INTRODUCTION:

One of my daily devotions said that a newspaper article reported about a young man who was driving west from New Mexico and totally missed the state of Arizona! He ended up on the shore of the Pacific Ocean at the end of an interstate highway. A California Highway patrolman found the man sitting in his car somewhat dazed and confused. The puzzled look on his face and the map on the seat beside him told it all. When asked how he missed a whole state, the man replied that he didn't know. But he did say he'd been under a lot stress lately. (1)

A young lady got lost while driving in a snow storm. She remembered what her dad had once told her: "If you ever get stuck in a snow storm, wait for a snow plow and follow it" Pretty soon a snow plow came along, and she started to follow it. She followed the plow for about forty five minutes. Finally the driver of the truck got out and asked her what she was doing. She explained what her dad had told her to do if she ever got stuck in the snow. The driver nodded and said, "Well, I'm done with Wal-Mart, so now you can follow me over to K-Mart." (2)

Have you ever been lost? Have you ever lost something? I'll bet the answer to both of those is "Yes!" We've all lost our keys or our checkbook or our favorite pen or something else. Maybe you're like Daniel Boone who once said: "I can't say I was ever lost, but I was bewildered once for three days." (3) Even if we don't want to admit it publicly, we've all probably been lost at one time or another.

It's not fun being lost or even losing something. Sometimes we don't even know that something is lost until we find it again. Some things are never found. Some things that are lost never show up in a Lost and found Box. But a Lost and Found Box is for all of those things that have been Found.

Our passage of Scripture today talks about finding. Jesus found Philip. Philip found Nathaniel. And Philip tells Nathaniel that they have found the Messiah. And Nathaniel found out that something or someone good CAN come out of Nazareth. Let's look at the passage: John 1:43-51.

[43] The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me."

[44] Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.

[45] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth."

[46] Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."

[47] When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, "Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!"

[48] Nathanael asked him, "Where did you get to know me?" Jesus answered, "I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you."

[49] Nathanael replied, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

[50] Jesus answered, "Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these."

[51] And he said to him, "Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son Of man." [NRSV]

As we consider how they each found what and who they were looking for, let's think about the LOST, the FOUND and how we, the members of the body of Christ are FOUND TO FIND.

I. LOST:

A. One of the things the church as a whole is discovering is that we can't keep on doing things the way we have always done them. That's partly why we are Worshipping the way we are now. We live in a multicultural visual society. That's how we communicate and how we live. I don't remember where I read it or heard it but do you know what the number one thing that Americans said they could no longer live without is? Television. It influences and effects everything we do. We're on the cutting edge.

Another thing we can't do is practice Little Bo Peep Evangelism. You know the kind that says: "Leave them alone and they'll come home, wagging their tails behind them." That doesn't work anymore. That's why we are involved in Lifestyle Relational Evangelism.

Even our language, the language that you and I use to talk about our faith can seem like Greek or Hebrew to folks who've never been in church. Words like Sin and being Lost and being saved don't have a lot of meaning to folks outside the church anymore.

So what do we do? How do we talk about being separated from God? How do we talk about being LOST. We need to redefine what we mean. For me: The word LOST, in relationship to non-Christians is an acronym for Living Outside Salvation's Touch.

Christie Kehn, in Christian Reader tells how her four-year-old daughter Melissa was spellbound watching, The Ten Commandments, especially enjoying the scene with Moses and the Burning Bush. From it, she learned that one of God's names is "I Am That I Am." Several days afterwards, Melissa marched through the house declaring, "I am not that I am not!"

The main difference between those within the Church and those outside the Church is that the people who have given their lives to God through Christ are living like Melissa. Their motto is "I am not that I am not!" In other words, they know they are not the center of the universe. They acknowledge that God is the center of the Universe.

Those who are LOST, those who are still Living Outside Salvation's Touch still think they are the center of the Universe. The word SIN is proof of that. It's a little three letter word with a capital "I" in the middle. And when we live with "I" as the center of life, we've got it all wrong. And we're LOST. We're Living Outside Salvation's Touch.

And Living Outside Salvation's Teaching. You see Scripture tells us that God is the center of the Universe. The Bible acknowledges this first thing. Genesis 1:1 says: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." And the Bible reminds us that there only room for one God.

