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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Good morning, we're in Luke, chapter number 15. Luke, chapter 15, the Bible reads, Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners, for to hear him. The Pharisees inscribed his murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and needeth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if you lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety-nine just persons which need no repentance. Either what woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the peace which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. And he said, A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that follows to me, and ye divide it unto them as living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger? I will rise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. And 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. 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. 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, and bring it to the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found, and it began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field, and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry and would not go in. Therefore came his father out and treated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgress thy at any time thy commandment, and yet thou never gavest me a kid that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found. Let's pray to the Lord God, thank you for your word. Thank you for this opportunity to hear preach. Let's ask that you would be with us now here this morning. Please bless, Pastor, we're here with the Holy Spirit, and bless the preaching, and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. In this morning, and look down at your Bibles at verse number one, it says, Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners, for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And the time of my sermon this morning is the perishing and the prodigal, the perishing and the prodigal. Here in Luke chapter 15, we see that the publicans and sinners, those who aren't necessarily esteemed among society, are going to Jesus, they're listening to him preach, they're listening to expound the word of God, and the religious leaders of the day, known as the Pharisees, are being critical of that. The Pharisees and the scribes, they're murmuring, they're complaining about it, and they are criticizing him because he is fellowshipping with, or teaching, should I say, sinners, known as the publicans, and he's receiving these criticisms from the Pharisees and scribes, due to the fact that these people aren't necessarily the highly esteemed in society, they aren't necessarily the best of Christians or believers, but these are people that need the word of God. When he receives his criticism, he actually expounds into them three different parables that essentially explains two different types of groups, one being for the unsaved, and those being for those who are already saved, those who are Christian, those who are believers. Really, these parables are about the conversion of the sinner, as well as the restoration of the believer. What these parables really show us is the fact that God not only cares for those who are not saved, but he also cares for those who are saved, but maybe have gone astray in their life, and as a Christian. And so we're gonna look at some of these parables, I'm gonna spend the majority of the sermon on the last parable, but let's look at the first one, in verse number three, we're gonna look at the parable of the sheep, and this is a parable that most people are familiar with. He says in verse three, and he spake this parable unto them, saying, "'What man of you, having a hundred sheep, "'if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine "'in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost "'until he find it? "'And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, "'rejoicing,' the Bible says." Now what is this talking about? Well, Jesus Christ is giving the illustration here that if a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, he will do basically everything in his power to look for that one sheep, showing us that that one sheep is very valuable to the shepherd. It's not like, well, at least I still got ninety-nine sheep, at least I still retained the ninety-nine. Obviously he has a lot of love for that one particular sheep that is lost. And what the parallel here is, what this is trying to explain to us, is that God cares for lost people. And what are we talking about when we say lost people? We're saying those who don't know 100% sure if they're gonna go to heaven when they die. That's a lost person, right? If a person, if you ask someone, or if someone asks you, are you 100% sure that if you die today that you'd go to heaven, and anything other than, yes, because I believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, you say something like that. Or if you say, well, no, I don't know for sure because no one knows, I don't have that assurance, I don't know beyond a shadow of a doubt, I hope so. The Bible considers you to be a lost person, right? And the will of God for your life, according to the Bible, first and foremost, is to be saved. It's to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ so you can have eternal life. And God likens you to that lost sheep that has gone astray. And here's the thing is that according to the Bible, the good shepherd known as Jesus Christ came from heaven 2000 years ago, looking for that one sheep. It says in verse number five, that when he had found it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. Why? Because he's happy that someone has come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Verse six says, and when he cometh home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost. Now I know what this is like because of the fact that, you know, when I get a friend saved or someone who I'm very close to a family member, someone who is a relative of mine, when they come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, when they finally believe on the Lord for salvation, I wanna tell everyone about it. I wanna tell my family and friends, and to a certain degree, I wanna say rejoice with me, because this person has finally found their faith in Jesus Christ. They finally found salvation, and it's a time of celebration. And let me just say this is that if this is your first time in our church today, and you don't know where you're gonna go when you die, you know, your friend must have a lot of love for you. Think about that. You know, obviously today