The Lost Sons and the Loving Father part 3

If you would take your Bible and turn to Luke chapter 15 Luke chapter 15 will be in verses 11 to 32. We'll read those here in a minute Now we are in our study of the salvation parables taught by Jesus. We're about to be finished in Luke chapter 15 We're gonna move on to a few others starting next week and we started Luke 15 With the three parables here that Jesus taught back to back We know those these parables by now we should be able to speak off the cuff about what these parables are We see here in Luke 15.

We have the lost sheep We see that we have the lost coin and then we have the prodigal son And I know that I have said several times that I'm not a big fan of those titles I do not believe those titles capture the major theme or the major point of these parables We have a scene that the major theme of all three parables is joy If you want to sum it up with one word You can say that the theme of all of the parables is joy, but it is more than that more specifically We're looking at the joy of God when one lost sinner repents and comes to faith in Christ And we have seen over and over and over that all three of these parables teach that God is filled with joy He's even filled with celebration when one sinner comes to faith in Christ and so to me With all of that having a bearing on the titles.

I think that the parables should be titled the lost sheep Yes, but the lost sheep and the loving shepherd I think that the second one should be yes the lost coin but the lost coin and the careful lady and then the third one the lost sons and The loving father of course, we do need to focus on the lost sheep. We do need to focus on the lost coin we definitely need to focus on the lost sons and Even the prodigal son and we need to learn from them and especially the lost sons there in the third parable But we can't lose sight of the fact that the major character Is the loving shepherd the major character is this careful lady and the loving character is?

This loving father now, let me show you how this approach has been healthy for you By covering this type of information with all three and going back and seeing how all of this is tied together Even the review even hearing this several times This will cause each and every one of you to never see these parables the same and what I mean is this Anytime these parables come up You're gonna see them through the lens of wait a minute.

The major character is God the major theme is joy The major theme with all of these parables is not necessarily the lost sheep Not necessarily the lost coin or the prodigal son It's about God and the joy of God in heaven when one lost sinner comes to faith in Christ That's why this type of teaching and even repetitive teaching is important Now two weeks ago We did start the third parable the parable of the prodigal or the parable of the lost sons and the loving father We have learned that we have three major characters really.

It's one major character It's probably better to say that we have three main characters and one major character We have their younger son who left home. He became the prodigal We have the older son who stayed home and of course we have the father and we will see tonight that a big part of this Parable is the contrast between these two sons these brothers And we will see that the father's reaction to these sons and this contrast plays a big part in Showing us really who the father is really this parable is saturated with contrasts Now I'm not going to go back over all of the context. We've covered that thoroughly.

It should be in your mind I have said over and over that Jesus told these parables up against the anger and up against the frustration of The Jewish religious leaders the religious establishment They were becoming increasingly frustrated even angered even furious at The fact that Jesus was associated with all of these notorious sinners These were people that they believed God did not love so they disdained them They disliked him and the religious leaders not only dislike these people.

They truly look forward to their destruction And it's very sad so sad Think about it the ones that should have known how God felt about sinners were completely ignorant about how God felt about sinners Think about this the ones who should have known what the scripture said about these things We're totally ignorant about what the scripture said about these things and this shows us that all of their rules and all their traditions Were far far removed from the actual scriptures But we have also seen that a big part of this third parable were these social norms I know we live in a different day in a different culture.

They had these social norms these expectations They had these rules pertaining the family and the scene of a Jewish family here in this parable would have been easily Understood by all of those that were listening. There was this father the two sons and the father's estate This seems to be an agricultural setting with fields and animals and servants And it really seems that he was a man of wealth of man of esteem But we have seen that a big part of this parable has been the respect The honor and the shame within this family we have seen and we will continue to see all sorts of disrespectful and Shameful behavior from the sons and we have seen and we will continue to see all types of shameful behavior from the father And when Jesus was telling this story to this crowd When he told of all that the younger son did and said those that were in that crowd They would have been furious no Jewish young man would have acted like this if he did It was very shameful and infuriated But it got worse when he told about how the father reacted to this prodigal son Those in the crowd would have been shocked.

