Messages
from the Bible
A Sermon by Dr. Neil Chadwick
The realization of being lost must certainly be one of the more difficult experiences of life. Of course not many of us have had a true experience of being lost - the worst it gets for us is when we're out driving and can't find the place we're looking for, and suddenly realize we don't know where we are. However, this isn't much of a problem. If you're a woman, you can drive to the nearest service station, 7 Eleven or Wa-Wa, and assuming the attendant is above 16 years old and can speak English, you can ask for directions. If you're a man, you can simply keep driving until you run out of gas, and then get out of your car and hitchhike to somewhere. If you're in the city, and you don't have a cell phone, you find a pay-phone and call for help - like the man who called 911 to find out how to get home, and when the operator asked, "Where are you?" he answered, "At the corner of Walk and Don't Walk."
On the other hand, there may be a few people in America who still take walks in the woods. In this case, you wouldn't bother taking a cell phone because you know there will be no towers; after walking a while, the path is so little used it can no longer be distinguished, and suddenly everything looks the same - you are truly lost.
That this condition of being lost calls forth deep emotions is demonstrated by the popularity of a currently running TV show, now in its second season. Last week, 22,377,000 Americans watched the program; for the time being, it's the fourth most popular prime time TV series.
For my money, this would-be drama is hardly believable and doesn't really qualify for its title, "Lost." After all, there are 48 people in this story! My definition of being lost is when I don't know where I am, have no means to call for help, and am all alone.
Actually, the word "lost" might be an acronym for: Lonely, Overwhelmed, Sad, and Tired. Do these words accurately describe your life? Then perhaps you are lost.
In Psalm 107:4-9 there's a description about people who were lost, how they prayed, what God did, and how they in turn were told to respond to His goodness.
It is believed that the opening verses of this chapter refer to the return to Jerusalem of the Jewish people who had been in Babylonian captivity for 70 years. These people, who have been rescued from the enemy and who have gathered back in their home country, are exhorted to "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."
Then follows four perilous situations from which God delivers his people when they call out to Him, each one closes with this same exhortation, "Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love." (Verses 8, 15, 21, 31) We're only looking at the first of these four scenarios.
A. First is a description of their situation - they were lost, that is, they were wandering in an uninhabited wilderness, not able to find the pathway home. Notice these five features of this lostness:
Later, the prophet Isaiah would write about such people, in fact saying that we all are like sheep who "have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way." (Isaiah 53:6) It's high time we stopped blaming others and take responsibility for our own waywardness.
2. They found themselves in a place where no nourishment was available.
However, if we look past the physical to the spiritual, we'll notice that a great many people are in this kind of situation. Due to the increase of Alzheimer’s, there's a lot of attention today on giving care to our brains. And there's some good advice being circulated about how to do that. We're told that we can slow down the processes of brain deterioration by staying mentally and physically active, adopting a "brain-healthy" diet and remaining socially involved. Yes, that's good advice, although for those of us with "half-zheimer's" (we haven't lost it all yet, only half!) it may be too late. On the other hand, even achieving a healthy body and brain is wasted effort without nourishment for the soul and spirit. Spiritual mal-nourishment in America is at an all-time high.
3. In their lostness, they were confused as to which way to go. This is certainly true today, as evidenced by so many people resorting to the para-normal.
10. Why don't psychic hotlines call you right before you call them?
9. Why do phone psychics have to ask for your credit card number?
8. If you have a friend who works for a psychic network, should you plan a surprise birthday party for him or her?
7. Why is it you never see the headline, "PSYCHIC WINS LOTTERY"?
6. Is it possible for a "psychic fair" to be cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances?
5. Does a psychic amnesiac know in advance what he is going to forget?
4. Do people with psychic powers get nostalgic about next week?
3. Why don't people understand that psychics are only doing what they're doing because it makes them feel less poor?
2. If psychics can tell the future, why haven't they retired on their stock options?
And the number one question for psychics is: Would a midget fortune-teller who escaped from prison be called a small medium at large?
