Make your changes and save. Deleting removes it from the archive for good.
Title:
Slug:
Content type: Sermon Poem / Prayer Service / Tribute Incomplete Biography
Body: As Christians, we need to remember to keep our focus on Christ and not forget the day when God ran to us and embraced us. We will be looking at one of Jesus’ parables this morning that portrays Christ’s love and compassion for lost individuals. (Luke 15:1-30). 1. George Murray said that this parable is "the most divinely tender and most humanly touching story ever told on earth." 2. Charles Dickens described it as "the finest short story ever written." 3. It also has been described as "the Gospel within the Gospel." 4. In the story we see the story of redemption as only Jesus could tell it. Some of you have already guessed which parable that I’m speaking of. But if you haven’t already you can look in your Bibles at Luke 15:11-32. Yes, the “Parable of the Lost Son”. I’m not going to read the story that Jesus taught to the crowd, although we will be looking into it in depth as we go through it, so you can keep your bibles open if you will. For context, this crowd that Jesus was teaching, included tax collectors and sinners. And this annoyed the Pharisees and the teachers of religious law, that Jesus was concerned with such sinful people as these. Text: Luke 15:11-32 11 Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, `Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 "When he came to his senses, he said, `How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son 21 "The son said to him, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 "But the father said to his servants, `Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. 25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 `Your brother has come,’ he replied, `and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, `Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 "`My son,’ the father said, `you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’" Life has a way of befriending us, then bewildering us and, at times, betraying us. The parable of the prodigal son is the crown jewel of all parables. It is the longest parable in the Bible, the favorite story of many readers and the climax of three parables Jesus told before the Pharisees and scribes, tax-collectors and sinners. The story concerns a wayward son, a waiting father and a whining brother. The prodigal painted the town red and was soon in the red, but he returned to red carpet treatment and to his older brother’s protest. The Parable of the lost Son can be outlined in three stages. - The rejection of Home, and his Father. - The return Home. - The reunion and restoration at Home. We first have the request of the younger son for his inheritance. (Luke 15:12) 12 The younger one said to his father, `Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So, he divided his property between them. This request for his inheritance can be viewed as a prayer to God. The request must be regarded as asking a favor from his father, and the father grants this request and gives both his sons their lawful portion. The younger son, with a craving for false independence, gathers all his assets and sets off for "a distant country" or in the KJV "a far country" away from his father’s reign and presence. (Luke 15:13) He wants to escape his father’s direction and leading. He wants to do his own thing. He wants to live the way his ego tells him to live. In this new "faraway country" he proceeds to squander away his wealth on wild living. (Luke 15:13) He gambles, parties, is irresponsible, and the list goes on. The Son has a bank roll but within a short period of time it is all gone! He has set off with his inheritance prematurely, so that he might gratify his carnal desires. He wanted to escape responsibility to his father. He doesn’t notice, in his binging, the money disappearing. Augustine stated that his "faraway country" is actually titled, "forgetfulness of God". It’s the time when we just live for ourselves. Everything is about pleasure, having so-called fun. Sunday’s have no meaning. Church has no meaning. Prayer has no meaning. It represents that state of being what Paul described as "alienated from the life of God." It’s the time in our life when we are separated from God because of our sinful self-centered life. All this son wanted to do was to fill his belly and live for the satisfaction of his sensual desires. He desired to live with harlots. · He lived in the fast lane- Drugs, booze, and women. · He gambled with his life and his money and soon discovered that his life was ruined. To him it seemed fun while it lasted, but he eventually ran out of money and became in dire need. (Luke 15:14) “After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.” He had to seek employment to be able to have the bare essentials of life. He spent all his money for wild parties and girls but we read in verse 16, that no one gave him anything when the money was gone. What happened to his so-called party friends? He spent plenty on them, but they forsake him in his time of need, and this is a typical trait of the world. They used him and abused him! Then when the money was gone so were they. The son found employment as a swine herder. (Luke 15: 15,16) 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. The Jews would have shuddered in disgust, because in their eyes there was no greater dishonor. How utterly degrading for a Jew to be reduced to tending animals, whose very presence would bring ceremonial defilement. He was in the lowest pit of life! He had hit rock bottom. But worse yet, this job did not meet his basic needs to survive. He longed to even eat the cobs of the pigs, but he did not dare. He tried begging but because of the famine, there were no handouts. Never give up on a loved one because eventually they will hit rock bottom and they will receive a revelation of their condition from God. We may give up on others, but God never does. Many do come to their senses when they are in the pit of despair. They become open to looking once again to the Lord because they discover that they are hopeless without Jesus. Luke 15:17 Tells us that the son finally came to his senses. 