is our friend day, and really it's an opportunity for people in our church to invite those who they really love and care for. And think about it, you know, if you're here, it's because your friend, family has been thinking about you. They've been praying for you. They've been hoping that you would come here with the possibility of you receiving Jesus Christ as your savior. Like, well, I thought they just brought me here just to kinda, you know, get some cookies and, you know, just be a part of their church or something. Well, the cookies is part of it, for sure. But you know, more than that, though, is the salvation of your soul. And I promise you, I promise you, if you're here today and you don't know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're saved, your friend is sitting next to you praying to God that you do get saved today. They're sitting there hoping to God that you come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. They're hoping that this service actually changed something in your heart that you would be open to the gospel of Jesus Christ. And if, and you do receive the Lord Jesus Christ today as your savior, you believe on the Lord, your friends will rejoice. They'll be happy. In fact, verse seven says, And I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Now, let me make something very clear is that according to the Bible, in order to have salvation, you don't have to do works. You don't have to repent of sin because none of those are sufficient for salvation. You don't have to be baptized or keep God's commandments because no one is able to do that perfectly. According to the Bible, all that's necessary to be saved is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in John 3.36, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. The most famous verse in the Bible is John 3.16, it says, For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Romans 4.5 says, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. Listen to this, his faith is counted for righteousness. Over and over again, the Bible specifically tells us that all we have to do in order to be saved is believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. What does it mean to believe? It means you're trusting that the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, listen to this, is sufficient to save you. God doesn't require your effort, your participation. He doesn't require your obedience to God's commands because no one's able to do that perfectly. He doesn't require your ceasing of sin because let's just be honest, no one can stop sinning this side of eternity. He doesn't require baptism because let's just be honest, not many people get baptized. He doesn't require moral integrity. He doesn't require the keeping of the commandments. He doesn't require obedience. All he requires is for you to place your faith in Jesus to be saved. And if you think, well, I think I have to do something for that salvation though. I think it's both Jesus and maybe something on my part. Well, in that case, what's the point of Jesus even coming to die for us then? If he came to pay for all of our sins and resurrected, what is even the point? I'll tell you something right now, the Bible teaches us that faith in Christ is the only thing that can save you. And the Bible tells us, therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. The Bible says, for by grace are ye saved through faith. And listen to this, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works that any man should boast. So he likened salvation to a gift and he says that you don't have to work for it. It's not of yourself. It doesn't require your effort. It doesn't require anything on your part. It just requires your faith in Christ to receive that gift of salvation. And isn't it great that salvation is free? Isn't it great that it's 100% free, it's a gift that's already been paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ? A lot of churches out there don't teach that. They teach you you have to do something for salvation. They teach you that you have to just be good for the rest of your life, to keep all of God's commandments, to not sin. But folks, that is a fool's errand. No one is able to do those things perfectly. And thank God that the Bible teaches that faith in Jesus Christ is sufficient. Are you that lost sheep? If you are, you've come to the right place. And I hope that what I'm telling you resonates with your spirit, that you would decide today to no longer be a lost sheep, but that you would willingly place your faith in Jesus Christ. It doesn't require anything on your part. It doesn't require, it doesn't even require for you to be a member of my church. What do you want, my tithe? No tithe necessary. Does it require my membership, and I'm assigning a membership covenant? No membership covenant necessary. All it requires is your faith in Jesus Christ. And in fact, let me just say this. You know, I would love for you to come back to our church, but if you got saved today and you just never came back, that's good enough for us. Because if you got saved, and you believed on Jesus Christ, and you walked out of these doors a safe person, that is worth it all. Why, because it's worth leaving the 99 to go for the one. The second parable we see here, look at verse number eight, is the parable of the lost coin. It says in verse number eight, either what woman, having 10 pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the peace which I have lost. Likewise, I say unto you, that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. So we see here another parable given in order to illustrate the importance of saving people. And it uses the illustration of a woman having 10 pieces of silver, something that is very valuable, and she loses one, and instead of saying, well, at least I still have the nine, she actually decides to seek after the one piece of silver, because she obviously values that piece. And I want you to notice in verse eight that it says that she lights a candle. And what this illustrates is the fact that in order to find people, in order to find the coin, in order to find the lost person, the light of the word of God is necessary for that. She lights a candle, sweeps the house, and seeks diligently for it. I wonder, are you here because someone just kind of just kept bugging you diligently about coming to friend day? They're just like, hey, just a reminder. Hey, remember you said, hey, by the way, hey, I know I already told you this, you're gonna be there, right? Yeah, chuckling because it's probably true. And you're like, yes, I told you I was gonna be there. I'm gonna be there. Stop, I'm not gonna be there if you keep asking. But you know what that