Scripture Reading: Luke 15:11-24
Introduction:
He was the son of a ship captain. He went to sea at the age of eleven. At the age of 19 he forced into service on a warship. He deserted but was soon recaptured and was publicly flogged and demoted in position. By his own request he was traded into service on a slave ship. He became a servant on a slave ship and was abused brutally. He was rescued by a captain of another ship. Someone who knew His father. He eventually became the captain of his own slave ship.
By his own admission he was a “wretch.” But one night as he was out to sea, a great storm arose. It was a terrible storm and it looked like all home was lost – the ship was going to sink. In the midst of the storm while trying to steer the ship he cried out “Lord have mercy on us.” Through what he called the “great deliverance” God spared them from the storm. It was on this day that John Newton gave his heart and life to God.
Perhaps you’re wondering who John Newton is?
You may not recognize the name, but you’ll recognize
what he wrote:
Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound)That sav’d a wretch like me!I once was lost, but now am found,Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,And grace my fears reliev’d;How precious did that grace appear,The hour I first believ’d!
Thro’ many dangers, toils and snares,I have already come;’Tis grace has brought me safe thus far,And grace will lead me home.
In our Scripture reading this morning we read about the Prodigal Son. John Newton was a “prodigal son.” Jon Earls was a “prodigal son,” and so were (are) some of you.
As you may know, Jesus gives three parables in this chapter: first, the parable of the lost sheep, then the parable of the lost coin, and finally the parable of the lost boy.
Some have seen in this ‘three examples’ with one application, and there is certainly merit to that. Of course the application is that Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.
There is so much in this parable that we need to see. Perhaps of all of Jesus parables this is the most ‘human,’ because it is maybe the closest to us. We have no trouble identifying with its truth. Of all of the stories in the Bible, this story is one of my favorites. I guess because it describes us all so well.
This is not just a story. In this parable Father is God. The son represents you and me.
In this story is one of my favorite descriptions of God in the whole Bible. Throughout the Bible we see God doing lot’s of different things. We see Him sent fire from heaven. We see Him open the earth and swallow up sinful people. We see God send His Son. We see God, through His Son, die on a cruel cross. But here in this story of the Prodigal Son is a picture of God that is astounding. For in this story we get a glimpse of the love and mercy of God like no where else in the Scripture.
My favorite picture of God is found in verse 20, “And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” The part I like most about this verse? Two simple words: “and ran.” No where else in Scripture does it ever tell us about God running. But here in this story of the Prodigal Son we find God running! Do you know what this tells me? It tells me that God will run to meet you when you turn back to Him! The Devil says that we’ve gone too far, done too much. But God says that He will run to meet us! I found this true in my own life!
Someone wrote a song about this, and it is one of my favorite songs. You may not be familiar with the tune, but listen to the words.
The day I left Home,I knew I'd broken His heartI wondered ifThings would ever be the same,
Then one night,I remembered His love for meAnd down that dusty road, ahead I could seeIt was the only time,the only time I ever saw Him run
Was when He ran to me,Took me in His arms, held my head to His chestAnd said "My son's come home again".Looked in my face, wiped the tears from my eyesWith forgiveness in His voiceHe said "Son, do you know I still love you?"
It caught me by surprise, It dropped me to my kneesWhen God ran
Almighty God,The Great I AmImmoveable Rock,Omnipotent powerful
Awesome Lord,Victorious WarriorMighty Conquerer,Commanding King of Kings
And the only time,the only time I ever saw Him runWas when
He ran to me,Took me in His arms, held my head to His chestAnd said "My son's come home again".Looked in my face, wiped the tears from my eyesWith forgiveness in His voiceHe said "Son, do you know I still love you?"
It caught me by surprise when God ran
I don’t know about you, but I’m thankful that He ran to meet me when I turned back to Him! Why did God run?
I. God ran when He Saw a Wayward Son coming home.
Here we have a story of a rebellious young man who didn’t want his dad to tell him what to do anymore. He was determined that he was going to do things his way. He didn’t need the “old man” to tell him what to do anymore. So, he went to his father and asked for his inheritance. He was going to go have a good time.
