S3 E1 - Okay...WHERE ARE MY KEYS?!?

Welcome to our very first episode of Season 3! I'm so glad you've returned, and hope that this new year finds you well! In today's episode, I lose my keys - well, my car key to be specific. I spent three hours looking for it, and just above gave up hope. That was until my daughter found it...in one of their toy bins under their bed. Hmm, I wonder how it got there. I wasn't upset, I was just relieved and overjoyed to have it back. 

Well...that is exactly how the Lord feels when those who are lost return home to where they belong. Don't believe me? Tune in to consider 3 parables that teach us from God's perspective about how he feels when those who are lost are found. 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that everyday, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths?

Would you believe me? 

Hi, I’m BJ Sipe – and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above Podcast. I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father.

Thanks for tuning in!

Welcome back to all of our listeners, and welcome now to season 3 of the Set Your Mind Above podcast! It was so nice to take a break for family and personal travel for the past month and a half, but it’s so good to be back behind the microphone now too. We have some really exciting things coming up in season 3, so absolutely stay tuned for some exciting announcements in the weeks to come. I hope your new year is off to a great start, and no matter where you are tuning in from, know how grateful I am to grow together with you once again as we set our minds above. 

Our first episode for the year is a comical and frustrating one that I am confident you will find remarkably relatable, and it has to do with losing my keys. I should probably just come out and say that I am the WORST at putting things where they belong. In our home, we have a little bowl for all our keys in our entry cabinet by the front door. But that is not where I ever keep mine. If you’re looking for my keys, you can likely find them on my nightstand, on the kitchen bar top, or more than likely within one of the pockets of the pants or jacket I wore out the day before. Frequently I will be wandering around the house looking for my keys for quite a while before finally checking the bowl and realizing Kylie had put them away for me. The nerve! Who put my keys where they belong? This is an ongoing routine in our home, so it was no surprise to me when Kylie asked, “Honey, where is the car key?” yesterday evening. She was getting ready to take Ava to her ballet class (I know, my little girl is growing up) and I was the last one to drive the car the day before when we all went to Sam’s Club. I responded and said, “It’s on my nightstand, let me go get it for you.” I got up from my workstation at the kitchen table and shuffled over to our bedroom. I went to the nightstand and…no key. Hmmm, I guess I didn’t leave it there like I thought. On to the other usual locations. So, I checked my pants pockets…no luck. I checked my jacket pockets….no luck. I checked the kitchen counter…no key. I even broke down and checked the bowl in the front entry way (you know, where it belongs) and there was no key. I scratched my head, where in the world could it be? Kylie found the spare and took Ava to her ballet class, and I decided to save my key search for later in the evening so I could have some father & son time with Dane. 

After a lively hour and half full of trains, Gameboys, and Blippi, the girls returned home and I resumed my search. I checked inside the drawers of my nightstand. I looked under the bed. I emptied my clothes hamper to see if it had fallen out there. I checked every chair that I had sat in yesterday. After we put the kids to bed, I bundled up and went out to the garage to see if it had fallen out of my pocket onto the floor or somewhere in the car. Nothing. I can’t make this up, I even checked the washer, dryer, and refrigerator to see if somehow by some insane chance it ended up in one of those places – which of course it did not. All in all, I spent about three hours looking for the car key. Kylie encouraged me to call it a night, so I gave up in the hopes of getting back after the search before work this morning. Well, this morning rolled around, and the kids woke up full of energy promptly a little before 8 am. I went into their room and started to change Dane’s diaper and get them ready for the day. As I was tending to a few things they asked if they could play with blocks and I said sure they’re welcome to pull those out before breakfast. I started to walk out of the room before my daughter’s voice had me stop on a dime, “Oh daddy, here’s your key!” I whirled around to see Ava proudly hoisting the lost car key as high into the air as she could, as though she was holding up some trophy she had wanted her whole life. Honestly, I felt like it was a trophy at this point. Obviously, I did not put the car key into one of their toy bins under their bed, so my son and I had a little chat about not touching daddy’s keys right then and there, but I wasn’t upset to be honest. I was relieved. I had searched for hours for this key, and I was just overjoyed that it finally turned up and was returned back to where it belonged. 

Now, let me ask you this…are you where you belong? That might sound like a strange question if it’s taken generically – what do you mean by that? I’m not asking if you feel accepted in your community, in your workspace, or if you enjoy where you are living. What I am asking you to consider has nothing to do with where you live, work, or how you feel. I am asking you to consider where you are in relation to the Lord. Are you where you belong? Or are you lost? In the gospel of Luke, an entire chapter is dedicated to exploring this question from the perspective of God. Jesus gives us three parables as illustrations in Luke 15 to help us to understand how the Father is seeking after our lost souls and wants desperately for us to come home. The first illustration is from the perspective of a shepherd who has lost one of his sheep. Jesus would teach, “What man among you, who has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine 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 ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.” (Luke 15:3-7) The second illustration the Lord gives is of a woman who has lost a coin. He would go on to say, “Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10) 

These first two parables teach us the same very important lessons. First, the Father is searching for the lost. He is not disinterested in humanity, nor is he unbothered by our spiritual brokenness. You are valuable to the Lord, He knows where we belong, and he wants us to come home. Second, nothing brings the Father more joy than finding that which was lost.  You see in both of these parables they call for others to rejoice along with them when they have finally recovered that which was lost. Jesus teaches us that there is not just joy in the heart of the Father, but joy throughout all of heaven when a sinner repents and turns back to the heart of their Creator. But what if you’re not just lost…what if you’ve been lost for a very, very long time? What if through your actions you have blatantly spit in the face of God, spurned him for all of your life, and continued to avoid him despite his continued pursuit for you? Surely, after you’ve hurt him and hurt others around you in your life for so long, there could be no more hope…could there? This is where the third parable comes in. While too long to read the entire narrative, allow me to summarize. A man’s youngest son demands his inheritance from his father so he can go off into a far land and indulge himself in pleasure. In that day and age, much like today, an inheritance was not granted until the death of one’s father. In other words, to this young man, his father was as good as dead. He wanted no relationship, rejected his home where he belonged, and left to live how he so desired. Where we pick up in the story is when things started to go south for him. 

The text says in vv. 14-24, “After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.” ’ So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.” 

Here is the point my friends…there is no such thing as being too far gone. There is no depth or hole deep enough that you could dig for yourself that God would not want you back. The Father loves you, and he is looking for you day in and day out. Coming back to him will not bring him great anger, but great relief & joy. If you’ve been lost, it’s time to come home. 

Thank you for tuning in for this week’s episode, and I would invite you back every Wednesday for a brand-new episode each week. If you haven’t already, be sure to find us on Facebook for future announcements or even some special video sessions. If you have benefited from this podcast, share it with someone else that you think would benefit from it also. Until next time, know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each & every day set our minds above.