is? Seeking diligently till they find it. You say, why do my friends, why do my family just, why were they so persistent in asking me to come? Well, obviously because they value you as that piece of silver that needs to be found. They want you to be found. Verse 10 tells us, likewise, I say unto you that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. For our visitors today, I'd like to ask you this. Are you 100% sure that if you died today that you'd go to heaven? Do you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're saved? You know, the Bible tells us, these things have it written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. Don't buy into the lie that no one can know for sure. The Bible says we can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we're saved. And my prayer today is that you would not leave First Works Baptist Church without getting that settled. That you would not leave these doors before talking to someone and saying, you know what, I'll be honest with you. I thought I knew, but I don't think I know. And there's doubt in my heart. I don't know for sure that I'm saved. And I know that hell exists. The Bible talks about hell existing. I don't wanna go to hell. I wanna be saved, but I need someone to explain to me very easily how it is that I can be saved today. I hope that's you today. And I hope you get saved. We see two parables dealing with lost people, those who are not saved, those who are, according to the Bible, on their way to hell, but they can be found. But then the third parable actually switches gears a little bit, and instead of focusing on those who don't know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they're saved, we see this third parable that actually the remainder of the chapter spends a lot of time on, is on the subject of the prodigal son. And when you actually study this chapter, you kind of come to the realization that the prodigal son isn't someone who is not saved, or this is a person who is lost, doesn't know that they're going to heaven. This is actually paralleling a person who possibly is a believer, but maybe he's gone astray a little bit. They got off the path a bit. They backslid a little bit. And this is a beautiful story illustrated in Luke chapter 15 to encourage people like you and people like me, that when we get off the path, we could always make our way back. Now, why does he use the illustration of a son? Well, the reason he does is because, from a spiritual perspective, when we get saved, we actually become, listen to this, children of God. Now, there's a false doctrine out there that teaches that we're all children of God, but that's actually not true. And you say, well, how do you know that? Well, because of the fact that the Bible tells us that in order to become a son of God, we have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1 12 says, but as many as received him, to them gave you power to become the sons of God, even unto them that believe on his name. First John chapter three says, behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. Listen to this, that we should be called the sons of God, showing us that there's a time we weren't children of God, but once we place our faith in Jesus Christ, we become children of God. And that's a wonderful thing. To be a son of God is a wonderful thing. It's wonderful because it obviously ensures us that we're saved, that we have eternal life. I've given it to them, eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. But you know what, it also assures us that God the Father will spank us when we get off track. You know, any loving parent will discipline their children if they misbehave or they get off track. Well, like man or God, the Father does the same to his children as well. Let me read to you from Galatians chapter four. You don't have to turn there. In verse number four, it says, but when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God had sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father, wherefore thou art no more a servant but a son, and of a son than an heir of God through Christ. So obviously the parable that's being illustrated here, God wants us as believers to put ourselves in the story, right? And we may be this son that we're looking at here in this parable, then maybe he has gone astray in some of the steps, some of the consequences that he faced, as well as some of the steps that he took to get back on track. Now let's look at the story. Look at verse number 11. We're gonna look at the rebellious son in verse number 11. It says, and he said, a certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me, and he divided unto them his living. He said, what's so rebellious about that? Well, the youngest son is requesting his inheritance. So his father has a particular inheritance, resources that he's gonna give into his sons, both of his sons, but this is obviously an inappropriate request by the younger son because of the fact that the inheritance is typically given after the death of the father. So the father hasn't died yet, and the younger son is like, hey, I know you haven't died yet, but can I get that inheritance, please? I'm gonna get it anyways. Can I get the inheritance? And that's pretty inappropriate, because obviously the will of the father is that once he dies, he leaves something behind for his children, but his son, because he is rebellious, because he wants to sow his wild oats, because he wants to go and experience the world or do whatever, he wants it now. He wants the inheritance. He wants the resources. He wants those riches now. And in spite of this, the father fulfills the younger son's request. So obviously the tradition is after the father dies, the son receives the inheritance, but the father allows the son to have his inheritance at that moment. And the spiritual application here is that in like manner, God the father, listen to this, will allow his children to exercise their free will sometimes, even if it's not his will, and even if he knows that their decisions are potentially harmful to themselves and to others. So sometimes Christians are like, well, I'd rather just do this instead of serving God or doing God's will. And you know what, sometimes God says, okay, that's what you want. Not because it's his will for you to do that, but because God is a God who allows us to exercise our free will. Because God didn't create robots, right? He didn't program you in a certain way to love him and to serve him. We have to willingly do those things. And that's a good thing. You know, if your children are just automatically programmed to love you, even into their old age, that'd be kind of weird. You want them to choose to love you. Hey, you want your wife