No father would have acted like this But then it gets even worse We will see that when he told all about what happened with the older son and what he did Well, they would have been even more angry And when he told them about how the father reacted to the older son, well, they would have been shocked even more And we could spend a lot more time here on the culture and the cultural reactions.

That's just an overview a Real fast one at that and all of these things were meant to teach three primary things into Illustrate them and that will be what we will come back to at the end of the message And as well as some other Concluding comments that will help us here. So we do know that we have three main characters The younger son in verses 11 to 19 the father in verses 20 to 24 We've covered them we'll zoom back through those verses and then the older son And of course the father is in there as well in verses 25 32 Now I know it's a lengthy portion of scripture, but I do want us to read them And we'll come back and read a couple of portions a little later on verse 11 Of course we see that there's the first parable In the second parable and here's the third one and he said to them There was a man who had two sons and the younger of them said to his father father Give me the share of my property that is coming to me and he this is the father divided up His property between them and not many days later That would have been a short period of time the younger son gathered all that he had He had taken his part of the estate and cashed it in And he took it on a journey to the far country of the district country and there he squandered his property in Reckless living or wild living and we're gonna see more specific what that was later and When he had spent everything a severe famine arose in that country and he began to be in need And so he went and he hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country Who sent him into his fields to feed pigs and from that we can deduce that this was a Gentile and this was more than likely a Gentile land and he was longing to be fed with the pods that the Pigate and no one gave him anything.

I said that he was Coveting how well fed the pigs were but when he came to himself or came to his senses He said how many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger I will arise and I will go to my father and I will say to him father I have sinned against heaven and before you and I am no longer worthy to be called your son treat me as one of your hired servants or hired men and He arose and he came to his father But while he this was the younger son will still a long way off his father saw him and he felt Passion and he ran and he embraced him and he kissed him and the son said to him father I have sinned against heaven and before you I am no longer worthy to be called your son But the father said to his servant Bring quickly the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet and Bring the fat and calf and kill it and let us eat and celebrate for this My son was dead and is alive.

He was lost and is found and they began we see to celebrate And this was a big celebration Because in a minute the older son is going to speak to certain things that were happening in the celebration Now this older son was in the field and he came and he drew near to the house and he heard music and dancing See what kind of celebration it was and He called one of the servants and he asked what these things meant and he said to him your brother has come and your father Has killed the fat and calf because he has received him back safe and sound But he was angry and he refused to go in and his father came out came out of the celebration And he entreated him He answered his father look these many years I have served you and I have never disobeyed your command yet.

You never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends But when this son of yours, he didn't even call him his brother He came when this son of yours came who has devoured your property with prostitutes See how he leads to another detail about the the wild living you killed the fat and calf for him And he said to him son you're always with me and all that his mind is yours It was fitting to celebrate and be glad for this your brother was dead and is alive He was lost and he is found So real quickly, I want us to look at number one the younger son That's is that's in verses 11 to 19 This is a short review But I want to have all this in our mind before we get into some of our new material We did see that this younger son made a horribly sinful request By requesting his inheritance before he died He shamed and dishonored his father in every way everyone in the crowd there would have gasped For breath and he did not want to work for his father in his estate here He didn't even want to work and manage his share of the estate What he was doing was he was demanding his share share of the estate to fund his rebellious living And he went from the request into the rebellion very very fast.

He took his share of the estate He cashed it in and he left for that district country I believe it's a distant country of the Gentiles and Because of while living with prostitutes and all kinds of things that go on with that life He lost everything and he ended up working for a Gentile tending pigs and in his rebellion it led to total Constitution you can't get any lower than this for a Jew or a Jewish boy So he was hungry and what do we see he longed to be fed like the pigs He coveted what the pigs had and even his new Gentile friends and associates.

