5. Wala ka sa Lolo ko. He was lost sheep and the Good Shepherd did seek and saved him.

28 August 2020

Meet Shrek. Shrek was a renegade sheep. He went missing from his flock and remained lost for 6 years. The person who found him living in a cave on a high and rugged place in New Zealand didn’t recognize him as a sheep. “He looked like some biblical creature,” he said.

“Sino sainyo ang may isandaang tupa at nawala ang isa, hindi ba niya iiwanan ang siyamnapu’t siyam sa ilang at hanapin ang nawawalang tupa hanggang makita ito?” (Lukas 15:4).

Lost sheep. Sa Tagalog, ang nawawalang tupa.

Iba po yung, nagwawalang tupa!

Being lost may be physical, as in a maze, or emotional, as in being homesick, or spiritual, as in going through severe affliction.

Job was a good man, yet went through severe affliction.

This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. (Job 1:1)

His initial response was impassioned.

Job 10

8 “Your hands shaped me and made me.

    Will you now turn and destroy me?

9 Remember that you molded me like clay.

    Will you now turn me to dust again?

10 Did you not pour me out like milk

    and curdle me like cheese,

11 clothe me with skin and flesh

    and knit me together with bones and sinews?

12 You gave me life and showed me kindness,

    and in your providence watched over my spirit.”

Then Job began to question God.

“Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?” (Job 13:24)

In the middle of great suffering, Job held on to faith in his God.

Job 19

20 I am nothing but skin and bones;

    I have escaped only by the skin of my teeth.

23 “Oh, that my words were recorded,

    that they were written on a scroll,

24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on[b] lead,

    or engraved in rock forever!

25 I know that my redeemer lives,

    and that in the end he will stand on the earth.

26 And after my skin has been destroyed,

    yet in my flesh I will see God;

27 I myself will see him

    with my own eyes—I, and not another.

    How my heart yearns within me!”

The end. 

Job 42

16 After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. 

17 And so Job died, an old man and full of years.

Make no mistake, I am no Job.

One day, my children's children will say, wala ka sa Lolo ko, he was lost sheep and the Good Shepherd did seek and saved him.

The parable of the lost sheep. Then the parable of the lost son, more known as the story of the prodigal son. (Luke 15:11-31)

The prodigal son, that's a better description for me. I bungled on opportunities. I did damage to myself, inflicted harm on myself. I was bringing death to myself. It was prolonged affliction, spanning about a period of five years.

Then I made an impassioned distress call, wordless, in tears, with groaning.

The Good Shepherd did seek me and saved me. I came back from the grave.

The Lord Jesus is the Good Shepherd.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:11)

The assurance of the Good Shepherd.

Matthew 11

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 

29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Are you lost in severe affliction?

Send the distress call. The Good Shepherd will not turn away an impassioned sigh. I did and He did seek me and saved me. Amen.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)

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‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ (Luke 15:6)

Luke 15

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 

4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he 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

The Parable of the Lost Coin

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 

9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 

10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”