B. Now having said that, I also want you to know that you cam be a part of a church and still be LOST. You can acknowledge God but still be Living Outside Salvation's Touch. You can even be an active part of the Church and have a deep faith and be LOST.

What I mean by that in this instance is: Losing Our Spiritual Toehold. We're supposed to have a good foundation. We're supposed to have built on a strong footing. But sometimes, all we have is a toe hold. Our feet should have been firmly planted in the pathway of faithfulness but sometimes life overwhelms us and distracts us. Those feet that were once firmly planted in the straight and narrow begin to wander. And then we find ourselves holding on with nothing but a toehold. And after awhile, if we're not careful, then that goes. And we find ourselves LOST.

In an old issue of News of the Weird, a man in Dadeville, Alabama, shot and killed another man. The reason given for the murder? It seems that the first man lost an argument over the wording of a particular verse of Scripture. One commentator said: "One of the amazing religious facts of the ages is that people can have a head full of Scripture without it having any effect on their lives."

That's what I mean by knowing Christ but being LOST. There are times when we completely Lose Our Spiritual Toehold.

Owen and his family visited a new church one Sunday and he was glad to hear them sing several familiar songs. But he couldn't help be frustrated when he heard a man who was singing so obviously out of tune. "If I have to sit by this guy again next week, I'll never come back," he thought. On the way home, Owen's wife asked, "Do you have a cold or something?"

"No, why do you ask?" he inquired.

"Don't take this personally," she said. "You usually sing really well, but today you were off key on all of the hymns!"

When we Lose Our Spiritual Toehold we're more apt to be judgmental. And when we're judgmental we're definitely LOST. And we've definitely LOST those who might have been on the edge of a decision for Christ.

II. FOUND:

A. Now the Good News is that God isn't in the Losing business. God is in the Finding business. God is in the reclamation business and the recycling business. God tries not to leave anyone LOST for very long.

Look here's a Lost and Found Box: I wonder what's inside? Here's somebody's left over Santa Claus. Here's a single glove and a left shoe. Here's Donald Cruze's sanity. Last week during our Worship Team Meeting, he said he lost it. Here it is. Oh, look. This must have belonged to Moses. The children of Israel probably would have gotten there at least 39 years earlier if Moses hadn't lost the map or stopped to ask for directions. Here' Peter Pan's shadow. I thought Wendy sewed that back on. Here's somebody's lost love. And this looks like what's left of somebody's lost youth.

A Lost and Found Box can have all kinds of things in it. And a Lost and Found Box can have a profound influence on your faith. At least mine.

I'll never forgot one Sunday in First United Methodist Church of Groesbeck. Right outside the main door into the Sanctuary was a table and on the table was a Lost and Found Box. There were all kinds of the usual things in the box. But there was one very noticeable thing. Some little girl in the church had lost her doll. I recognized the doll but couldn't remember which little girl she belonged to.

Someone had set the doll in the corner of the box with its arms resting on the sides of the box. It sat there with its head cocked to the side and just looked like it was resting and waiting to be found.

Sunday morning, I rounded the corner just in time to see a little girl walk out of the fellowship hall and see the doll. She ran up to the doll in the box and said: "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. I've been so worried."

Then she picked up the doll, hugged it in her arms and said: "I've missed you so much. I'm so glad I found you." I could have sworn I heard and sigh and saw a smile on that doll's face.

It doesn't really make any difference. But that event has become a defining image for me. Jesus seeks us out and finds us because God is in the recycling business.

B. You and I have been FOUND by our Savior. We've been found. We've heard Him say: "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. I've been so worried." We've been found and we've felt the arms of Christ wrap around us in love and we've heard Him say: "I've missed you so much. I'm so glad I found you."

How do we relish that feeling? Having been found, how do we stay found? Because that's the hard part. Staying found. Staying connected.

I just read a story about an old ship's captain who had one of those new upstart young officers fresh out of the academy who was a real know it all. The captain was usually pretty patient but this ensign was getting on his nerves. No matter what the captain said, this ensign would always suggest something they learned in the academy.

The Captain turned to the young sailor one day and said: "Please tell me where we are."

The novice sailor consulted his sextant and charts and finally announced their coordinates. "Are you absolutely sure?" asked the captain. "Why, yes, I am," replied the sailor in a tone that showed he was offended that the captain doubted him.

