FINDING EACH OTHER

Would you get out your message notes?  We are in week three of the series called, “Heroes: Ordinary People Living Extraordinary Lives.”  It’s based on the hit TV series called Heroes.  I’D LIKE YOU TO WATCH THIS VIDEO - “HEROES INTRODUCTION”

So far in this series we’ve learned how heroes have certain identification marks and that they also stand out on God’s list.

This morning the title of my message is, “Finding Each Other.”  In the TV series there are these people who have “special abilities” to do all kinds of weird things.  One person can fly, another has super human strength, another is able to enter your dreams, still another has the ability to heal herself, another person can stop time and can transport himself and several have the able to do all of that plus more.  These men and women are located all over the world and they’re out to Save The World.

In the process of saving the world from various disasters, they discover what their special abilities are and how to use them.  They also learn that there are other people in the world like them.  So part of the TV series is about these Heroes going out into the world and finding others who in turn will help them save the world.

The more I thought about that story line, the more I realized that it’s the same story line found in the Bible for us as Christians.  As Christians, God has given each one of us various abilities that the Bible calls “spiritual gifts”.  And the reason why God has given us these gifts is not to use them for our own benefit, but to use them to save the world because that is our mission.  The Bible tells us that God has commanded us to go out into the world and find others who are lost and help them know how to be saved, so they in turn can help us save the rest of the world.  That’s what a hero does.

Have you ever lost something really important?  It might have been your wallet, your purse, or your keys.  We all know the pain of losing something that matters to us – whether it is a person, or an object, or even just computer work that is lost when a computer crashes. Our stomach gets this sinking feeling, and we begin to feel a bit panicky as the realization sets in that we’ve really LOST something!  When that happens we immediately try to find what we lost.

A man telephoned his friend’s home and was greeted with a child’s whispered, “Hello?” The man asked, “Is your daddy home?” “Yes,” was the whispered reply. “May I talk with him?” “No,” the child whispered back. The man was surprised, but wanting to talk to an adult, he then asked, “Is your mommy home?” “Yes,” whispered the child. “May I talk with her?” Again, “No,” was the answer. Knowing the young child was probably not home alone, the man decided he would try to leave a message with the person watching over him. So, he asked, “Is there anyone else there besides you?” “Yes,” the child whispered, “a policeman.” Wondering what could be going on, the man asked, “May I speak with the policeman?” “No, he’s busy,” said the boy. “Busy doing what?,” the man asked. The boy explained, “He’s talking to mommy and daddy and the fireman.” The man became very concerned now, then began hearing what sounded like a helicopter through the earpiece of the phone. “What is that noise?,” he asked. “It’s a helicopter.” “What’s going on there?,” the man asked, now becoming very concerned. The boy answered in a hushed tone, “The search team just landed the helicopter.” “What are they searching for?,” he asked. The boy answered... “Me.”

What do we do when a person turns up missing? What if your son, daughter, husband or wife mysteriously disappeared? Would you search for them? Of course you would. Our family is near and dear to us. They’re not something that can be replaced. They’re important to us. We would spend as much time and money as necessary to find our loved ones.

We’ve seen the posters in stores, Post Offices, restaurant windows and telephone poles explaining that a child or loved one is lost and needs to be found. It’s so much a part of our culture that hardly a day goes by that we don’t hear on the news about a missing person that someone is trying to find.

Finding people who are lost is so important to us that government agencies like the police force, fire department and even special search and rescue teams are set up to find people. Today, we even have a system called the Amber Alert to assist with finding kids. Television programs like America’s Most Wanted are also dedicated to finding those who are lost.

So, this morning we’re going to look at three parables Jesus taught in Luke 15.  One was about a lost sheep.  The second about a lost silver coin.  And the last one about a lost son.  In these parables Jesus also mentions three people who lived an extraordinary life.  In doing this he gives us three requirements for finding each other.