One out of a Hundred – audio

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Do you like collecting things?

Perhaps you collect coins, stamps, baseball cards, or some other common item. I have the first set of Hardy Boys books in hardback, including the Handbook. I am also attempting to visit all 30 NHL arenas, collecting tickets and pucks from each one. If just one is missing, my collection would not be complete! I enjoy each and every book, ticket, and puck; other collectors enjoy each and every coin, stamp, or card.

A shepherd does more than just collect sheep.

He feeds them, protects them, and guides them. He also is concerned if even one sheep goes missing! Jesus is our Good Shepherd (John 10:11-16). He is willing to lay down His life for His sheep. If one sheep goes astray, He will go looking for it!

Yes, every single sheep is important!

If He has 100 sheep and one goes missing, will He not leave the 99 and look for the one that is lost? Let Jesus answer for Himself: Matthew 18:11-14. When one’s collection is complete, there is much rejoicing! Likewise, there is much rejoicing when a wayward Christian comes home. Jesus came to “seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).” Is He looking for you?

Are you the lost sheep, or do you know a lost sheep?

Do you need to come home? Do you know where the lost sheep are? Can you help them find their way again? As Jesus said, “it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish (Matthew 18:14).”

Peter said that God is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).”

Paul told Timothy that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).”