“The Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

Jake, our auto mechanic, was in the process of doing an oil change. He needed a particular wrench to remove the plug. It was not where it was supposed to be.

After looking in a couple of spots, he asked out aloud: “Now, where did I lose it?”

I shrugged my shoulders as if to say: “How would I know? Sorry, pal, can’t help you.”

His response completely caught me off guard. With a twinkle in his eye, he said: “Actually, it’s not lost. It just hasn’t been found yet!”

The moment he spoke those words, his entire demeanour changed. He was not in a panic to find the wrench anymore. He slowed down his pace, took his time, searched in a few more spots, and then exclaimed: “Ha! So that’s where you’ve been all along!”

Now he could proceed with the oil change that had been held up momentarily by the missing wrench.

The word “lost” is used quite frequently in the Christian world to describe those who have not yet turned to Jesus and received him as their Lord and Saviour.

Sometimes the word is used in a tone that is quite judgmental. At other times, when someone refers to the lost, there is more compassion than anything else in their voice.

Yes, it is true that without Jesus one is “lost”, but isn’t it also true that the reason they are labelled “lost” is because they haven’t been found yet?

Sadly, some prefer to remain in their lost state and are not open to receiving the gospel message. But how about those people who are just waiting to be found?

Over the past month, a number of people from our churches have been part of teams that have embarked on a Treasure Hunt.

What is a Treasure Hunt, you say? Here is how Kevin Dedmon describes it: “A group of people (three to five per team) asks God for words of knowledge about people’s names, clothing, appearance and prayer need(s). They also get words of knowledge about locations and other unusual things. They write these down on a paper called their Treasure Map and go to the locations on their Map to find “treasures”…people who correspond in some way to the clues that the team has written down. When they find someone, they show him or her their map and ask if they can pray for him/her.”

Some of you may have heard it described as “Prophetic Evangelism.” Members of our teams have been used by Holy Spirit to speak destiny over these “treasures”, often accompanied by healing, deliverance, salvation and even an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, as in the case of the “treasure” in the photograph accompanying this post.

One of the reasons why outreaches such as Treasure Hunts produce remarkable results is because of the attitude with which teams go out. We are not looking for the lost, but for treasures that have not been found yet. We know they are out there. God has already given us enough details about them that we know for sure that we will find them. And we do.

This particular man told us: “The last five minutes have completely transformed my life forever. I cannot remain the same anymore.”

We too found, just as Jake did in his garage, that once the wrench (wretch?) is found, a “change” is bound to happen!

Have you ever embarked on such an adventure? Please share your experiences with the rest of your DWOD family.