They wouldn't help him But his rebellion which led to his destitution eventually turned into repentance He truly had a changed heart, which is what true repentance is He turned from his sin and he turned his heart back to his father He made confession in his heart while he was there in the pig pen and after returning to his father He made confession to him his rebellion had truly turned into true repentance true repentance So we saw his request Which was shameful and sinful we saw his rebellion Which is a rebellion that led to all sorts of sin and ultimate Constitution and a rebellion that led him to do things and be things that he never thought he would be and do And we saw his repentance.

There was a genuine repentance in his heart and then in his actions and And what are the lessons here? First we see a lesson an example in genuine repentance It starts with the change of heart that can only come from God and not only a repentance about self But a repentance about how they relate to God and genuine repentance here always leads to confession First to God and then first to man first to God and first to those who need to be confessed to And we have this lesson here in genuine repentance that leads to life It leads from sin and leads back to God in life If you're looking for an example of repentance, you can't find one any better and then second it is a reminder We all have friends and loved ones that are living in the peak pen We all do Now why is it important for us to see that and see it over and over and over Those who are in the peak pen must be brought to a place of genuine repentance So you need to pray we need to pray that God will bring our lost loved ones and friends to a place of repentance In the peak pen because if they do truly repent they'll come out of the peak pen.

They always do Number two the father we saw the father in verses 20 to 24 We then saw the shameful way that the father received his son now This could surprise you we could see and understand the shame of the younger son But this is something new for many of us. We saw the shameful way that the father received his son back Seems that the father was looking and longing for his son It seems that he kept his eye on the road that went to the far country and it seems that he was longing for his son To return home and when he finally saw his son in the distance He shamefully ran to his son and he shamefully embraced his son The language says he kissed him over and over and over and it wasn't shameful that he was kissing his dirty son No, it was shameful because in that day no, no, no Jewish man would have run like this And he sure wouldn't have embraced this kind of a son like this So when he was telling this part of the story that's Jesus those in the crowd would have gasped for breath as well And we saw that he shamefully reconciled to his son instead of making his son work to Work in shame for years to pay back all that he had squandered.

He received him back. No strings attached Instead of making his son work to earn his love back and earn back his position in the family He received him. He forgave him immediately And a sign of what he had done is the father gave him what his road and What next his ring a sign of his authority and what else shoes or sandals slaves? Service didn't wear shoes and samples and not only did he receive him back fully He shamelessly rejoiced that his son was lost and was found.

He shamefully Announced that his son was dead but alive and not only did he receive him back fully reconciled He threw this big celebration and he he commanded that the fighting calf be Slaughter for the big banquet and the reason it was shameful is because he broke every cultural norm and social rule And what is the lesson here an application here?

We see the fact that God the Father celebrates when one lost sinner is found the celebration of the father goes right in line With the other two parables, you see The shepherd celebrated when he found his lost sheep the lady Celebrated when she found her lost coin and the father here celebrated when his lost son repented and came home He was lost and found dead and alive clear in the text Now we get to the older son Now we get to the new information number three the older son and we see him in verses 25 to 32 now, I want to go back and read these verses and Then we'll get going in this new material verse 25 Now his older son was in the field and as he came and drew near to the house.

He heard music and dancing what a celebration what a celebration and he called one of the service and he asked what these things meant and he this is a service said to him your Brother has come and your father has killed the fat and calf because he has received him back safe and sound But he was angry And he refused to go in and this is another shameful act for the father to come out like that to the son scholars say that he humiliated himself He was angry and he refused to go in but his father came out and entreated him urged him and he entered his father He didn't even address him father.

It was very disrespectful Look these many years I've served you and I never disobeyed your command that would have been a pompous lie Yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends But when this son of yours he didn't even call him a brother who has devoured your property with prostitutes all kinds of wild living You killed a fat and calf for him and he said to him son You were always with me and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and to be glad for this Your brother was dead. He's alive.