By the way, did you hear the one about the frog and his psychic?
A frog telephones the psychic hotline and is told, "You are going to meet a beautiful young girl who will want to know everything about you." The frog says, "This is great! Will I meet her at a party, or what?" "No," says the psychic. "Next semester in her biology class."
4. Furthermore, for the lost person, there is no place to dwell, or literally, no place to sit.
5. The last description of the lost people is that they were hungry, thirsty, and fainting - they were beginning to fail both physically and emotionally.
B. Next, we want to point out the reaction of these people who were lost.
The most obvious thing is that they admitted they were in trouble. This is what we might call "truth in labeling" - calling it by its right name; the word for trouble means a "strait place" and has to do with pressure and stress. You may say, "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to notice you're lost." But if you remember the story of the prodigal son, it took him a while. Finally, sitting among the pig slop far from home, the KJV text says, "He came to himself." (Luke 15:17) It took a while, but he finally got it, and admitted, "I'm lost."
But to their credit, the lost people described in Psalm 107 didn't just say it to themselves, they cried out to God - they prayed, and they prayed hard. Many times over we have this expression in the Bible:
Throughout the entire period of the Judges, when Israel was oppressed by enemies, they cried to the Lord (Judges 3:9, 15; 4:3, etc.).
Many other individuals cried out to the Lord:
Isaiah (II Kings 20:11),
Jehoshaphat (II Chronicles 18:31),
Ezekiel (9:8),
Jonah (2:2),
Peter, when he began to sink among the waves as he attempted to walk on water to Jesus (Matthew 14:30),
The Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:22),
Two blind beggars (Matthew 20:30), and
The father whose son was demonized (Mark 9:24).
C. Going back to our Psalm, what was God's response to their cry?
Please let me remind us all, that whenever a child cries, its parent hears the cry and comes running. If that is true of earthly parents, how much more so of the Heavenly Father? Jesus once pointed out, "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11). Perhaps we could paraphrase this verse and say, "If you, then, though you are evil, respond to the cry of your children, how much more will your Father in heaven respond to those who cry out to him! "
Yes, God heard the cry of those who were lost, but not only that, He rescued them from their distress. How did He do that? By providing guidance - He showed them the way, and made it possible for them to find a place where there were inhabitants, i.e., people. Where is that? Of course, the church!
This week's Joyful Ministry Email Circular contained exerpts from an article about the benefits of church attendance. It was based on a piece that appeared several years ago in the "Saturday Evening Post". In part, this is what has been learned about the beneficial impact of regular church attendance:
Studies have also pointed out that religious involvement greatly decreases drug use, delinquency, and premarital sex, and increases self-control.
Regular church attendance is the most critical factor in marital stability - men who switch partners most are those with no religious convictions. Similarly, the rate of cohabitation before marriage is seven times higher among people who seldom or never attend religious services, a significant finding since couples who live together before marriage experience higher rates of divorce.
The conclusion of this article was that, "By getting more people to the church, synagogue, or mosque of their choice, we just might bring down the country's unparalleled rates of divorce, crime, unwed pregnancy, and drug addiction, as well as strengthen our immunity."
Yes, God Himself responds, and comes to the aid of those who are lost. The prophet of old relayed this promise from the Lord Himself, "I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice." (Ezekiel 34:16)
D. Finally, what must be done in response when God has provided a successful rescue - the lost has been found?
Acknowledge and give thanks to the Lord, for His mercies (His "unfailing love"), and for His wonderful works on behalf of men. The word for "men" here is "adam" - we are the "sons of Adam." Remember him? The one who sinned? And we have all followed in his steps, and yet to us sinners God has extended his mercy, His loving kindness.
