04.27.22 The Parable of the Lost Son

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Bible Text: Luke 15:11-32

Luke 15:11–32 NIV

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “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. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 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, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “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. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 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. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ “ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 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.’ ”

Introduction

Is there an illustration/image that can be used to help people understand?

It doesn't matter how far you are away from God. It doesn't matter if you feel you cant turn back to Him, because He will accept you with open arms.

Even in your life of sin you can come to your senses and come back to the Lord. The Lord only wants you to receive Him in your life and comes to you with open arms to receive you and embrace you in the same way this father does to his own son.

How can I express the central idea of the sermon so that people remember it, and so that it applies to people today? How can I structure the sermon so that it has one main point, with (when necessary) supporting points, rather than many different points?

It doesn't matter how much we stray away from God or sin against Him. If we turn and confess to Him and decide to come home to Him, God is delighted and celebrates this with tremendous joy.

Remember last week when we hear Luke 15:7

Luke 15:7 NIV

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

We need to understand that the rejoicing is coming to those who repent and we need to also be joyful in this excitement. Don’t be caught off guard and act like the brother who resents his brother coming home because he doesn't feel the light is shining on him. The father reminds the son that because he was already in the family everything the father had was his if he would just ask.

Likewise, if we are already in the family of Christ we already have the splendor and gift of heaven and what more do we need than that. We are rejoicing in the fact that those who become saved now also share in that splendor instead of having nothing.

Sometimes people have a hard time admitting they are at fault. It took this son to be completely broken and was feeding pigs and almost eating their food before he snapped out of it and realized that this was no way to live. Sometimes we continue down a path we know is wrong and harder because we are ashamed to admit our faults and want to live horribly instead of admitting we were wrong.

But just like the father in the passage, God is waiting for you with open arms. It doesn't matter how far gone you think you are and may be from God. If you turn your life around and come to God in repentance, then he is there to meet you with open arms. And just like the passage we read, he isn't making you be a lowly servant either, but instead is glorifying your name in heaven to the fullest extent and is rejoicing in this.

It is hard to admit we are in a point that we need to turn away from. Sometimes people stay in the current situations they are in because of shame, guilt, pride and they don’t want to go through the process of admitting their faults because they do not want to be looked at differently and judged. So instead they stay in the situation they know they should not be in to avoid this feeling.

You may be in a situation or around situations that you do not want to be in and know that you should be going a different direction. When reading this passage and knowing that this is how the Lord is for you and will accept you into open arms if you come back to Him. You don’t need to stay in that situation and you do not need to feel that you will be judged for turning away from sin.

Remember last week when we spoke about John 15:19

John 15:19 NIV

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

The world is not meant to fulfill you, help you, give you the love and nourishment that you need. It is full of short bursts of happiness that everyone keeps chasing the next thing to fill the void.

You have the fulfillment in Jesus Christ and through what He did on the cross for your sins. He came and died on the cross so you could come back to Him without needing anything else other than you repentance....THATS IT!

This passage is showing the father who is longing for his child to return home. This is the same that the Lord is doing for us. When we spoke about Jesus coming to seek and save the lost this is what it looks like. As a sinner you go away from God and you do your own things. Then when you come to the end and realize that the world will never fill you up and satisfy your needs, God is there to accept you back with open arms.

The son needed to first realize he was doing wrong and he realized this at his lowest moments while working in the pig pen. Then you need to go to the Lord and repent of your wrong doings. The son did this when he returned to his father and asked for forgiveness and decided to tell him in.

Luke 15:18–19 NIV

I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’

But the father willingly accepted the son when he decided to come back to him without any reservations. The father forgave and embraced his Son. There was nothing for the son to worry about because the father was seeking him out and before the son even knew it the father forgave him and replaced the status in the household.

Secondly we can see from the brother who was angry with the father and refused to go in because he felt that there was never a party for Him although he was always doing the right things. This is another trap we may find ourselves in and was something we talked about last week. The praises were recieved for the son who was lost, not the son who wasn't. Remember what the father says in verse Luke 15:31

Luke 15:31 NIV

“ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.