Does this story sound familiar? It probably should because it describes us. We’ve all taken our inheritance – life – and wasted it on riotous living. Doing our own thing. We’ve all had the attitude in our heart that we don’t want anyone to tell us what to do – including God. There’s a country song that I heard one time that goes, “There ain’t nobody going tell me what to do.” That’s the attitude of a sinful heart. And this is the attitude that the prodigal son had.
You all are very familiar with this story. The good times soon ended with the money and before long the son wound up in the midst of the hog pen. Now, I don’t know exactly how long this process took. It could have been many years, I don’t know. But what I do know is that sin will take you farther than you want to go. It will cost you far more than you want to pay. It will keep you longer than you want to stay.
The Devil gets people to believe the same lie, time after time. “You know, there’s nothing wrong with doing this…it’s just a little fun…besides, you don’t need everyone else always telling you what to do…” And so the story goes. The first sin is always small, but before long the chains of sin are wrapped so tight you wonder they will ever get free.
I don’t know how long the process took, but the son sank low – real low! This was a very low employment, and particularly so to a Jew. It was forbidden to the Jews to eat pigs, and of course it was unlawful to keep them. This was as low as a Jew could go! Jesus used this image in this story to show just how low sin leads people.
However, one day the Scripture says, “He came to himself.” I don’t know how long this took, but thank God he came to himself! This is the same phrase that was used to express someone who was deranged or out of their mind and who finally recovers. This is exactly what happens in the life of a sinner who comes to themselves!
So, he came to himself and he remember father’s house. He remembered that there the servants ate better than he was eating. He remembered the love of his father, and he decided it was time to go back to Father’s House.
So, he got up and headed back home. You know what he was doing? He was walking the road of repentance. He did a U-turn a Y-O-U turn. He changed directions and headed home to plead for his father’s forgiveness.
He didn’t know if his father would take him back as a son, he just wanted to be a servant. He didn’t know if his father could ever forgive him, but he determined that he was going to do whatever it took to make it back into his father’s house.
There are some of you here this morning that may feel like you’ve gone too far, done too much to ever turn back to God. The Devil has you convinced that God would never forgive you now. Friends, if you will just fall on your knees and beg God for His forgiveness you’ll discover the same thing that the Prodigal Son did – God will run to meet you!
The Scripture tells us that “when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” God ran when He saw His wayward son coming home. And God will run to meet you if you will turn to Him in repentance! I can assure you that if you will take the first step, He will run to meet you!
God ran and this tells me that the Father:
- Was watching.
- Was waiting.
- Was willing.
God ran when He saw a Wayward Son coming home.
II. When God ran a Son’s Wandering Days ended.
A part of this story that is often overlooked is the fact that when this son came home his days of wandering out in sin were over. He no longer lusted the harlots. He no longer lived with the hogs. He no longer wasted his substance on riotous living. He had come home!
I want you to know this morning that God still has the power to bread the bondage of sin! He can still set the sinner free!!
He set me free! He set many that are here this morning free! The Devil may tell you that you could never quit certain sins, you can’t. But through the power of the Blood of Jesus He can enable you to be set free!
Charles Wesley had been bound by sin, but one day he found that Jesus could break those chains of sin. He wrote the words to a song we sing often:
O for a thousand tongues to singMy great Redeemer's praise,The glories of my God and King,The triumphs of his grace!
He breaks the power of canceled sin,He sets the prisoner free;His blood can make the foulest clean;His blood availed for me.He speaks, and listening to his voice,New life the dead receive;The mournful, broken hearts rejoice,The humble poor believe.
Friends, if you will turn back to God, He will run to meet you, and bring your wandering, sinful days to an end! His blood breaks the power of sin! He sets the prisoner free! Finally notice…
III. When God ran Sin’s Weight was Lifted.
Look at verse 21, “And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: 23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”
He had rehearsed his speech well on that road home I am sure. He was going to just ask to be made a servant. That was all. He had no hopes of being his Father’s son again, only his servant. But when his Father saw Him a great distance away He ran to him and put his arms around his neck and had compassion on him. In verse 21 the sons gives his speech (repentance): “And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.” The father refused to entertain the idea his son would be a servant. Immediately the father commanded his servants to bring the best robe. He took that beautiful robe and lovingly placed it around his son, covering all the filth and dirt of his mistakes. That’s a lovely picture of how God covers our sin with a robe of righteousness. Sons often wore family rings that had the family seal engraved upon it. Stamping the ring in wax was like a signature. The father put a new ring on his finger symbolizing his full status in the family – he was a son again.