to choose to love you. You want your husband to choose to love you. The relationships are much richer when the people around us choose to like us and love us, not forced to, right? And so God the father created us with the free will, and that free will, hopefully we use it to serve him, to love him, to obey him, but let's just be honest. Sometimes we just don't do that. Sometimes we want the inheritance now. Sometimes we want what we think is best for us now. Sometimes we make the decisions that we think will benefit us now. Sometimes we do things that are contrary to the will of God only because we want it for us now, because we think it'll benefit us now. And you know what? Sometimes God says, okay, fine, take it. The father gives us a choice. Let me read to you from Deuteronomy 30 verse 19. It says, I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. I want you to notice these three words. Therefore choose life, he says, that both thou and thy seed may live. He says, I'm giving you a choice. I'm giving you a free will, but I hope you make the right choice though. And I hope you choose life. Hey, when it comes to the subject of salvation, I hope you choose life because you have a choice. No one can force you to get saved. No one can force you to believe on Jesus Christ. No one can force you to be a part of a religion. According to God, you have to choose eternal life. But once you're saved, you still have a choice to choose life. He says in verse 20, that thou mayest love the Lord thy God and that thou mayest obey his voice and that thou mayest cleave unto him, for he is thy life in the length of thy days, that thou mayest dwell in the land, which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to give to them. So the son, he says, I want the inheritance now. I want the riches now. I want these resources now and the father gives it to him. Look at verse 13. What is the result of that? Riotous living. Verse 13 says, and not many days after, the younger son gathered altogether and took his journey into a far country, and I want you to notice this, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. So he gets all his money, he gets all the riches and the resources, the inheritance that his father gave him, and instead of investing it, instead of doing something productive with that inheritance, what does he do? He just parties it up. Riotous living. What is riotous? It means uncontrolled behavior, disorderly conduct, and unrestrained revelry. So he just goes and he just parties. Drinks it all away, spends it on people, lives lavishly, and in fact, when we think about the story as the prodigal son, we often relate prodigal to what? Just someone who's a stray, right? A prodigal son is someone who just goes astray and backslides, but prodigal actually means to be wasteful or recklessly extravagant, living lavishly. That's actually what prodigal means. So when the Bible talks about the prodigal son, it's actually referring to a person who is just wasteful. They're wasting their inheritance in order to do what they want to do, just living lavishly, recklessly, destroying their lives. The younger son begins to do so. And this is often the attitude the believers can have when they become rebellious. They want liberty, right? But often become enslaved by what they thought could bring them freedom. The Bible tells us that in 2 Timothy 2, it warns us, you don't have to turn there, it says, Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warth entanglements themselves with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. So what is this younger son doing? He's allowing himself to be entangled with the affairs of this life. He's allowing lust, he's allowing wine and whoredom to destroy him, to deplete him of his resources and his finances. And this is often what happens to Christians when they get off the path. They live, listen to this, a wasteful life, a life that doesn't matter anymore. And in fact, the Bible tells us that when a seed is sown, the seed of God's word sown among thorns, the cares of this world, the Bible says, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things entering in, choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. The Bible also says in Proverbs 21 verse 17, he that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man. He that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich. Hosea chapter four verse 11, listen to this, it says, whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. Take away the heart from what? From God. It's important for us as Christians to realize that sometimes believers get off track, they become a prodigal, why? Because they think that the world has something to offer them that God cannot offer. They begin to waste away their life, whether with resources, money, women, drugs, vain entertainment, but the Bible tells us that godliness with contentment is great gain. Having food and raiment, let us therewith be content for we brought nothing into this world and it's certain we can carry nothing out. But they that will be rich, the Bible says, fall into temptation and a snare and to many foolish and hurtful lusts that drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money, the Bible says, is the root of all evil, which while some coveted after have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, oh man of God, listen to this, thou, oh man of God, flee these things. I mean, how many stories have you heard of someone who wins the lottery? And it's just like a horror story. And in everyone's mind, it's just like, man, if I could just won the lottery though, if I could just win a million dollars, I would be so happy. And then, you know, they had this battle then they're like, man, it's probably not right to like play the lottery, but I would give to a church though or I'd give to a charity. But if you study all these stories of people who win the lottery, they end up destroying their lives. They end up living in destruction and perdition, why? Because the love of money is the root of all evil and it destroys them. And it seems as though the younger son did exactly that. He destroyed his inheritance, he destroyed his life because of his rebellion. Look at verse 14, if you would, verse 14. So he demands his inheritance. He receives his inheritance, he goes into a far country, he lives lavishly, riots his living, he becomes prodigal in his conduct. And what is the result of that? The result of that is he became a millionaire, he married a model and he lived happily ever after in his mansion and nothing bad ever happened to him thereafter. No, he hit rock bottom actually. Look at verse 14, and when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land and he began to be in