He was already in the presence of what the younger brother was receiving and he didn't see it. When you are sitting here as a Christian we already have the presence of God and receive all that He has to offer. Don’t forget that when the praises go for those who are lost. Because those who are lost have never felt the presence that you already experience and it is a glorious time of excitement and praise when someone who is lost comes home to the Father.

This is how the Lord is willing to receive you and is actively seeking you out. You just need to get to a point in life where you are ready to turn around and admit the faults in your life. There will not be a rejection from God to you, the rejection is made from your own pride and guilt. Once you let this go and ask for forgiveness God is there with open arms ready to embrace you.

We live in a world of sin and in this world we are used to trying to fit into the crowd, have certain friends and wanting to fulfill the desires in our lives through what the world has to offer. Through this process we are always using a broken system to try and fix a broken self. Instead we need to use a perfect system (Jesus Christ) to fix our broken self and this is what Jesus dying on the cross for you accomplished. It gives you the ability to freely turn to Him and repent and be accepted back into the presence of the lord without needing to prove yourself and doing things to be right with God. You just need to acknowledge your wrong doing, turn around, ask for forgiveness and repent and then recieve the gift the Lord has for you which is a life in eternity with Him.

We are sinful in nature and through this nature we will always choose the sinful route or the easy route at some point unless we are living for someone else in our lives.

Through Jesus Christ we have the ability to come back to someone who is wanting to receive us with open arms if we choose to turn away from our sin.

Once we turn away we have the responsibility to live for Jesus Christ in our lives and share that amazing opportunity with others. When you have been given the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ and turn around to see your friends and family still living in a world of sin it should break your heart to see them suffering in a world that wont help them. You have the chance through your change to show them the way to Jesus Christ in their own lives.

Our world will always look enticing and good to us because we are born in the world and this is what we have grown up into. It is easier to fall into the pattern of the world because we are living in it and it is all around us.

But through this life with Jesus Christ we have the opportunity to see the love, compassion and mercy the Lord has for us all when we choose to come back to Him in our lives. To return to the Father. This is what Jesus Christ has desired all along.

Luke 19:10 NIV

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay the way for you. To give you the ability to turn around from your sin and just by acknowledging your faults and asking for forgiveness that it would be enough.

Then through His life he showed us how to live ourselves in His presence and bring others into His presence as well.

The more the world throws our way, the more distracted we are for what is right in front of us. The Word of God, the example of Jesus Christ are all things we have the ability to know, but the world throws things to get in our way and very successfully distracts us.

We need to be able to see the truth that is in Jesus Christ in our lives and how much better our lives could be with Him. Once the son in the passage saw that his life would be so much better by returning home he turned around and went home and this is what we have the ability to do in our lives. We have the ability to turn around and go back into the presence of God and live our lives with Him.

The gospel is the blueprint for you to be guided in your life to live the right way in the presence of the Lord and show others how to do the same.

And through this life with Jesus Christ we are back in the family. We are back in the presence of the Lord. The ability to come freely back to God in our lives is because of what Jesus Christ did in the cross for you.

That is the beauty we have in all of this. Reminding ourselves from last week that we are so loved that Jesus Christ came down to pay for our sins and show us the way to Him. And when we realize that we cant live in this life without Him, He is there with open arms waiting for us to come home.

Our world is full of distractions and things that will pull you away from the presence of God. But we have the ability to turn away from this and go back to God at any time as long as we are willing. The only thing holding us back from doing this is US!

Tonight we are going to have an opportunity to turn away from our lives that we currently live and ask God for forgiveness. Through this prayer the only thing holding you back from turning your life around and going back to the presence of the father is ultimately you. And remember no matter where you are in life and even if it is a different day from today you can always pray this prayer and return home to the Father and ask for forgiveness.

Let’s Pray

Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I choose to live my life without you. By faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior. Amen.