17 "When he came to his senses, he said, `How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!” “It is a wonderful stroke of art, to represent the beginning of repentance as the return of a sound consciousness.” Repeat. “Wretchedness stirred reason, and a sinner is half way on the road to salvation when he comes to himself.” B. The Return Home Perishing with hunger, the young son thought of home with all its comforts and with food to fill a belly. This son had rejected his father’s love and had left his father’s home and had abandoned his father’s authority, but he could not erase the memory of the abundance that his father had provided for him. The son recognized within him that he was a despicable person. He knew he was selfish and carnal. He was sure that nothing within him would appease his father. He thought that he had no good qualities left! Then the **man** came out of denial and walked into the realm of truth. He could see clearly now the delusion of “super self” was gone. This step is the beginning of salvation when we feel that we are not worthy to be called sons by our heavenly Father. Then we are on our way back home. The son recognized the need of confession and so he proposed to prepare his plea to his father. (Luke 15: 18, 19)18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ He recognized that he had sinned. He knew he was wrong for what he had done, and he is willing to admit it. Are we willing to admit when we have been wrong and gone against the direction of the Lord and his Word? He recognized that he did not deserve to be called a son. He knew that his father owed him nothing. He had lost the position of sonship because of his actions and lifestyle. But he also knew that his father would have mercy on him and would probably hire him as a servant. If restoration was granted, it would have to be on some basis other than his worthiness. Because he knew he was unworthy. He headed for home. Luke 15:20 tells us that while he was a long way off, his father spotted him. “So, he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son.” * This seems to imply by the original Greek by the words, "a long way off" indicating that the father did not remain in his house, hoping the son would return. Instead the father expected the son to return, and so each day the father evidently traveled a considerable distance from the house to a vantage point where he could spot the son’s return at the earliest possible moment. This parable highlights the son, and it also emphasizes the Father. It shows: 1.) The father’s love did not begin with the son’s return. 2.) It was always there. 4.) He always loved the son. 5.) Even when he was lost doing his own thing. 6.) It shows that the father was full of grace and hope for the wayward son. Jesus was emphasizing that God loves those who are lost and eagerly anticipates their return. How suggestive this is of God’s welcome for the repentant sinner! C. The reunion and restoration at home. The son was received with open arms by his father. The signal of the son’s restoration lies in the gifts he receives. The best robe (vs. 22) symbolic of the clothes of righteousness which the repentant, believing sinner receives from God. *This meant the privileges of son-ship were restored. The signet ring (vs. 22b) - symbol of the union of heart, father and son experienced. This was a sign that authority was given back to the son by the father. Sandals - These were a sign that the son was not a servant. *Only servants were barefoot. The fattened calf and feast The fact that the calf had already been fattened shows that the father had already been anticipating the son’s return. Application: God loves sinners, and God looks and waits for the lost to come home. When God sees them heading home, he runs to them with open arms. God reinstates the privileges and blessings of their inheritance. We do not deserve it but God gives it to us out of a fathers heart of love and grace. Jesus continues this parable with a twist by introducing the older faithful son. The son’s attitude toward his father for accepting his younger brother was, "anger and he refused to enter the banquet." (Luke 15:28). He is mad as a hornet! He has an attitude with his father and with his brother. The older son refuses to change his attitude or participate in the celebration. He charged his father with injustice. The older son was saying, that his father had withheld from him the reward for his service. And he reveals his true character in this response to his brother’s returning. He lacked the quality of grace and mercy. He lacked forgiveness and acceptance. He lacked all these essential character traits of a faithful Christian. In (vs. 31) the father says. "You are always with me, and everything I have is yours". By this Jesus was revealing that the same privileges that were afforded the younger son were always available to the older son. Decency is not the key to salvation. You are not saved because of your decency. G. Campbell Morgan said of the elder son: “He was devoted to his father’s law, and he was devoted to his father’s service; but he was entirely out of sympathy with his father’s heart.” (G. Campbell Morgan, Gospel According to Luke 184) Bruce Larson said of the good brother, “He is the tragic one. He does not have any awareness of his lostness. He never strayed or broke the rules, and yet he missed out on the gift of the father’s extravagant love.” (Bruce Larson, Luke 230) Of course, the older son was furious. He thought he was dutiful and deserving. He would not go in and so the father went out, because the celebration was not complete without the older brother. The older brother shot back and his emphasis on his track record was clear – the years of service, the absence of wrongdoing and the demand for fairness. The older brother cried unfair, he cried foul and cried “poor me.” He didn’t care about the younger brother’s repentance, deliverance and salvation. The father did not promise the younger son another share nor did the father take from the older brother’s share. It was all in the elder’s imagination and fear. The older brother harshly and defiantly said to the Father, “This son of yours,” but his father tenderly called the elder “MY son”. Conclusion: Have you come or returned to the Father’s open arms, outstretched hands and restless feet (v 20)? Is our friendly, fond, and fatherly God waiting on you and for you? All men have sinned. By grace we are saved through faith. Do you know that no matter what wrong you have done, what mistakes you have made, how far and how long you are gone, that God is willing to forgive, heal and receive you? That no matter how wrong you have been, what mistakes you have made, and how far, long or often you’ve been gone, God is always willing to forgive, welcome and embrace you? God does not run from, when God ran He ran with His loving, caring, and forgiving open arms to embrace you and me. God is waiting, He is watching for the lost to run to them and to embrace them and say, Welcome home my son! “When God Ran”.
Sermon date:
Author:
Location:
Status: Published Draft Needs Review Confirmed Duplicate
Topics:
Scripture: