of their spiritual Goals and purposes another reason sheep Stray from the flock is because Something may frighten them away like a Predator so they run away there's a Variety of things that can frighten People away from church including Conflicts with other church members Feeling like others are judging them or Other negative experiences and traumatic Events sometimes sheep wander Away by Simply failing to keep up with the flock And they fall behind and get lost Christians sometimes fall behind in a Sense that they stop seeking the kingdom Of God first they stop making God a Priority and allow the cares of this Life to choke their faith some of the Priorities they allow to take the place Of God may be good or important Priorities like family commitments work Obligations and health and fitness goals
But if they allow these priorities to Take over they will attend church less And less until finally they stop Attending altogether sheep also wander Away from the flock because of curiosity Sheep are naturally curious animals and They may wander away from the flock to Explore new areas or environments Curiosity can lead Christians away from The church when they explore other Beliefs and become skeptical and start Questioning their own faith I've Personally seen this happen several Times at my church now I'm not saying That Christians shouldn't be allowed to Explore beliefs of other churches and Religions that's fine especially if the Purpose of your research is for outreach But if you do that you need to be rooted And grounded in your faith and confident Of your own beliefs otherwise Satan will Cause confusion in your mind and that Could have catastrophic results but I've Had several Christian friends who have Left the church as a result of Reading Anti-trinitarian literature and were Deceived into believing God is not a Trinity and they ended up leaving the Church to join some offshoot some of Those same friends sent me literature After they left the church and I read it But I didn't fall for it because it Contradicts the Bible but that's another Story now in the parable of the lost
Sheep did the shepherd say I know I lost A sheep but I have 99 more that's okay No he left the comfort of his own home To go out into the Wilderness and Possibly even risk his own life to Recover that one lost sheep being a Shepherd was a dangerous occupation David before he became king and was Still a young Shepherd boy wrote your Servant used to keep his father's sheep And when a lion or a bear came and took A lamb out of the flock I went out after It and struck it and delivered the lamb From its mouth and when it arose against Me I caught it by his beard and struck And killed it you know Jesus the Good Shepherd did even more than that he not Only risked his life he gave his life For us he left the glory of Heaven the Comfort of his Heavenly home to become a Man and our sinful and Fallen World this Dangerous Wilderness that we live in and He was ridiculed he was mocked and Ultimately he was crucified to save us From our sins and he continues working In the lives of those who have strayed From him and the church God's love and Grace never diminishes he remains ever Present watching and waiting for the Right moment to reveal himself to bring His lost children back to him this may Be in the form of a hymn Bible verse a Chance encountered with an old friend From church or this video that your
Watching right now are you a lost sheep Have you been feeling lost and Unfulfilled since you stopped regularly Attending church and practicing your Faith do you miss the Comfort joy and Peace that came with having God in your Life if so it's not too late to find Your way back God Longs for you to be Reconciled to him Isaiah chapter 55 Verse 7 says let the wicked forsake his Way and the unrighteous man his thoughts And let him return unto the Lord and He Will have mercy upon him and to our God For he will abundantly parted recommit Your life to God right now in prayer Pour your heart out to him share with Him your feelings concerns and any sins You feel convicted of and he will Forgive you also it's important that you Find a Christian church with like-minded Believers to fellowship and worship with I recommend The Seventh-Day Adventist Church that's where I go the easiest way To find one near you is by using Google Maps otherwise if you can't find wood Near you feel free to email me at Questions Biblefllockbox.org and I'll try to help You find one in your location real quick If you're new to this Channel and you Have been inspired by this video and Want to be informed when I post more Content make sure to subscribe to my Channel and click the Bell so you get
Notified about my future uploads when Children go missing in our world like Jeremy Drew who I spoke of at the Beginning of this video their family Wastes no time and Spares no expense to Find them the same is true of our Heavenly father the Bible Compares Believers who have strayed from the Faith to lost sheep sheep and Bible Times were very valuable and Shepherds Would go to Great Lengths to ensure the Safety of their flocks yet we are of Infinitely more value to God not only Did he send Jesus his son to die on the Cross for our sins but when a believer In the Lord loses their way God never Gives up trying to restore them to his Presence and love The Parables of Jesus Are full of powerful spiritual lessons For example the parable of the ten Verges is a symbolic illustration of two Groups of Believers in the church before The second coming of Jesus one group is Called wise versions and they make the Necessary preparations for the Lord's Coming while the other group called The Foolish virgins neglect their duties and End up becoming lost at his return Jesus Is quoted telling them assuredly I say To you I do not know you click on the Screen to watch my video about the Parable of the ten virgins so you could Discover the difference between the wise And foolish virgins and be prepared for
Jesus when he returns thank you for Watching and God bless you