The Lost Son, Part 3a

Luke 15 is where we are tonight. We've been here for the last several weeks, but just to let you know that Luke 15 is that great parable, that great chapter, that pictures to us salvation unlike any other passage of scripture in the Bible. There's something about Luke 15 that shows us what God does. The Bible tells us two times of Luke 15 that this son was dead. And Christ says, I'm the life.

I'm the life. And so this parable helps us understand the whole picture of salvation. God's responsibility and man's response to what God initiated. And when God initiates it, when man turns from his ways, there was great repentance. And that's what the Christ tries to picture for us as he talks about this son. Christ goes into great detail, helping us understand, Help us understand how far gone this boy was. How he walked away from everything. How he rebelled against his father's authority. How he went and spent all of his inheritance doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, to whom ever he wanted.

Because that's what he wanted to do. He just did what he wanted to do. Everybody would love to be able to do what they wanted to do. But when you run out of money, can't do it anymore. And therefore, God brought this boy to the end of his rope. No other place to go. So the Bible says he came to a census.

He came to a census and realized that he needed to go home to his father. And we talked last week about the seven principles of repentance. The seven principles that are outlined in this text to help us understand what happens when a sinner is converted, when a sinner turns from the error of his way, when he realizes who God is. Without repentance, there can be no true happiness. Because there's freedom found. There's sufficiency found. in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Parable goes on as it continues to give us this picture.

We move from the younger son to the father, the father. This is so wonderful. You're going to learn some great things tonight. You're going to understand more of the character of our heavenly father. And that's important. I guess I've kind of realized that most people don't understand their father in heaven. They don't understand his character, his nature. And yes, he is incomprehensible. And yes, he is infinite. But you know, the Bible gives us pictures of him. It gives us the words that describe him.

And God begs for us to get to know him and to search after him. And the pictures found in the Bible of our Heavenly Father are so profound, are so wonderful. And this one here, oh, it helps us understand how God receives the sinner. How God receives the sinner. As a younger son is representative of the sinners and the tax gatherers, and the elder son is representative. representative of the Pharisees and the scribes. This father is representative of God himself. Let's know what it says. We pick up our narrative in verse number 20.

And he got up and he came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I am no longer worthy to be called your son, but the father said to his slaves, quickly, bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet, and bring the fat and calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry. For this son of mine was dead and has come to life again.

He was lost and has been found, and they began to be merry. Three things I want you to see about this father this evening. One is his affection. Two is his acceptance and three is his attitude. First of all, his affection.

And all this is found in verse number 20. This is unbelievable. The Bible says very clearly, and while he was still a long way off, his father saw him.

You see, why was the father looking for him? Because the father knew he was going to come home. How do the father know he was going to come home? Because in eternity past, when God chose us before the foundation of the world, he knew when we'd be saved. He knew. Because he called us. He called us to himself. The Bible says that while the son was a long way away.

That's a very interesting phrase. Listen to what the Bible says in Acts chapter 2, verse number 39. It says this, for the promise is for you. This is Peter's first sermon on the day of Pentecost.

He says, the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are afar off. All who are a long way away. This promise that I preach to you is for all those who are far away from God. as many as the Lord our God shall call to himself. Over in Ephesians chapter 2, Ephesians chapter 2, verse number 13, it says this, but now in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off, a long way away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Again in verse number 17, and he came and preached peace to you who were far away, and peace to those who were near.

hear those who are a long way away and and paul refers to to how the jewish people looked at the gentiles being far away from god the one and only true god and i like what what the parable says when it says that while the son was a long way away the father saw him you see when we are away from god he sees us he sees us this is what we're going to call his watchfulness his watchfulness that's so You see, on the first Monday of every month, we gather our leadership together and we talk about the doctors of our church.

And we've been talking about the doctrine of so teriology on Monday night and talking about what happens before you're saved, what happens when you're saved, and what happens after you're saved. And this past Monday, we talked about what happens before you're saved. And looked at four major doctrines. One was four knowledge. The other was election. Then there was predestination, and then there was calling. All four of those things happened in eternity past. It happened way before I ever gave my life to Christ.

