Bring Them In
I remember sleeping in bed upstairs in the farmhouse and being awoken suddenly by a cold dog nose against my arm. Rose had hopped up into bed and was whining. She only did that when something was wrong. I had learned the hard way not to question this but to get up and follow her.
I looked out the window at the snow, piled up in drifts and still coming down hard, and muttered to myself. I got dressed quickly—I believe I was very much afraid of what I would find out there—and followed Rose downstairs. I put on my boots and heavy parka. Rose led me in the deepening snow and blustery cold winds to the pasture gate. We walked through the gate … up the hill, and away from the barn, vanishing into the snowy mist … After a second, over the howling noise of the wind, I heard a ewe baaing a high-pitched call of alarm and stumbled toward the sound … A ewe was lying on her side, clearly in labor. Snow was crusted over her wool coat and was beginning to drift over her frame. I saw Rose looking away from her at a little mound moving under the snow.
At first I thought this curious shape might be a raccoon or stray dog or fox, or some other animal struggling through the snow. As I got closer, I saw it was a newborn lamb, still glistening with fluid, shivering in the snow and cold … I knew—she also did, clearly—that a newborn lamb out in a storm meant almost certain death … The lamb stood braying at Rose, perhaps thinking she was her mother. Rose seemed to understand that this creature was frail. She did not bark, charge, or nip at her.
Rose stood her ground gently in front of the lamb. She held the lamb in position until I could scramble up the hill, get my arms around the little creature, and then start to make my way back to the barn ...
I got the bleating lamb—hungry and calling out for its stricken mother—into the barn … Out in the storm, I heard the ewe’s weakening and pitiful replies … When I had the lamb as settled as I could, I went out and back up the hill. The storm was in full fury. My fingers and toes were already numb and aching, my glasses instantly frosted over with ice and snow, and I could barely see five feet in front of me. I had to take my glasses off to see at all. I found Rose and the ewe right where I had left them. The ewe was still on her side, breathing but silent, and Rose was standing right over her, looking down.
Rose had an inch or two of snow across her head and back … I tried to pull the ewe up to her feet but could not; she just kept flopping over. Her eyes were open, warm breath coming out of her nostrils, her stomach rising up and down ever so slightly. I kept poking her and talking to her. “Get her up, Rosie,” I pleaded. “Get her up.” … Rose changed her demeanor, and when she heard the command and the tone of my voice, she began nipping at the ewe, first around her nose, then to the rear.
The ewe was at first silent, then seemed to emerge from a trance. Rose charged, then backed off, and charged and backed off again. The sounds from the ewe were stronger, and Rose seemed to quicken her pace, circling the ewe, the snow blowing off her coat as she raced back and forth. Get her up, Rosie, get her up … Then suddenly the ewe was on her feet, bleating and searching frantically for her baby and butting Rose.
You will have to read the book if you want to hear more about the adventures of this incredible sheepdog Rose. This story actually fits perfect with what I wanted to talk about today as part of our Driven series. We started with learning about our purpose, then we discovered how passion drives our purpose, then we discussed how our passion should send us out fishing for people. Today we focus on Bringing Them In. Turn to Luke 15:1-7 (HCSB).
All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to Him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!” So He told them this parable: “What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the 99 in the open field and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!’ I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need repentance.
Often throughout the Bible we see that followers of Jesus are called sheep. Many interpret this passage as referring to a Christian that has strayed away and lost his salvation. First of all, there is nothing in scripture that indicates that a follower of Jesus can lose their salvation. Instead, John 17 tells is that God gave us to Jesus and Romans 8 tells us that nothing can separate us from Jesus.
As we look at Luke 15, it is important that we understand that Jesus is not referring to all 100 sheep as Christians. These sheep represent all of those created by God. Jesus could have just as easily said that 80 sheep out of 100 were lost, but He used 1 to indicate just how important every one of His creations are to Him. “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16, HCSB)
You are an everyone. So is your neighbor, your friend, your family, your co-worker, and the stranger you pass on the street. God created everyone and He loves everyone and He wants everyone to have eternal life with Him in heaven. He is constantly calling out to His lost sheep and pleading for them to come back to Him.
Jesus came to call sinners to God and Jesus commands us to go out, into the storms of life, and bring them in. How do we do that?
The first step is that we must GO. In Matthew 28:18-20 (HCSB), we read:
Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The word “go” seen in verse 19 is best translated from Greek to “when you have gone.”