want. So aside from the fact that now he's just broke, he has no inheritance, he's broke. On top of that, there's a mighty famine in the land. What is a famine? When there's no food. So he has no money, no food, and now he's in want, meaning he's lacking sustenance. Now I want you to notice in verse 13 that it says that he went into a far country and then these things took place. You know what, it's often said that sin will take you farther than you wanna go, keep you longer than you wanna stay, and cost you way more than you wanna pay. And that's absolutely true with the younger son. Once the parting was over, once he sobered up, once he realized the bank account was gone, once the happiness wore off, once all these things were done, now he's realizing, I'm broke, I'm in a far country, I'm away from my dad's house, now there's a famine and I'm in want. The Bible tells us, let no man say when he is tempted that I am tempted of God, for God tempted no man with evil, God is not tempted with evil, neither tempted he any man. And the Bible says that every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. The Bible also says in Proverbs chapter 20 verse 17, bread of deceit is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel. What does it say? It's saying, you know, sin tastes good. Rebellion tastes good. Doing wrong actually tastes good, initially. Sinfulness tastes good. Rebellion against your parents tastes good. Rebellion against your husband tastes good. Rebellion against your boss tastes good. Rebellion against God tastes good, initially. But afterwards the Bible says, thy mouth shall be filled with gravel. In other words, the aftertaste is horrible. You guys ever had keto, whatever, snacks or whatever? Like the initial taste is like, I think I could do this. But then you swallow it. And you wait a couple seconds and you're like, oh man, this is gross. There's some diet sodas that are like that, too. Not Coke Zero, of course. There's some sodas that's just like, it tastes good initially, but afterwards, it's like thy mouth is filled with gravel. It's just like, you guys just missed like a chemical something. You know, you just didn't do it right or something. And then your stomach feels all cold, and you know, just, it's like sin. Sin initially tastes great. But no one really takes into account the after effects. No one takes into account the result of your actions. The younger son didn't think about it. What would happen once he wasted all his substance and had all that fun? What is the result of that? Now obviously, I'm speaking to believers here. But obviously, you know, this could also apply to people who are not saved. You know, a lot of people who are not saved, who are on the way to hell, according to the Bible, they may be living life now, but they're not taking into account the result of that is hell. They're not taking into account that the wages of sin is death. He goes on to say in verse 15, and he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country. So now he's unequally yoked. And he sent him into the fields to feed swine. So now he's lowering himself to feeding pigs. And he said, well, what's wrong with that? Well, obviously, during this particular time in the Old Testament, because this is still Old Testament, even though it's a parable being cited in the gospels, we have a major violation of God's laws in the Old Testament because those of Israel were not to have any dealings with swine. They were considered unclean animals. So he is disobeying God's word by feeding the swine. He says in verse 16, and he would have feigned, feigned meaning gladly, willing under the circumstances. He would have feigned, have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat and no man gave to him. What does that mean? He would have been happy just to eat what the pigs were eating. I mean, talk about rock bottom. At a time when he was living with his father, he had servants, he had the care of his parents, he's eating good food, he's clothed. He doesn't have a worry or a care in the world. Now he finds himself in a far country feeding swine and eating the same meals as the swine. So after he's done feeding the swine, he's just kind of taking some of himself. That's not his father's will for his life. But you know, that's how a lot of Christians will find themselves. Gladly eating under the circumstances that which is fed to the pigs. The younger son now finds himself hitting rock bottom. He wasted his substance. He left his father's home. He's feeding swine. He's eating what the swines are eating. He doesn't have anyone to show him any compassion. I mean, this is a bad, now by the way, notice that before this, he's spending his substance. I'm sure everyone was his friend when he was a friend to everyone else with money, right? As long as he had money, everyone was happy with him. And in fact, the Bible tells us this in Proverbs 19, verse six, it says, many will entreat the favor of a prince, and every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts. You better be careful who your friends are and why they're your friends. If it's because you got money, is it because you're doing well? Is it because you're a giver of gifts? Because everyone's a friend to those who give gifts. But apparently right now, he doesn't have any money, and you know what? No money, no friends. No one that he can find to give unto him. So at this point, the son got his inheritance, goes into a far country, has a season of sinful living. He's feeding swine, he's hitting rock bottom, there's a famine, he's eating what the swine are eating. But now he has an epiphany. Now he's just like, what am I doing? Look at verse 17. He remembers how good he had it. And when he came to himself, now that's a good phrase there. What does that mean? He comes to his senses. He's like, pfft, pfft. Pfft. What am I doing? It's always good to come to your senses every once in a while. Every once in a while, just stop scrolling and come to your senses. You know, put the bottle down, put the alcohol down, and come to your senses. Put the drugs down and come to your senses. Put the video game controller down, and come to your senses. Come to yourself. He says when he had came to himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, that I perish with hunger? He's like, from what I remember, my father's employees ate better than what I'm eating right now. They had enough bread and even to spare, and I'm over here eating swine food. That's a good thing to remember. So he's coming to himself, he's realizing how good he had it. And let me just say this, the Bible tells us that the goodness of God leadeth us to repentance. And sometimes when a Christian goes astray, they get off the