He's lost and is found Now here we have the second part of the parable There are some that say that this is a second parable But we can't see it that way because they are tied together most definitely But this is the second part and here we see the reaction of the one who stayed home He didn't demand his inheritance and he didn't leave home in rebellion like the little brother did He acted much different in the beginning But we will see that he reveals himself to be just as sinful and just as shameful or perhaps Even more sinful maybe even more shameful than the younger brother Now here in these verses we see his response to the way things developed of course this involves some back and forth between This older son and the father and then we see the ultimate response to the whole thing get to the conclusion But notice a few details here first.

We see the older son shameful reaction When the older son came in from the field he asked the servant what's up with all the music? What about all this dancing? What is this all about now notice what this tells us? This was really a big celebration Scholars say that everyone in the in the village would have been there. This would have been a big affair And the servant tells him what happened.

He says your brothers come home safe and sound That's a key term and your father has killed the fat and Catholic because your brother has come home I love what one commentator said here He says and I use this language last week the picture part of the parable with this safe and sound would refer to his moral Spiritual health you see that The picture part of the parable with this phrase safe and sound would refer to the younger son's moral and spiritual health But in the reality part this refers to his having received salvation you see We have the older son's reaction He was mad he refused to go into the celebration even though his father entreated him to come in Now at this point some have made some speculation about the older son Of course this can be seen as speculation because we only have a few facts here We can't go any further than the parable allows but some writers and scholars say that the Earlier absence of this son showed a distance in the relationship between the older and the father They say the fact that the father did not include the older son in his plans gives this some insight here Some say there was a distance between the older and the father Because he wasn't in the know and that the firstborn would have naturally Normally had the responsibility to plan such a celebration Well, this is speculation, but I believe it's safe speculation But what are we seeing here so far with the older son?

He doesn't seem to like or love his younger brother as a matter of fact It seems like he dislikes his younger brother. It seems that he held resentment for his brother It seems that he was angry at his brother for how he had rebelled and how he had wasted all of his share of the estate John McCrath describes this older brother well He says and I'm quoting but this event exposed his real attitude in a burst of public display from Long cultivated hatred he became angry and was not willing to go in and celebrate with the others I believe that safe speculation But then second we see the father's loving reaction The father comes out of the celebration to this angry son and he encourages and invites him to come into the celebration He is kind and he is loving he is even humble.

This is where he would have been shaming himself He says my son we had to celebrate Now what are we seeing here with the father? Notice that the father meets anger with love Notice that the father meets rejection with acceptance He meets a different form of rebellion with the same love and forgiveness that he had expressed Earlier with the rebellion in the youngest son Simply he longs for his older son to come in and celebrate with him Third we see the older brothers continued shameful reaction.

See how it's going back and forth Whereas we kind of speculate that there was distance in the relationship between the father and the son We did that earlier here. We clearly see Not distance but more than that stored up pit of anger and bitterness this son blasts his father with Resentful and disrespectful remarks first.

He does not address him as father as he should have He then launches into this resentment with disdain He says that he has served him all these years and he's never even had a goat to celebrate with his friends And that's not true because he had his two-thirds of the estate And then in this derogatory way he says this son of yours is arrogance here He has devoured all your inheritance with with prostitutes and and yet you kill the fighting calf for him He obviously does not even like him because he doesn't even call him brother Now what are we seeing here with the older son? He's been angry.

He's been bitter and sinful all along Although he stayed home and he seemed to work the estate. He was in the field earlier He was just as sinful as the younger brother, but really he was worse He stayed home and he lived with his father and in his father's love all around his father's love all while being angry Resentful and sinful and what makes matters even worse is not that he stayed home Is that he stayed home in all of that?

It is that he treated his father as well just the same he shamed and disrespected his father And then forth we see the father's continued loving reaction again the back and forth He said to him in great patience love and forgiveness He said to his oldest son all that I have is yours and you have always been with me But we had to celebrate and be glad because your younger brother was dead and is alive We had to celebrate because he was lost and he's found now. What are we seeing here?