The Father had shoes but on his son’s feet. Slaves didn’t wear shoes, but sons did. The old Negro spiritual “All God’s chillun got shoes” was based on this verse. The Father restored everything the son had lost!
And here’s the bonus! The father commanded the fattened calf to be killed, so they could have a real Georgia barbecue! The fact the Father had been fattening up the calf makes me think he anticipated the return of his son. Everything the son left looking for, he found back at his father’s house.
I love the last part of verse 24, “And they began to be merry.” Now who was merry? I know it wasn’t the older brother. The servants may have joined in, but I believe that this was referring to the son and the Father. They were rejoicing! A lost son had come home! The older brother heard the music and dancing (sorry but that’s what the Bible says) and was jealous.
Friend, the Devil may make you feel hopeless. But if you will just turn around and go back to Father’s house you will find a loving and a forgiving God who will wash your sins away and break the power of sin and you will rejoice too! Jesus told us that there is joy in heaven over one soul that repenteth!
Conclusion:
- God ran when He saw a Wayward Son coming Home.
- He was watching.
- He was waiting.
- He was willing.
- When God ran a Son’s Wandering day ended.
- When God ran Sin’s Weight was lifted.
In his book, “Capital of the World,” Ernest Hemingway wrote about a father in Spain who had a son named Paco. Because of his son’s rebellion, Paco and his father were estranged. The father was bitter and angry with his son, and kicked him out of the home. After years of bitterness, the father’s anger ended and he realized his mistake. He began to look for Paco, with no results. Finally, in desperation, the father placed an ad in the Madrid newspaper. The ad read, “PACO, ALL IS FORGIVEN. MEET ME AT THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE AT 9AM TOMORROW. LOVE, YOUR FATHER.” Paco is a rather common name in Spain, and Hemingway wrote when the father arrived the next morning, there were 600 young men–all named Paco–waiting and hoping to receive the forgiveness of their fathers.”
My friend, if you need forgiveness today, Jesus offers it.
David Rufin for six years was homeless, living on the streets of Brooklyn, New York. Alcohol and crack had ruined and destroyed his life. Reducing it to living and sleeping on the streets, scrounging around for soda bottles and cans to pay for his next meal.
It was on an Easter Sunday morning that he stopped out back of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church. Inside he heard the choir sounding so heavenly. He argued with himself as to whether he should go in, dirty, filthy, smelly and drunk. David says, "The Lord told me this is My house and you can go in any way you are."
It was during the altar call David began to make his way to the front. Jim Cymbala the pastor saw him coming and thought to himself, "Oh man, what a way to end an Easter service, someone hitting me up for money." As David approached him, Jim Cymbala said, "He smelled worse than anybody I had ever smelled. The smell of filth, sweat and urine caused me to look away and then breathe. After inhaling I would turn back and talk with him. He put his finger in my face and said Reverend I don't want your money. I want this Jesus you're talking about. I'm going to die out there. I don't have a hope in this world unless someone changes me." Jim Cymbala began to weep at his own lack of compassion and ask God for forgiveness. David fell against his tie and chest with his matted, filthy hair. Jim Cymbala says, "All of a sudden the smell was a beautiful perfume." God said, "That's the smell Jesus died for! Jesus didn't come to die for a nice clean little world. He came for that which was lost and ruined."
David Rufin says, "God's love drew me!" He is now the head maintenance man for the Brooklyn Tabernacle Church. Jim Cymbala now describes David like this, "David Rufin is a man of God."
Friends, if you are the Prodigal Son this morning, I have Good News for you! God will run to meet you if you will only turn around and head back home again!!
Is there anyone here this morning that needs to pray?
- God ran when He Saw a Wayward Son coming Home.
- He was watching.
- He was waiting.
- He was willing.
- When God ran a Son’s Wandering days ended.
- When God ran Sin’s Weight was lifted
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