path, they get backslidden. And by the way, I'm not just talking about Christians who are out there who are not in church. Sometimes Christians can become backslidden in here, just in their heart. But once we realize the goodness of God, it kind of leads us to repentance. It helps us to realize how good we have it as believers. The Bible says in Psalm 77, verse six, I call to remembrance my song in the night, I commune with mine own heart, and my spirit made diligent search. What does that mean? It means he comes to himself. He's coming to his senses. So he's thinking, you know, I had it really good with my dad. You know what, Christian, if you've gone astray, you have it really good, or you had it really good with your heavenly father. Yeah, maybe you weren't having as much fun on Friday nights or Saturday nights. But you know, why don't you think about the hangovers though? Why don't you think about the consequences of your actions? Why don't you think about the good times with the Lord? The things that you actually enjoyed when you were serving God. So he comes to himself, he comes to his senses. Look at verse 18, we see a repentant son. He says, I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, father, I have sin against heaven, and before thee, he's shown remorse, and no more worthy to be called thy son, make me as one of thy hired servants. So what is he showing? He's showing repentance here. And you know, it takes a lot of humility to come to this point right here. And I'll tell you this, you know, as a Christian, Christians can be prideful. I mean, people in general can be prideful, but Christians can be prideful for sure. And sometimes it's hard for Christians to just get right with God, because they don't want to admit that they're wrong. They don't want to admit like, oh man, I was on the wrong path, going down the wrong direction, just not serving God or not having God in my thoughts, just kind of living selfishly, righteous living, being a prodigal. But this guy is actually saying, you know what? I'm going to humble myself before my father. I'm going to tell him that I'm no more worthy to be called thy son, make me a servant, just hire me as a servant. I'll take the position as a servant. And obviously his father's not going to do that, but he's willing to humble himself. And this is showing a sense of repentance. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 7 verse 10, for godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death, for behold the selfsame thing that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehemant desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge in all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Now let me just make something very clear that when it comes to salvation, repentance of sin is not necessary. Repentance is just not of sin. You say, well, I thought repentance in the Bible is always about turning from sin. No, because if that were the case, then we got a problem since the Bible records God repenting. So if repentance always means turning from sin, then there's a major issue since God is the one who actually repented more than anyone else in the Bible. The truth of the matter is, repentance varies in its definition based upon the context of the scripture. When it comes to salvation, repentance means to turn from what you're trusting in for salvation and placing your faith in Jesus Christ. So do we need repentance to be saved? Yeah, you need to stop trusting in whatever it is that you're trusting in for salvation, whether that be yourself, your works, your church, commandments of God, whatever it is, baptism, and place your faith in Jesus Christ. Now for the Christian, if you're already saved, God commands for you to repent of sin just to remain right with God, not for salvation, but just to maintain a right relationship with the Lord. He requires that godly sorrow. He wants us to be sorry for our sin when we wrong him by breaking his commandments. And restoration with God the Father and with other believers requires that, requires the confession of sin and repentance. The Bible tells us in 1 John 1, verse 6, if we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. That's powerful there. It's saying that if you claim to have fellowship with God, but you're involved in sin, God calls you a liar. He says in verse seven, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another in the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And I want you to notice this, if we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us. That's one of the reasons why we believe we can't repent of sins to be saved. Because if you claim, well, you have to repent and turn from all your sins to be saved, well, then you're making him a liar. Because if you say you have not sinned because you've repented of your sin, you make him a liar and the truth is not in you. You see, in order to be saved, you need the forgiveness of sins, not the repentance of sins, the forgiveness of sins that is only obtained and possessed through your faith in Jesus Christ. Next, I want you to notice the compassion of the father. So he finally comes to his senses. He comes to the sense of remorse. He has his godly sorrow. Look at verse 20. We see the reception of the father. Says in verse 20, and he arose and came to his father. And here's a beautiful phrase right here. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him. That's wonderful. What's it saying? It doesn't matter how far you've gotten in the Christian life, how backslidden you've gotten. It says there, while you're a great way off, the father sees you. And it's implying that he's kind of like waiting for you to get right. Now that's important. Why is that? Because sometimes Christians can think, man, I'm so far gone, why even try to make my way back? I'm in a far country. I've disobeyed God. I'm just not living a life that's pleasing unto him. I'm just doing that which is wrong. But when he was a great way off, the Bible says, his father saw him, meaning he's waiting for him to get right with God, with his father. He says had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. You know, in like manner, God the Father is often waiting for wayward Christians, wayward children to make their way back. And you know, it's not really hard at all. It's not hard at all to get right with God. If you're a Christian who's just not right with God, you're not right with the Lord, you're involved in some crazy sin, you've been out of church for months, possibly maybe even years, you're doing things that are not pleasing in the eyes of God, guess what? It's still very easy to get right with God. The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, believe it or