What is it that elicits this strong response of thankfulness? Simply put, God satisfies. Thirst and hunger are gone. This is foreshadowed in the Old Testament when water was brought from the rock, and now we know that this is what Jesus came to do - to the woman at the well Jesus promised that believing in Him would mean that she would "never thirst" again. The Old Testament also foreshadows the feeding of the hungry as God provided manna for the people in the wilderness. Jesus duplicated this story with the feeding of the thousands who came to hear Him teach, and then announced that He was the "Bread of Life."
In closing, there is another Biblical idea associated with being lost. In Luke 19:10, Jesus said "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." Here the word for "lost" is "apollumi" (ap-ol'-loo-mee) which literally means "to destroy fully" - to be lost is to be destroyed, it is to die, or perish.
In II Corinthians 4:3, in the King James Version, Paul writes, "If our gospel be hid it is hid to them that are lost." In the NIV this same verse is translated, "If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing."
If you are lost, you are perishing, and it is time to cry out to the Lord - He will be sure to rescue you and bring you to a safe place.
1. Have you personally ever had a frightening experience of being lost?
2. Why do you think TV shows such as "Lost" are so popular?
3. "LOST" is an acronym for what four associations?
4, What Jewish historical situation is connected with Psalm 107?
5. Besides the one about being lost, what other scenarios are spoken of in Psalm 107?
6. Who was to blame for the lostness of those described in this Psalm?
7. The condition of these people could be described by such words as mal-nourished, confused, restless and fainting. How do these descriptions apply to people today?
8. What explains the great increase of interest in psychic practices?
9. Why is it difficult for us to endure solitude and silence?
10. What would be the emotional counterparts to hunger, thirst, and fainting?
11. Why would we agree that the lost described in Psalm 107 responded appropriately to their plight?
12. How is God like, and unlike, a parent?
13. What two components were necessary for the lost to find their way to a safe place?
14. In what way does the church help people feel protected and safe?
15. In addition to mercy, what causes thankfulness for those who have been rescued?
Lost - Psalm 107:4-9
Next Sermon
Download
Although I haven't personally watched any of the episodes, I understand that the series is based on a story about a flight from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles. The airliner has crashed on what appears to be a deserted island. There's a slim chance of being found and rescued, so the survivors have to learn to survive on the island, a mysterious, dangerous place. They also have to learn to live with each other, and live with themselves and their pasts.
1. Their condition was their own doing, for these people wandered, or literally "went astray."
Of course we may quickly say that this couldn't possibly be true for us - just look at how well we are fed!
Believe it or not, each year nearly $2 billion is spent by Americans for psychic answers to their problems. For example organizations such as the Psychic Readers, or Psychic Believers Network charge anywhere from $2 to $5 a minute to supposedly answer people's questions, mostly about the future. To point out the silliness of this practice, here's a "Top Ten List of Questions for Telephone Psychics":
This suggests uneasiness, restlessness - never feeling comfortable, never quite at home. Do you think this helps explain why it is that we are constantly on the move? We are unable to sit still, or to be quiet - there's got to be constant activity, either by our own involvement (which is diminishing) or by watching simulated action, and there always has to be sound. We just learned that the new iPod announced by "Apple" can hold up to 15,000 songs, 150 hours of video and 25,000 pictures in a unit containing 60 gigabytes; this size of this gadget is only about 4 x 2.5 inches - a little larger than a credit card - and 1/2 inch thick! But please tell me, who needs 15 thousand songs? How about 15 minutes of silence? Why can't we tolerate that? Because we're not home, we're lost.
Moses, Aaron and the people of Israel cried to the Lord (Exodus 8:12; 14:10 - and many other places).
Elijah (I Kings 17:20),
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have found cardiovascular disease significantly reduced by a lifetime of church attendance. Numerous other studies confirm that churchgoers live longer, with lower rates of cirrhosis, emphysema, and arteriosclerosis. Blood pressure is reduced by regular church attendance, and reducing blood pressure also reduces the mortality rate.
Lost - Psalm 107:4-9
Please Take A Moment To Sign The Guest Book
[ Hymns ]
[ Leaders ]
[ Marriage ]
[ Church ]
[ Humor ]