I am so excited about what God is doing in our lives right now.  God is opening up amazing doors for us, and bringing us into new and exciting ventures.  We will begin church planting in the fall with Catch the Fire in Kitchener-Waterloo.  God has led us to this place and has confirmed to us over and over again, that He is in this.  That He has called us to this.

 I look forward, with anticipation, to all that God has for us in this next season of our lives.  I know He has great things ahead!  We had the privilege, last week, to meet with a group of people who have been meeting and praying for this very thing, for several years.  They are a people who are obviously hungry for God and to make Him known in their city.  I am looking forward to developing friendships with these ones and pouring into their lives, as they too give into ours, that we in turn may continue to pour into others.

 That is what it is all about.  Truthfully, I don’t just want to plant a church that just caters to Christians.  I want to plant a church that welcomes the lost and the needy.  I want to plant a church, not known for manifestations, but known for the love of God.  I want to be a church full of the presence of God and the love of God.

 Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep.  There were 100 sheep.  Ninety-nine of those were protected and in a safe place, well fed, with their shepherd, but there was one who was lost.  The shepherd, concerned about the well being of that one lost sheep, left the 99, in order to rescue that one from harm.  Jesus said, when the lost sheep was found, there was more rejoicing in heaven over that one, than the 99 who were safe in the fold. 

 So yes, as Pastors, we are called to feed and protect the sheep in the fold, but even more importantly, we are called to rescue lost sheep.  We are all called to this.  We are in the job of rescuing.  That’s what we are trained for.  That’s what the church is all about.  We get poured into for the purpose of pouring out.  In too many of our churches, we care only about getting fed.   It’s so easy to get into the feed me, cater to my needs and wants mode and to forget that it’s not all about me. 

 God wants us to look for the lost sheep and rescue them.  Luke 10:2 says, “Look unto the fields for they are ripe unto harvest.”  The fields are ripe.  There are many who are waiting and who are ready to be found.  Even though they may not know it.  The problem is not a lack of people ready to be found, the problem is that there are not enough willing to go.  In this same verse in Luke, it says, “But the workers are few, pray therefore that the Lord of the Harvest will send forth laborers into the harvest field.”   That’s what God is looking for.  He is looking for ones who are willing to go to rescue and find the lost.

 That is our goal.  To have a church that pours into the sheep in the fold, so that they in turn can rescue those outside the fold.  We are filled in order to pour out.  We are blessed in order to be a blessing.  May we never forget this. 

Mark 2:17  “Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

 Jesus was criticized, by the Pharisees, for spending time with sinners and tax collectors.  The Pharisees wanted to have nothing to do with such men.  They literally wanted to keep themselves separate from the world.  The word says we are to do so, but by “world” it does not mean worldly people.  God loves ALL men.  He desires for all to be saved.  He loves every “sinner”. 

 Jesus said, “I came for sinners!”  The righteous – those righteous in their own eyes – such as the Pharisees – did not feel a need for the salvation of God.  In their own eyes they were “good enough” to merit God’s favor. 

 The sinners, by contrast, were drawn to Jesus for he loved them as they were.  They knew they were sinners in need of a Savior, and that is why Jesus came for them.  Such one’s just need to be loved into the Kingdom, not judged or condemned.

 In our churches, we so often focus on the saved, but rarely focus on the lost around us.  We “do” church week in and week out, but often forget or ignore the many lost and needy around us, going to an eternity without God. 

 We expect the world to come to us and rarely take it out of the four walls of the church.  But, for the most part, the world wants nothing to do with the church.  Jesus ate with sinners.  He hung out with them (not all the time – we still need fellowship with believers). 

 But I believe He truly loved them.  They weren’t just a “project”.  He loved on them and showed them, by His life, what it meant to be a Child of God.

 To be a child of God means to, first of all, know you are loved and then in turn, you become a lover.  A true believer is a “lover”.  We should be known by love.  Love God and love others!  That, Jesus said, sums up all the commandments. 

 Just love!  Hang out with the lost.  Don’t isolate yourself to just Christian friends.  Let the love of God rub off on those around you.  Let the world see what a true authentic child of God is. 

 Look for opportunities to minister to the needs around you.  Invite your neighbors or people in need into your home for dinner, and don’t try to convert them on the first try.  Just allow God’s love to flow from you and allow the Spirit to move in their hearts. 

 Trust God.  He can open up doors, hearts and conversations.  Let’s ask God for the lost in our churches and in our lives.  Let’s not put all our focus on the saved.

 In the parable of the lost sheep, God left the ninety-nine sheep and went looking for the one lost sheep.  That doesn’t necessarily seem smart if you’re going to build a church, but that is God’s heart.  God is not willing that any should perish.

 God give us your heart for the lost.