not. You can literally get right with God right here, right now. Nothing necessary other than you just getting right with him and say, Lord, I'm coming back. I wanna get right with you. I wanna make you like the centerpiece of my life once again. I wanna start reading the Bible. I wanna start praying again, making church important. I wanna make church important so that my kids grow up in church. You know, a great motivation to get right with God or stay right with God is for your children's sake. I think everyone here, to a certain degree, would love for their children to grow up in church, to be churchgoers of this society, to be the moral backbone of this society by being faithful church members. And you know what? Sometimes it's hard for parents to get into church and to stay in church, but one of the greatest motivations to do so is doing it for your children's sake. You're like, I don't feel like going to church, but I gotta go to church because I need to provide a good example for my kiddos. Now me, I have no choice. I'm the pastor. I'm always gonna be here, you know? Even if I don't feel like going to church, I'm gonna be here no matter what. But you know, for a lot of people, it's not necessarily like that. You have to make the choice to come to church. And let me say this, even if you don't feel like it, start coming and be faithful for your kids' sake because your kids will follow your example. And Lord willing, they will exceed your example in a good way. They'll become far more committed than you, go further than you, do greater works than you, love the Lord, maybe even more than you. And that's not a bad thing. That would be a good, I would love for my children to love the Lord and serve God more than me. I would consider that a major success. The point here in verse 28, the point that I'm trying to make here is that sometimes Christians will often think, well, God is mad at me, you know? How can I come back if he's mad? I've disappointed him. How can I get right like this if I just feel like he's gonna judge me or something and I can't come back? But that's not what the text is showing. The text is showing that he is like waiting for them to come back. You know what the Bible tells us? I'm gonna read to you from Psalm 103 in verse eight. It says, the Lord, listen to this, I love this. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger. What does that mean? It means he's very patient. It takes a lot for him to get mad. He's slow to anger, plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide. Neither will he keep his anger forever. He has not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. What does that mean? It means, you know, you might be suffering the consequences of your actions, but let me just be real honest with you. You haven't suffered the full extent of your actions. Why? Because he hasn't dealt with us after our sins. If you were to bring the hammer down completely on your life for your sins, I mean, we'd just be toast. We'd be cooked. But here it says that he hasn't rewarded us according to our iniquities. Verse 11 says, I want you to notice this, for as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards them that fear him. As far as the east from west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father, you know, like the father in Luke 15, pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him, for he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. We see here that God the father is compassionate, and he's patient, and he's waiting for you to come back. Look at verse 21. It says, 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. I want you to notice that the son takes responsibility, and he realizes that he sinned not only against his own earthly father, but even against God the father, because he says, I sin against heaven and against you. Look at verse 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, and bring hither the fattened calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be merry, for this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found, and they began to be merry. What do we see here? We see that the father actually celebrates the restoration of his son. He's like, well, well, well. Look who's come crawling back. I told you. Didn't I tell you? I knew this was gonna happen to you. Now, some people are chuckling because maybe that's what you do to some of your kids. Mm-hmm, and how did that turn out for you? We like to gloat a little bit in our judgments, right? You wasted your substance? How's that swine food? Feeding the swine? Far country? You riotous prodigal? You know, God's not like that, actually. He doesn't just rub your face in your sins. He doesn't just hang it over your head and rub your face in it and just kinda gloat about it. Satan does that. And sometimes people need to differentiate the two. Sometimes we think that it's God who's doing it, but it's actually Satan who rubs your face in your failures. Why? Because according to the Bible, he's called the accuser of the brethren. He's the tempter, meaning he tempts you to do those things, and after you're done doing those things, he comes and he accuses you like, wow, well, you're a Christian, huh? You're doing those things? Wow, look at it. God the Father does not like that. In fact, God the Father, what does he do? He rejoices. I mean, what is this chapter about? It's rejoicing over one sinner that repenteth. So even when a Christian gets right with God and they come back on the path of righteousness, according to the Bible, God rejoices over that. He celebrates for that. Why? Because his son has come home. I mean, he brings him the best robe, a picture of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. He puts a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, ready to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. He kills a fatted calf. They're celebrating with food. They kill it, they eat it, they're married. And he exclaims, my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found and began to be married. