Has Anybody Seen My Faith?

 

Luke 15: 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?

5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

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?

9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.

I’m always saying it…“Has Any Body Seen My….”

 

• Glasses
• Keys
• Wallet
• Phone
• At least with the phone you can have someone call you so it will ring.

 

I hate losing things…

• I say all the time, “I should have been a magician, I can make things disappear even from myself.“

 

I’m constantly misplacing things and I’m not the only one…

• It seems that lots of people are real good at losing things…

 

They make movies about losing things…

• In 1952 director Douglas Sirk produced a movie, Has Anybody Seen My Gal?

 

They make songs about losing things…

• In 1997 the Rolling Stones recorded a hit single entitled Has Anybody Seen My Baby
• Bob Dylan wrote one subtitled Has Anyone Seen My Love
• Tony Orlando used to sing SAY HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY SWEET GYPSY ROSE
• Grover and Marty two of the Muppets from Sesame Street sing a song titled Has Anybody Seen My Dog?

 

@Luke5SOS from Twitter asked the other day: “HAS ANYBODY SEEN MY CHICKEN?”

 

Poem by A. A. Milne?

Has anybody seen my mouse? ??

I opened his box for half a minute,

Just to make sure he was really in it, ?

And while I was looking, he jumped outside!

I tried to catch him, I tried, and I tried…

I think he’s somewhere about the house. ?

Has anyone seen my mouse?

 

I had someone say to me the other day…

• I think I’m losing my mind.

 

I thought it was just me, but hey listen…

• “People are losing stuff!!!”

 

Their…

• Glasses
• Wallets
• Phones
• Their Gals
• Their Sweet Gypsy Roses
• Their Dogs
• Their Chickens
• Their Mice
• Their minds

 

People are losing it!

• Whatever it is.
• But it’s lost and nobody can find it.
• And it’s important!
• Because if we don’t find it, we’ll never see it again!
• And we need it!
• So we need to find it!

 

I’m having fun…

But think about it, of all the stuff that we wonder if any body has seen, I wonder If Anybody Has Seen Our Faith!

 

• At times of sickness in my life, do they see my faith?
• At times of trouble in my home, do they see my faith?
• At times when I lost my Job, did they see my faith?
• When my car broke down…
• When my marriage was troubled…
• When bills weren’t getting paid…
  • When things were going good…
  • When things weren’t going so good…

 

Luke 18:8

…Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

 

Understand that God did not lose his Faith.

• He gives it to you and to me.
• Too often though, we are the ones who lose it, and Luke 18:8 asks the question, “Will Jesus find it in us in the day that he comes looking for it?”

 

When does He come looking for it?

 

Someone asked a similar question in Matthew 25.  They said, when did we see you naked or hungry or homeless?

• Jesus answered them that day and He is answering us today, when you’ve done it unto “the least of these my brethren.”

 

There is not going to be a thundering trumpet playing the day Jesus comes looking for faith in your life,

• It’s going to come in the shape of someone in need.
• It’s going to look like somebody you bump into every day.
• Or possibly just one single time.

 

Have you ever felt a nudge or inclination to go say something to someone you have only just seen for the first time in a grocery store or gas station?

 

When Jesus comes looking to see if you have faith, He’s going to do it with someone who needs that faith.

He’s going to do it with someone who doesn’t go to church or at least not this church, or maybe even someone who does go to this church.

 

• He’s going to do it with someone who really, really, really needs you to stand up and declare what God has done in your life.
• He’s going to do it with someone who really needs what you’ve got.

 

The old church song says,

“Faith, Faith, Faith, Just a little bit of faith.

You don’t need a whole lot,

Just use what you’ve got.

Faith, Faith, Faith, Just a little bit of faith.”

 

Jesus asked some people one time in Luke 8:25  “Where is your faith?”

 

We need to ask the question today

• “Has Anybody Seen My Faith”?
• When they needed to see it, did they see it in me?
• When they were looking for faith… did they find it in me.
• When they realized that what they had was not going to be enough to get them through their situation, did they find our faith?

 

• Did we pray for them?
• Did we encourage them?
• Did we tell them about our God?
• Did we invite them to our church?
• Did we show them our faith?

 

Did they find something in us that has hope or help or confidence in God or trust that He will find a way?

• Did they see our faith?

 

You know… nearly every day of my life I bump into someone who is facing some kind of distress or trauma in his or her life.

• A Death in the family
• A Divorce that is too close to home
• Joblessness
• Sickness
• Family trouble
• Relationship problems

 

My faith is sought after all the time.

People want to know…

• What do I do?
• Where do I go?
• What should I say?
• How should I act?

 

They want to know, “Jim, where is your faith?”

• “I need to see what you would do”
• “I need to know what God would tell you to do.”

 

Listen folks, there are some people in our lives who we are accountable to.

• God places souls in our path every single day that He expects us to reach out to.
• It is not happenstance that caused you to meet that person for the first time.
• You are there for a reason.
• There is a purpose in your connection.

 

Natalie and I test driving a car several weeks ago.

• Young salesman, quit going to church, lives in this community; he and his girlfriend are looking for a place to worship.
• There was a reason why we pulled into that lot.
• There was a reason why the sales manager sent that young sales person out to help us.
• And he was looking for faith!

 

There are these opportunities that God gives us every single day of our lives to share our faith with other people.

 

I’m in the hospital praying for Ray…

• His sister who does not go to church comes into the room in the middle of the prayer.
• Do I cut the prayer short or do I show her my faith and continue praying?

 

I’m not interested in showing off my faith.

• Some people do that you know.
• Personal Examples…

Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

 

 

You know whom he was talking about?

• A churchgoer?
• One of his disciples?
• One of the believers who followed Him everywhere He went?
• Nope, a man who’s daughter was dying and who needed a miracle.

 

God doesn’t need for you to turn into some preacher or evangelist every time someone reaches out to you, but He does need you to reach out to that person with the same love and concern that He would reach out to them with.

 

 

But if we are sensitive

• If we are prayerful
• If we truly love these people
• We will take the time and be bold enough to share our faith with them.

 

• When they tell us about their addictions, we will tell them about how God delivered us.
• When they tell us about their failing relationships, we will tell them Who can heal their families.
• When we see that their life is going in a wrong direction, we will show them the way to the Cross.
• We will invite them to our church and we will let them see what God is doing in our lives.
• They will see our faith!

 

When was the last time you told someone about the day you turned your life over to Jesus?

• Ask yourself today, “do people see my faith”?
• Do I show them the difference Jesus has made in my life?
• Have they seen Him in me?
• Do they hear Him in my words?
• When they’ve been with me, do they feel like they’ve felt God?
• Do they see my faith?

 

There are some people in this room who have some amazing testimonies.

• I’ve heard some of them.
• I know some of your stories.
• God has done a lot for many of us.
• But let me ask you, how many people outside this room have you told your story to?

 

Has Any Body Seen My Faith?

 

I posted on my Facebook on Wednesday….

“Last week was Back To Church Sunday. I think this week should be Who Can I Text or Email or Facebook To Invite To Church Sunday…”

 

I declare this whole week “Who Can I Text or Email or Facebook To Invite To Church next Sunday” week!

 

I believe our faith should be seen this week.

• Someone needs to spend some time on Facebook, not getting caught up in all the nonsensical chatter that goes on, but rather reaching out to their friends and family to invite them to be with us here next Sunday.

 

Has Anybody Seen Your Faith?