Just what we've been seeing at the end of all of the other parables the other two God's joy God's celebration when one lost sinner comes home God's joy and celebration one when one lost sinner Repents and notice in verse seven and the first parable wrote the word repent in verse 10 With the second parable the word repent and then in this the third parable What do we see the example of repentance you see? What is this all around when one lost sinner repents and comes home? So look at what we have here.

I know we've taken quite a bit of time with this parable Look at what we have here in this third parable We have a lot of contrasts We have a loving father. We have two sons who are very much alike but yet different In verses 11 to 12 we saw the rebellion and repentance of the younger son verse 20 to 24 We saw the reception of the repenting the reception of the repenting son by the loving father We saw the father's shameful Reconciliation to his son and even his rejoicing in his return Then in verses 25 to 32 we saw the shameful reaction of the older son and the loving response of the father We really do see The parable of who? two lost sons and we really do see parable of who the loving father and To be honest with you in my opinion I think it doesn't do this parable justice if we call it the parable of the product John MacArthur calls this the tale of two sons That's a good title and as a matter of fact, he has some great great information and even a preaching series on these parables It'd be good for you to go and study and listen.

It'd be a good additional resource So I like the lost sons and the loving father At the beginning of the message. I said that these things were meant to teach three things to those who were in the day Now it was a lot going on I know But but Jesus was about three main things that he wanted to teach them in that day And this needs to come back to us as well as well as a few other things now here I want to borrow that language from that commentators the new American commentary who? Differentiated between the picture part in the real part that helped me.

So I'm going to use that language First the story of the loving father was meant to show those those who were listening there who God actually was Those Jews had no true understanding of who God was and Jesus was aiming at that We see that the picture part of the parable shows the Jewish father who broke all of the social rules by forgiving his younger son Who shamefully squandered a third of his estate?

He broke all of the cultural rules by the way that he reacted even to the older son But the real part of the parable illustrated the heart of God the heart of God who loved Lost sinners and the parable showed them and shows us that God is loving he is forgiving He even forgives and loves those who were religious and Prideful and full of hate and he even loves and forgives those who were all squandering their lives in the peak pin The second story of the rebellious son the prodigal son the lost son It was meant to show those who were listening who the Gentiles and the notorious sinners were Picture part of the parable showed a young Jewish boy who rebelled by taking his share of the estate and Squandering and in wild living in the land of the Gentiles And then he had a change of heart and he returns home to simply live as a hired hand Of course, we know that didn't take place He came home as a son but the real part of the parable illustrated who and what the Gentiles and all of these notorious sinners were like the parable showed them how they were so far estranged from God Now before I get to the third notice how the Jews would have been reacting Notice how they would have been reacting When they heard him illustrate who God was they would have been furious and when they heard him illustrate what the Gentiles were like they would have been filled with disdain and Then third the story of the religious older brother who stayed home was meant to show those listening who they were The picture part of the parable showed a Jewish son who stayed home while the younger son rebelled He stayed home yet.

He was estranged from his father just like the younger brother But even after his young brother was reconciled to his father The older brother was still estranged full of hate and bitterness But the real part of the parable illustrated who and what they were like the Jews and the Jewish leaders the parable showed them how they were truly estranged from God as well and although they Stayed home because they said they worshiped the one true God and they were supposed to be God's chosen people They were truly estranged and let me tell you when he got to that part That's when they really hated it you see And get this This parable illustrated and it spoke to just what Jesus was doing in his ministry All of these Gentiles these notorious sinners were coming to Jesus coming to Jesus Crowds were coming and he was going to them.