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 5, verse 14, wherefore he saith, awake thou that sleepest and is on the rise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light. I mean, what an exciting story. What a great reminder to us all that we can always get right with God. Now, obviously there are times when people can't get right with God. And that's when they die. They're saved and they go so far into their sin that it kills them. And I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that that doesn't happen, because it does happen. Where people get saved and they live a righteous life, a prodigal life, and they don't come back to the Father, they remain in that situation, and there is a sin unto death, the Bible says. And they can get to a point where God destroys their life and God takes them home early, and that does happen. And let me say this, I hope that's not you. I hope you are a prodigal that does come back to God. I hope that you're a prodigal that does get right with God. I hope you come to your senses. I hope that you have that epiphany. I hope you realize you had it better with the Father. I hope you realize that spiritually you might have hit rock bottom, but now that you wanna get right with God. And I hope you realize that it's actually very simple and very easy to do. Lastly, look at verse 25. It's kind of, I don't like the fact that we have to end on a negative note, but the chapter kind of does, though. So that was a beautiful story. But now you have the resentful son. Verse 25 says, now the elder son was in the field. And as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And everyone's celebrating, everyone's happy. And he called one of his servants and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, thy brothers come, and thy father hath killed the fatted calf because he hath received them safe and sound. So it's just like, hey, your brother's back. He was gone for so long, but guess what? Physically, he's fine, he's safe and sound, he's restored. Look at verse 28, look at his reaction. And he was angry, would not go in, therefore came his father out and treated him. So the son is mad. It's like, why are you mad? Your brother's healthy, he's here, your father's restored him. Look at his response in verse 29. And he answered and said to his father, lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgress thy at any time thy commandment, and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I may make merry with my friends, but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou has killed for him the fatted calf. So instead of rejoicing over the fact that his brother's restored, now he's envious. He's jealous, he's envious, he's angry. Why? He's like, I've never left you. I stayed working here, and I was good to you all this time. And all of a sudden, my younger brother comes, and you throw a big party for him. But you know the older brother's not thinking about something, and that's this. You know, you have your inheritance, your brother already lost his. Think about that. The brother, I mean, hey, great that the party's being thrown. New robe, rings, shoes on the feet, restoration. But the reality is this. The older brother still has his inheritance. The younger brother has wasted his substance. And so we thank God for the person who's restored, but let's just be honest. Anytime someone comes back, they might bring a little bit of baggage with them. There might be some issues that they have to work through. And they might have lost some things while they were out there. It's still worth coming back, though. But reality says, the truth says, something was lost when they were out there. But let's not be like the elder son, where it's just like, well, I never left church, and I was always here, and I was in my spot, and I sang, and I did everything I was supposed to do. Look at the response, look at verse 31. And he said unto him, Son, thou are ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad, for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again, and was lost, and is found. I'm trying to reason with him, he's saying, you should be happy about this. I'm gonna say this, Christians, we should be happy when people are restored, amen? Rejoice over that. And you know what, if someone throws a party for someone who's been restored, and no one threw a party for you, boo-hoo, okay? There's a lot of things, a lot of consequences that you haven't faced, because you made right decisions. And they made bad decisions. In either case, the point that the chapter's making is that, number one, if you're not saved, if you're not saved, you are that coin, you are that sheep, that the Lord has been looking for this whole time. And obviously, this is a friend day, and someone invited you to come, but there's no coincidence or accidents with God. This is God's way of looking for you. This is God's way of searching for you. This is God's way of hoping that you come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And I hope to God that you do. But if you're already saved, maybe you went astray, maybe you didn't go as far as the prodigal, maybe you didn't go into that far country, but you went far enough that you're out of your Father's house, so to speak, the house of God. Well, here's a good reminder to just come back. It's really easy. You could just ask the Lord to forgive you, to restore you, and just get back in it. Yeah, but I don't have a church, though. You do now. Yeah, but I just, you know, I don't have, you know, the right kind of clothing. I mean, what you got on now seems pretty good. Yeah, but I don't have a Bible. We'll get you one. What other excuse do you got? I don't know the songs. Take the hymn book home. Free. It's not hard to come back. It's not hard to come back. Two messages today in one is simply this. One, if you're not saved, I hope you get saved today. I hope you allow someone, and someone will come talk to you after the service. They will approach you. I hope you give them a couple minutes of your time to talk to you and just be open to it. Just let them read to you the verses. It's a life-changing thing, though. I hope you don't pass it up. And then secondly, if you're already saved and you're not right with the Lord and you haven't been right with the Lord for quite some time, I hope and pray that you take today to get right with him. And even if someone comes to talk to you and you say, I'm already saved, I've already believed on Jesus Christ, but I'd like to get right with God, let someone pray with you to get right with the Lord right then and there. Why not? Thank you for coming to our friend and let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word, Lord, and the beauty of Luke 15, and showing us, Lord, that you care for the one. You care for that one sheep, that one coin. And there's many sheep and there's a lot of coins here, Lord. I pray that you would work in their hearts, that they wouldn't leave here today without getting that nailed down to be saved. And I pray for that prodigal as well, Lord, that they would come back. Lord, may you work in their hearts and in their lives, help us to be a blessing to them and bless the remainder of our day. Thank you so much for all that you do for us and for welcoming us back when we go astray. We love you and we thank you. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. Amen.