“Going means more than traveling across geographical borders, although this is part of Jesus' meaning. The point is that followers of Jesus are active; we are not inert. Going means crossing boundaries to make disciples—going across the street, going to dinner with an unbelieving friend, going into the inner city, going beyond one's comfort zone to make the gospel accessible to the lost. Living life is “going” with a purpose, every day.” (Holman Commentary)
You are to go with a purpose. Go intentionally to build a relationship with others. Go in order to share the love of God with others. Go so that you will have the opportunity to tell others your story of how Jesus made a difference in your life.
A follower of Jesus who is actively going is someone that doesn’t just invite people to come to their church so the pastor can tell them about Jesus. Going involves being committed enough to actually build relationships with others. Getting closer to your unchurched family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Showing them the love of Jesus through your words and actions.
Are you at a loss for how to start? Well, this summer we have some opportunities scheduled for you to be a part of the going that is commanded by Jesus. We have several activities and events where you can bring your unchurched friends and family to help build better relationships and offer you opportunities to show them how Jesus has changed your life. Get a copy of these events from the back and take them to someone this week.
Don’t just ask them to come if they have nothing else to do. Let them know that you really would like for them to join you. Offer to meet them at their home and come from there. Offer to drive them to the event. Tell them how excited you are about your church and the event that we are doing for our community. Don’t just invite them to an event, though. Invite them into your life.
We also have plans to do some community projects, such as free car washes that you can come and help with. Use that time to meet some new people and begin building a relationship with them. Jesus did not tell only some of the disciples to go. He did not tell them to hire someone to go. He told each of them to go. So we are all therefore commanded to go.
The second step is that we are to BAPTIZE. Jesus used the word “baptizo” meaning “continually immersing them.” Baptism was closely related in the Bible with the decision to accept Baptism is an initiation rite that immerses a believer into a whole new world. It is not a step for salvation, but rather:
“an initial step of obedience that results from a person's decision to trust the Messiah. Baptism represents the identification of people with this new way of life and faith. Baptism should be experienced as soon as possible after a person trusts Christ.” (Holman Commentary)
Jesus wants us to lead people to Him, but He also wants us to invest ourselves in them enough to baptize them as well. This was His way of emphasizing evangelism as one half of the job for followers of Jesus. We are to continually seek ways to share our story with others. The story of our life before Jesus, our encounter with Jesus, and the change that Jesus has made in our life.
Each follower of Jesus must seek opportunities to share their story, their testimony, with others. We cannot call ourselves followers of Jesus if we do not follow His command to tell others about Him. The salvation message is the most important message of the entire Bible. Stop making excuses and start telling others what Jesus has done for you.
This is where the importance of our first passage comes into play. Jesus told us that He came to bring salvation to a lost world. Luke 15:7 says that heaven rejoices when one sinner repents. Like Rose the sheepdog, we are to go and find the sheep that need to be saved. We are to bring them in to Jesus, the Good Shepherd.
The third step is that we are to TEACH. Jesus does not get bogged down in how we teach, but He does tell His disciples to teach them everything that He has commanded them. In other words, we are to learn as much as we can about Jesus so that we can teach others as much as possible about Him.
Jesus did not tell the disciples to pick a few from among them to be teachers. He instructed all to teach. Too many Christians sit in a church week after week listening to the pastor’s sermon and going to bible studies to learn from someone else, yet never telling anyone else what they have learned about Jesus. That is selfish, it is wasteful, and it is a sin. God has given you the knowledge of His salvation and of His commands because He wants you to tell others.
Some churches are very evangelistic. The pastors and members are out telling others their story and leading them to Jesus, but then these new Christians soon stop attending the church and wander back to their old lifestyles because nobody was willing to invest time and energy to teach them.
Teaching implies much more than just head knowledge. It requires that we invite these people into our lives so that we can fill them with information, show them by example, and lead them to join in doing the will of the Father.
That is why we emphasize LifeGroups at Elevate Church. Take time to show your friends and family just how much you care about them. Ask them to join you in studying the bible together. Tell them that they can pick the time, the day, and the place, and I will meet with you to help you delve into God’s Word. Together we can teach others what God has commanded of us. Go. Teach. Baptize.
Some of the people you will meet are like the little lamb that is going off in the wrong direction. If we are not there to stand in their way, like Rose, and encourage them to turn their lives around, they will wander off into a dangerous place and most likely die without a Savior. Some people will be like the ewe that had given up. They have been wounded and beaten by the storms of life and are just tired of trying to exist anymore in a harsh and cold world. If we do not go and encourage them to keep trying we will not be able to lead them to their Savior.
We must go and bring them in.
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