He was going to them But I've said this numerous time times he was not adjusting his message to the seekers No, he didn't cater to them in a sinful way He cared for them and he always preached the gospel true and straight. He never catered to them in their sin and while God in heaven was Celebrating that these notorious sinners were being saved through the ministry of his son Jesus the Jews there They were refusing to come and celebrate just like the older son of the parable The Jews revealed their anger and their resentment their anger and their resentment and this was being played out throughout Jesus life in ministry We did turn to this passage Maybe last week Luke 19 verses 1 to 10.

We know this story but in light of all that we've been studying here We should see these verses. Oh just so alive. I know I have this is a story of Zacchaeus He this is Jesus inner Jericho and he was passing through and behold there was a man named Zacchaeus He was a chief tax collector and he was rich now We know who the tax collectors were they were Jews who worked with the Romans and they took up taxes for the Romans And they were allowed to add charges on top of the taxes. They were really extortionists They were really mob like well being a chief tax collector.

That meant he had like a tax franchise He was like a district manager and that's not an exaggeration And what does it say and he was seeking to see who Jesus was but on account of the crowd He could not because he was small in stature So he ran on ahead and he climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him for he was about to pass that way And when Jesus came to the place he looked up and he said to him Zacchaeus Zacchaeus. God doesn't love you. Therefore.

I don't love you That isn't what he said Zacchaeus hurry and come down for I must stay at your house today and right there all of those Jews were furious He broke all the rules So he Zacchaeus hurried and he came down and he received him joyfully and when they saw it they all grumbled It's the Jewish leaders. He had gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner What are they saying? God doesn't love those people.

We don't love those people We can't wait for God to destroy those people and he's going in to eat with him and talk with him and touch them As I Kia stood and he said Lord behold behold Lord the half of my goods I give to the poor and if I have defrauded Anyone of anything I restore it fourfold. That's a picture of repentance folks The Gentiles were coming to faith in Christ right before their eyes and what did they do?

They acted just like the older son Jesus said today salvation has come to this house since he also is the son of Abraham And when he did that they were ready to stone him Because you know what he was saying He was saying this chief tax collector is a descendant of Abraham in their eyes that was blasphemous That was blasphemous. So right there.

What do we see we see this parable being illustrated right there It's exhibit a and if you study all throughout the gospels, you'll see another exhibit another example You'll see this parable flashed out Now as I conclude I want to kind of back up from the third parable I want us to see some lessons that we need to learn here these Lesson these are lessons that apply to us today right here These lessons really come from all three of the parables and as a matter of fact if you've kept up with the study You could probably add something to this.

It's an incomplete list first and foremost all of these parables all of this teaching shows us the loving heart of God and not only for the lost but for their salvation He is like a loving shepherd who looks for his lost sheep He is like a caring lady who diligently looks for her lost coin He is like a loving father who longs for his sons to repent and come home and Then second this shows us the importance of who the one Remember the one lost sheep the shepherd could have said well, I've got 99 This shows us the importance of the insignificant remember that coin that would have been in her head But her band or headdress it really had no monetary value This shows us the importance of who the vile one living in the pig pen most shoes would have said he's defiled himself Even the one that steeped in pride in that religion there So the one that was separated from the 99 he was imported or the sheet was imported the Insignificant one that most people would have seen no value in it was worth searching for the vile person living in the pig pen Was worth waiting for and loving when they did repent and come home And yes, the one that was rotting in pride and religion was of worth as well And then third this last parable shows us how God views those other people Look we might not realize it, but they're always other people We always have a list or categories of other people I've shared this before when I went to India the other people became very pronounced for me They have a strict caste system.

I couldn't look at them and tell who fit where but they could But oh it became very pronounced when we went into The slums to what was called the untouchables the Dalits they were so low In society, they didn't have birth certificates registration. They just didn't exist and When we would mix and mingle with high caste and in those in the middle and then the low caste We broke all of the social norms and those Indians there who were not Christians were just amazed and my point is We always had these lists of the other people I was blessed the other day.

