08/23/21 Parables of Jesus #11 — The Lost Sheep (Mat.18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7)

Matthew 18:12-14 (ESV) 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. 14 So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

v.14 perish. The word here can (and does in this context) refer to spiritual devastation rather than utter eternal destruction. This does not suggest that God's children ever could perish in the ultimate sense (cf. Jn 10:28). [The MacArthur Study Bible]

Far too many believers and churches seem to content to relax and enjoy each other. We MUST stay BUSY looking for “lost sheep”! God expects that believers will spread the Good News constantly, by walk and talk—by our lifestyles and our words.