One Saturday afternoon King George V and Queen Mary were staying in the home of Lord Stamfordham. They decided to take a walk through the quiet countryside, something they had often done. As they walked Queen Mary felt tired and requested to take a rest. A little labourers cottage was spotted a short way off, the King requested of the good woman who opened the door, to allow them to come and sit for a brief time.

When the royal visitors were seated in the spotless little parlour, they noticed a family bible sitting in a very prominent position. I am glad to see you have the Good Book said the King.

Ay, your Majesties said William, would you like to hear about my conversion? Of course we would replied the King. The story was told with enthusiasm. The Queen, with tears in her eyes turned to the good wife. And have you had an experience like that? Yes! She sure had. And on request rehearsed her testimony to the royal couple. When they eventually took their leave, they were much affected by all they had heard. They thanked the couple and on leaving said, we love him too you know!

Their experience, although their stations in life were poles apart, had brought them together in a bond of love for the master.

And of course similar experiences do just that.

But here we have a trilogy of parables or stories and although poles apart in their station have something very wonderful in common.

Last time we thought about the lost sheep. And in that story we see the Son of God seeking and saving that, which was lost.

Now when we come next time to the lost son we will see the father simply stay by the home until the son has had enough and decides himself to come home.

But in our parable today we have the lost silver being sought in the deep recess of the home, in the darkest place, in its hopelessly lost position. And that surely is a picture of the spirit seeking and finding the most utterly helpless precious person.

Now it's interesting! The sheep was lost and did not know it, but could not find its way home.

The prodigal son was lost and knew it. Was lost and aware the father would be waiting on his return. Was lost and could find his way home.

But the piece of silver was lost and was unaware of it. Was lost and did not know there was a way home. Was lost and unaware that anyone was looking for it.

And do you know we have people just like that. They are lost and unaware of it!

They are lost and do not know there is a way home!

They are lost and unaware anyone is looking for them!

And you know what? Only the Spirit of God can do in their lives what is necessary to show them that they are in darkness and lift them and place them in the place of safety and light.

So here we have the Son, the Spirit, the Father seeking that which is lost! The trinity has a desire to seek and save the lost!

This was one of ten coins that went to make up a betrothal band that a wife would wear when going outside her own home. It was to signify that she belonged to another and that she was faithful to him. They were silver as our text reminds us! They were coins of the realm with the king's head on them!

The idea was that if one was lost it was considered that she had been unfaithful to her husband!

This was a precious piece of silver! You are a precious soul!

I got to thinking recently, what does lost really mean?

So I began to list some of the adjectives describing lost. Listen!

You are missing the mark! You are falling short of what God requires!

Just look at a child who has lost its mother! Totally disorientated. Does not know where to look, what way to go, that child will normally simply stand and cry, calling for the one it knows it will be safe again with!

I remember when in the United States in 1996 we parked the car in the car park of one of these multi-story car parks, taking careful note the door we went in.

What we did not know was that each floor had its own car park and each floor entrance and exit looked exactly alike. So while we had noted the door we went in, what we did not note was the number of the floor we went in.

So when we came out of the store we made for the exact spot we parked the car, only to discover, you guessed it, the car was not there. Well you talk about being confused. By the way we did eventually find the car.

To be lost means to be confused as to your eternal destination.

The hymn writer had it right when he said!

You see dear folks, you have a life that was intended for something very different than just wandering through life and wasting that life on foolish and frivolous living.

God is working toward our repentance for he has a better life for us in his Son Jesus Christ! But because we are lost we are wasting that life!

I noticed there was only one adjective to describe depraved, corrupt!

You see the soul that is lost is depraved and corrupt. It's not that the soul is lost and we don’t know were to find it, but it's lost in the sense that it is depraved and corrupt and has only one end.

What do you do with something that is depraved and corrupt?

Why, you dump it in the bin from where it will be transported to a place where it will lie in the darkness of the earth until it rots.

You know don’t you that it’s still there in some form or other in the ground, nothing is ever gone! It’s always around in some form or another.

Or secondly, if something is corrupt we throw it on the fire and burn it up lest it corrupt something else. But again even though it's burned it’s still around in some form or other, nothing is ever annihilated.

What does God do with the depraved, corrupt soul? Why he has no option but place it in the fire and that is the fires of hell.

That place where the fire is never extinguished and where what is placed into it never is burned up. It's like living and burning all throughout eternity

You’re a lost soul and in great need of saving!

This piece of silver was not like the lost sheep, or the lost son, lost far away from home. It was in the house, but utterly lost! It was near to the one who was looking for it, but still lost.

Little Mary Jones is lost, little Mary Jones is lost cried her dad as he ran down the street to the police station. Reporting at the front desk to the police sergeant he said again, little Mary Jones is lost, little Mary Jones is lost!

After calming Mary’s father down, he took down some particulars.

Have you tried everywhere Mary usually goes? Said the policeman!

Did you know this is the Sunday school party at the church said the sergeant? Oh no I had forgotten about that. So off the policeman and dad went and on arrival at the church hall, the hall was in darkness, they were showing lanternslides.

The policeman attracted the attention of one of the leaders and told him what had happened and asked him to make an announcement in the hall. He went to the front and in the glare of the lanternslides he announced, Mary Jones is lost, if she is here would she please make her way to the front door. Nothing happened, dad and the policeman were disappointed and returned to the police station to think again. I tell you what, said the policeman, you go home and wait there and we will ask around some more and we will come to your home in about an hour.

So the sergeant and his officers went out to do their duty. As they did they discovered the Sunday school party coming out and everybody making for home. And what do you think, there was little Mary Jones walking up the street with her friends.

The policeman went across the street to Mary, Mary don’t you know everybody is in a state, they think you are lost. Did you not hear the announcement during the lantern show! Oh, yes sergeant, but I did not think you were talking about me for I was not lost, I was in the Sunday school party.

Here’s a coin and it's lost and absolutely oblivious to the fact!

You say, well of course because it’s an inanimate object it has no sense of lostness, no sense of fear, no sense of death, no sense of judgement.

Ah! But we are not like that, we have certain sensitivities that should alert us to our lostness but sometimes we are like the coin, lost and totally unaware of it. We have become hardened to the fact that we are lost and heading for judgement. The Holy Spirit did not want it like that.

But we have closed up our ears and understanding and hardened our hearts. We have become like that coin, an inanimate object.

And we are lost right in the very House of God. We come here often or to some other place to hear God’s Word but keep ignoring it as though we were just an inanimate object. Wake up! Wake up! You're lost! You're lost! Judgement is coming!

This dear lady goes looking for her silver, guess what? She lights a light. You see when something is lost in the darkness the best thing to do is to light a light! The hymn writer said, "The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin! The light of the world is Jesus."

The light has come and it's there for you to walk in, not simply to look at.

You know, as we have been hearing with respect to the eclipse, the sunlight cannot be done without. This world would freeze to a standstill if we did not have the sun. And yet if we walk out into the midday sun and stare up at its rays it will blind you. The light of the sun is there for to walk in but not to look at!

But some have spent far too much time looking at the light Jesus brought to this world and they are going spiritually blind.

Just as this woman rejoices over the finding of her lost silver so the Holy Spirit rejoices over the finding of a lost soul.

The Bible reminds us there is great joy in heaven over one sinner that repents!

Dear friend can you imagine the kind of joy there would be in heaven and on earth if you who are lost would be found of the dear Saviour and be saved even today? Why not call upon His name and repent, believing He and He alone is able to save you?

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