The captain looked at the young man for a second and said: "Then I suggest you put on a jacket. According to your calculations, we are on the top of Mt. Washington!"

How do we stay on course? How do we stay found?

Faith is a journey and Worship helps. Worship is like a gas station, it's the fuel for our spiritual vehicle. Worship helps focus our hearts and souls on God. Worship reminds us that God is the center of the Universe, not us.

Bible Study helps us maintain our course. Bible Study and just plain old regular time reading the Bible is like consulting the road map.

And time in prayer is like stopping at a rest stop on a long journey. I don't know about you but I'm thankful there are rest stops on the interstate highways. Prayer is like a rest stop. It revives us. It gives us that break from the worries of the journey.

III. FOUND TO FIND:

A. That's how we stay FOUND but there is a purpose also behind our being FOUND. Jesus FOUND Philip so he could FIND NATHANIEL. You and I are FOUND TO FIND. You and I are brought into relationship with Jesus so that we can help bring others into relationship with Jesus, too.

God sent Jesus to find the LOST. Jesus came searching for us. God didn't sit in heaven and let things just unfold like some Little Bo Peep. When God lost his sheep He set out to find them.

Jesus came as the chief shepherd. He gave his life on the cross for our sakes. And he calls us to be shepherds too. He calls us to be search lights and lighthouses. Jesus calls us to search highways and byways. He calls us THE FOUND to reach out to the LOST and help FIND THEM.

What we're talking about here is Discipleship: living like one of the 12.

B. That has been the purpose and mission of the church ever since Jesus found Andrew and Peter and said: "Follow Me"

This year we're celebrating our Jubilee. A Jubilee in 2003. 120 years of Ministry. 50 years of Lord's Acre. A new Worship Center and A New Fellowship Complex (to be built). 120 years of being a search light and lighthouse for this community. 120 years of out reach. 120 years of missions. 120 years of lives being changed. 120 years of people being Touched and Changed by the Love of God in Christ. 120 years of people experiencing unconditional Love and Forgiveness.

Think about all the lives that have been changed and touched by the ministry of this church.

We're called to be a part of the legacy of this great Church. A legacy of being FOUND TO FIND.

CONCLUSION:

There's an old folk tale about a father and a son. They were traveling together to a distant city. There were no maps. The journey was to be long and rough, and filled with all kinds of dangers. The roads were unmarked and mostly nonexistent. Only the wisdom and experience of the father would get him and his son to their destination.

Along the way, the boy grew curious. He wanted to know what was on the other side of the forest, beyond that distant ridge. Could he run over and look? His father said that he could. But once the boy received permission he said: "But Father, how will I know whether I have wandered too far from you? What will keep me from getting lost?"

"Every few minutes," the father said, "I will call your name and wait for you to answer. Listen for my voice, my son. When you can no longer hear me, you will know that you have gone too far." (5)

There are a lot of people in the world today who have let there curiosity and their selfishness carry them away. And now they have "gone too far." They're out there alone. Frightened. Cut off. Some of them are too afraid to even acknowledge that they might be lost. But they've "gone too far."

You and I are called to be part of those "greater things" which Jesus told Nathaniel about. You and I have experienced what means to be LOST and FOUND. There have times when we have either been Living Outside Salvation's Touch or we've Lost Our Spiritual Toehold.

But like Philip and Nathaniel, we've been FOUND by Jesus. And we've been FOUND TO FIND those who are still Living Outside Salvation's Touch or who have Lost Our Spiritual Toehold.

It's just like the old game of Hide and Seek. You're IT. You've counted to 100 And now it's time to FIND everyone. Jesus is calling ALLEE ALLEE OUTS IN FREE, we just have to FIND everyone so He can say: "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. I've been so worried." We're called to help them feel the arms of Christ wrap around them in love and hear Him say: "I've missed you so much. I'm so glad I found you."

1. On A Wing And A Prayer, Brian K. Bauknight, (1998 Dimensions For Living, Nashville, TN)

2. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), July 1999

3. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), Feb 2001

4. Parables, Etc. (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), May 2001

5. The Pastor's Story File (Saratoga Press, P.O. Box 8, Platteville, CO, 80651; 970-785-2990), Sept 2001 From Mastering the Pastoral Role, by Ben Patterson, Multnomah, 1991

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