The Lost and the Found

The Blind and Those Who See

I once was lost, but now I’m found, was blind but now I see. (Amazing Grace composed by John Newton)

The following actually happened some years ago. A husband and wife owned a restaurant in a western state. The restaurant was a family-style establishment and was frequented by many of the local residents of the town. Every Sunday night, after church services, a local pastor and his wife would come in for dinner. The two couples became friendly and would make conversation each time the pastor and his wife stopped in. During their conversations, the subject of faith would come up. The pastor and his wife shared the Gospel with the couple on many occasions during their weekly visits. They politely listened to the pastor and his wife as they presented the Gospel each time, but were not willing to receive the Lord – until one night everything changed.

One Sunday night, the pastor’s wife told the wife that she was going to go to Hell. It was a shocking statement and it took her by surprise. At first, she was angry but then came the conviction of the Holy Spirit. She sat under the conviction of the Holy Spirit for days. She just could not get away from what the pastor’s wife had said to her.

Admittedly, the statement from the pastor’s wife was a bold one and few would have been so blunt with the woman. But the truth is that this is the end for all those who are “lost” and do not see. In this case, it was the Holy Spirit working through the pastor’s wife to reach out to this woman and her husband. The end result was that the couple came to the pastor’s church one Sunday and heard the Gospel. They realized their lost state and repented and came by faith to the Lord. Years later, their son became a minister of the Gospel and was powerfully used by the Lord in world Evangelism. The pastor’s wife had been used by the Holy Spirit to reach this couple and it resulted in not only their Salvation but many souls beiing saved worldwide through the ministry of their son.

There are only two types of people in the world – the lost and the found. There are those who are blind to spiritual matters and there are those who see spiritually. Being “found” is being born again or being born from above. Jesus spoke of it in John Chapter 3. He said the following:

“…. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven”  (John 3:5).

He was speaking of spiritual birth. We are in a lost state with a fallen nature and must be spiritually born again to see the Kingdom of Heaven. When we are born again, we go from our “lost” state to a saved, or “found” state. The word “found” is appropriate because it is the Lord who reaches down in His Mercy and Grace and saves us. We cannot, and will not, come to the Lord of our own volition. We are brought to a saving knowledge of the Lord by the drawing and convicting power of the Holy Spirit.

In our story of this family, we see the Holy Spirit using extreme measures to convict them and draw them to the Lord. It was the Love of God reaching out to them in their lost state. The end for all those who reject the Love the Lord offers is Hell. This is so critically important that we must reach out to all those “lost” with the Gospel. They do not realize the extremely dangerous condition they are in. Their only hope is to be “found” by the Love of God and surrender to that Love that sent His Son to the Cross to pay the sin debt and make it possible for whosoever will to be forgiven and become “children of God.”

Do know the Lord today? If you do not – you are on the road to Hell. Have you heard the clarion call? Do not ignore His call. Your future depends on it. The Lord reaches out in love today. His mercy and grace are available to us only for the length of our life. Once we die our fate is sealed. In coming to the Lord, the “blind” can see spiritually and the lost can be found. We are saved by repenting and placing our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross. We serve a wonderful merciful God Who seeks us out. Know Him today and be blessed.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life” (John 3:16).

For those of us who were once lost but are now found, we know we have crossed from death to life and we are so grateful. The lyrics of the song “If not for Grace” by Clint Brown expresses the feelings of all those of us who have come by way of the Lord’s Mercy and Grace and found the forgiveness and the love that reached down to a lost soul:

Where would I be You only know. I’m glad You see through eyes of love. A hopeless case, an empty place, if not for Grace. I once was lost but now I’m found. A hopeless case, an empty place, if not for Grace.

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

[Links to the A,B,C’s of Salvation and the Sinner’s Prayer can be found below.]

The A,B,C’s of Salvation

https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/5448

The Sinner’s Prayer

https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/1752

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2024