I Was home visiting with my Parents my mom my dad and I was out to eat lunch with my parents My girls were there and I ran into someone from First Baptist Church in Ellisville. I Sir First Baptist Church in Ellesville between Laurel from 1996 to when I moved to Brookhaven in 2002. That's been quite a few years We had a very successful ministry there.

God blessed us We had a good season of ministry and developed a lot of good healthy youth ministry But while I was there I started something that I called Mission Monday It was a trailer park down the road And we were First Baptist Church and I led our teenagers and some adults and we went and did ministry there We started ministry in a spring break and we'd go down there and do ministry with those kind of children And then eventually we brought them the church and we developed that ministry and develop that ministry and you know what for many people Those were the other people But I mentioned having lunch with one of my parents and I bumped into one of the leaders of the church and he smiled They looked at me.

He said, you know, we're still doing Mission Monday They still have a heart for the other people So this parable shows us how we should view those other people and we should love them like God does And like Jesus did and then forth we can't be like the older brother We can't be filled with disdain for lost sinners so much so that when they come to faith in Christ And they're forgiven of their sin and then they're when they're in the pews around us.

We don't like them You know that goes on all the time I'll never forget years ago a man that I know is a leader in a particular church He had a unique life in that he didn't have children So he had some unique time to give time that a lot of people don't have and he had developed a Van ministry and he headed it up and he brought all kinds into the church. It didn't matter who they were Oh Steve loved them And I'll never forget some of the leaders in the church came to him and said we can't do that anymore Because they create problems.

They don't know how to behave In what tears streaming down his face Steve is heartbroken Because they didn't want those other people in the church But notice what else we see here I mentioned this earlier in the message and this is something we really do need to see here. We see the balance of man salvation In the first two parables What do we see illustrated for us the sovereignty of God and man salvation the law sheep was helpless There was no way for that law sheep to find its way back to the shepherd and what had to happen The shepherd had to go and the shepherd had to go find the law sheep.

It's the same thing with the coin This speaks to a particular verse that you probably need to know What does Jesus say in John chapter 6 verse 44? He says no one can come to me unless the father draws him now What am I trying to show you we must have a sovereign work of God for a lost sinner to come home We must have a sovereign God to go find that sheep and go find that coin So we see the sovereignty of God and the salvation of man right here in the parables They just go right along with John 644 But then the last parable illustrates for us man's responsibility in salvation the prodigal son and the peak pen Repented and came home.

He repented of his sin. He confessed his sin He did all of that in his heart and then he put all of that into action The father did not come to the peak pen and go get him the father didn't come finding what was he doing? He was looking down that road to the far country And so he had the son there in the peak pen He had the responsibility to repent and to go back home to his father This is a verse that'll help us see this teaching Many of you know these verses Romans 10 9 and 10 Paul says if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead You will be saved for it is with your heart one believes and is justified and with the mouth one confesses and is saved You might say pastor the word repent is not in there.

You can't trust and believe in Christ without repentance So what do we see here? We see the other side of this salvation coin. We see man's responsibility. We see balance here And that's good for some of you to see And I think that all of these things and how we've wrapped them up lead us to what I Shared two or three times earlier in dealing with this parable what the commentator William Barclay says about these parables He called Luke 15 the gospel inside the gospel the gospel inside the gospel of Luke He said that we have the distilled essence of the gospel here right here in these parables and folks listen These three parables are worth our study.

They're worth our time. They're worth us praying over them - these things are saturated in our mind and in our understanding and if we do that This gospel will call us to go Go to the lost sheep And if we do that if we'll let this be a part of our mind and thinking and understanding we'll have a gospel That tells us to search If we'll let all of this really affect who we are and how we understand the gospel We'll have a gospel that teaches us to pray and wait Pray and wait and keep looking down that road to the far country And if this will become who we are here this gospel will bring us to a place where we were rejoiced with God when one lost sinner comes home So I know it's a lot But I think it's been worth the time to take our time and I pray that it is Blessed you will continue to bless you as it has me.

So let's pray and then I do want us to look at a few prayer needs