Luke 15:4,8,11
[4]What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? [8]Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? [11]And he said, A certain man had two sons:
Sometimes, when you read the word of God, you may be tempted to read some stories like very different stories that are not related one to another. However, Luke 15, is not about three different stories that are not related, all the three stories are actually related and are a build up one after the other and they can teach you how God relates with different kinds of people in the kingdom. Many people have used this chapter only selectively saying how God can leave 99 sheep and go look for one, how true is that? And to whom does it apply?
If God leaves 99 sheep to go look for one, then, why did the father of the prodigal son not leave everything and go looking for his lost son? Let me show you something that will help you understand Luke chapter 15. We have three categories of people in the Kingdom:
1. The man and the sheep
2. The woman and the coin
3. The Father and his sons
Look at how Jesus wisely arranged it! It's a hierarchy! The sheep, the coin, the sons! Now, I know we all love being the sheep under a shepherd, but this is the lowest cadre of operation in the kingdom. The sheep is wholly dependent on the shepherd here called "the man". Who is man? Man is a person in authority, he is directly after God in hierarchy. Even David asks, "who is man that you are so mindful of him? You've made him a little lower than God and have crowned him with glory! (Ps 8:4&5)"
But this is the tricky part, man and sheep have no direct relationship. Man can never give birth to a sheep, neither can sheep give birth to a man. Their relationship is strictly on benefit bases. The sheep related to the man because it benefits from the man leading it to green pastures and besides cool waters (Ps 23). The man relates with the sheep or accommodates the sheep, because he can get wool from it, meet and can sell it in the market for money.
When a sheep gets lost, it is highly likely that it will never find its way home unless the man goes for it. If another man takes the sheep, the sheep has no clue that it is not its original owner, it just continues with life not knowing that this is a hiring and not the good shepherd (John 10:12). This kind of mentality is the one that will make the man leave ninty-nine sheep in the pen and go look for one sheep that is lost. What am I saying? I am saying that this story does not apply to every person in the kingdom. Unless you are at the level of sheep, God will not come looking for you when you get lost. The level of sheep is the level of ignorance, the level of very little knowledge of God and the Word. The level of relating with God based on just what you can get from Him. Now, at that level of operation, if you get lost, the Shepherd will come looking for you.
The second level is the level of the woman and the coin. Who is a woman? A woman in the kingdom represents the church; the bride of Christ. The coin here is not just a denomination of a currency it represents answers. The Bible says that money answers all things (Ecc 10:19).
Now, if the church loses a person that was an answer to all their things, it is expected of it to do everything in her power to get the person back. And after they have gotten them back, they can call for a feast and tell the neighbors that the source of answers I had lost is now found. What is the source of answers in the church? The Holy Spirit!
Jesus said that, when the Holy Spirit has come, he will teach you all things and answer all things (John 14:26). Now, if the church loses touch with the Holy Spirit, it is necessary that they sweep the whole house, turn every table, until they have found Him. You might ask yourself, "why make all this fuss just because of one coin?" Have you ever gone shopping only to discover you were one coin short? How frustrating was that? This represents the fullness of what is needed. There are some things in the kingdom of God that you'll never enjoy, until you have everything in full. The Holy Spirit is such one, until you are full of Him, you cannot enjoy Him. Without the Holy Spirit in full, you cannot understand the Word of God, you cannot even pray right. Because we do not know how or what to pray unless the Spirit of God prays for us (Rom 8:26).
Another way to look at this is if you have people in your ministry that are supportive, pillars of the ministry, answers to your ministry. If you lose them, then, you are obligated to go out look for them until you've found them and brought them back. When Jesus and Peter needed to pay taxes, Peter had to go back fishing, to get that fish with a coin in its mouth (Matt 17:27). Therefore, ladies and gentlemen, this story also does not apply to everybody. Do not run off from the kingdom and claim, "like the lost coin or the lost sheep, God will come look for me". First of all ask yourself, "Am I a sheep in the kingdom? Am I a coin in the kingdom?
Lastly, the father and his sons. Please note that the father never went looking for the lost son. Because, unlike the sheep and the man and the coin and the woman, the father and son relationship is deeper. A father gives birth to a son and the son eventually gives birth to a father. A son does not work for the father for pay, he works for the father for inheritance.
Now, when the son gets lost, it is incumbent on him to come back to his senses and trace his way home. What brings the son home is not being looked for or being sought. What brings the son home is his senses and his realization of what being away from the father is costing him. Please note that if a coin falls off your pocket, it has no ability to bring itself back to your pocket unless you look for it. It will stay where it fell or rolled until someone picks it up. If a sheep gets lost, it has no intellectual ability to trace its way home. Actually, chances are that, the more it stays lost, the further it strays off.
But it is not so with a son, a son is a person that knows the father and who the father knows. A son is a person that has tasted the goodness of being in his father's house. This is why the Bible says in Hebrews that if those who have tasted the goodness of the kingdom fall off, there is no way of bringing them back (Heb 6:4-6). You cannot look for them and bring them back, they will have to, by their own volition come back to their senses, rise up and go home to the father. And after meeting the father they must say, "I have sinned and I do not deserve".
Who is a son? A son is a person that knows God and what exactly God can do. They are not ignorant of the Word of God and the operations of the Kingdom. They have seen the doings of God, have testified of His miracles and are an epitome of His grace. They have become a beacon of His mercies. If you fit this description, when you run off from the kingdom, please do not expect God to come looking for you to bring you back home. The name of the LORD is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and they are safe (Prov 18:10). Please note that it is the righteous that needs to run back to the tower; they have to run back because, who told them to move out in the fast place? I dare say, the name of the LORD is a strong tower, the righteous LIVE IN IT and they are safe. But sometimes the righteous run off, then, they must run back.
Did you notice that the sheep were 100, the coins were ten and the sons two? That also tells you of the composition of the kingdom. The sheep, the gullible, the ignorant, clueless and radarless are always and will always be more than the coins, those who support ministry, who finance it, who hold men of God up, who provide answers when questions are asked. And the sons are even fewer.
Now you know, now you are enlightened. May God bless you and keep you, may God lift you higher than I am. Shalom and keep the faith.
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