The Bible says in Romans chapter 8, for those in whom he foreknew, he predestined to be conformed to his image.

Now, somehow God, in his wonderful knowledge, he knew, he knew me. He knew me in a love relationship. And the Bible says, that we are elect according to that foreknowledge that's over in, where was it?

Yeah, 1st Peter 1-2. Yeah. I knew it was there. I get new glasses here so I can see my notes. But we are elect according to God's foreknowledge and that God predestined us to be conformed to his image, which talks about the whole plan of one's life. It's a word perrido, which means to mark out beforehand. Everything was marked out way beforehand. That's why the father saw him far away. That's how the father knew he was coming. That's why the father was looking for his son. Because in the whole calling aspect of our salvation, we were called in eternity past.

But when I give my life to Christ, that's when eternity intersects with time. Isn't that good? The Bible says it this way over in the book of 2 Timothy chapter 1.

2 Timothy chapter 1, verse number 9. It says this, that God who has saved us and can. called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. It's a phrase that means, in ages long ago. When were we called? We recalled that ages long ago. That's when we recalled. And when I give my life to Christ, when I respond to the prompting of the spirit of God in my life, when I realize that God has saved me for my sin, guess what happened?

That's when eternity intersects with time, and I hear the voice of God calling me. And this father saw his son while it was still far away, a long, long way from home. He knew he was coming. He knew he was coming. When you gave your life to Christ, he knew you were coming. He knew it. Because he chose you in eternity past. And that's why it's such a great celebration. You know, God's got a patience, man. He's so patient. And he has delayed gratification. Because he knows, he knows that the day you're going to come to Christ.

He knows you're going to give your life to him. He knows when you're going to repent of your sin. He knows when you're going to enter the fellowship of the saints. He knows when you're going to receive your inheritance. He knows all that stuff. And then when it happens, it's almost as if he just can't hold it anymore. It just like, pow! Just explodes. That's why. That's why the Bible says in the first two pictures that there is great rejoicing in heaven, a great celebration out in heaven over one soul that's lost because God is waiting for you to come.

And when you do, man, he just explodes with excitement. That's my God. That's our father. He saw his watchfulness. Oh, he was watching. Oh, it gets better. Listen this. He says his father saw him and felt compassion for him. That's his tenderness. This is all under the affection of this father. You see, it's watchfulness. and now you see his tenderness. He felt compassion for you. Now, that's a characteristic of our God, right? Back in Matthew, chapter 9, it speaks about it. In verse number 35, and Jesus was going about all the cities and villages, teaching and their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness, and seeing the multitudes, he felt compassion for them because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd.

That's our God. He felt compassion for them. It says in Psalm 103, these words in verse number eight, the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness. Verse number 13 of Psalm 103, just as the father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. This is his tenderness. He sees them as far away. and in the inner part of his being, he was tender toward him. He felt compassion for him because he not only saw what he looked like on the outside, he saw what he looked like on the inside.

That's what makes God's compassion so great. I can look at you and I can feel bad for you because of the way you look on the outside.

But I can't see inside you. If I saw inside you, I think you'd be repugnant to me. I would not want to see what's inside of you, but God does. He sees it all. And because he sees your fallen state, because he sees your depraved life, your dead soul, he says, you, I want. That's his compassion, his tenderness, his watchfulness, his tenderness, and it gets better. Oh, this is good. The Bible says when he felt compassion for him, he ran.

He ran to him. That's his swiftness, his swiftness. He ran. You see, God is long-suffering, right? He is slow to anger, but he is quick to bless. He wants to bless your life. He wants to renew you. He wants you to have a relationship with him. He wants to be intimate with you. You see that? So the father runs to the boy. That's our God. He runs to us. That's why he came to seek and say that, which is lost, because he wanted to go after man. He came after the sinner, and that's what this father's doing when he saw his son and felt compassion in his heart because of his condition.

What did he do? He made a beeline for a son. If anybody should have been running, it should have been the boy, right? That's the one who should have been running. He should have been running right back to his father. But he was so dead and so beat up and so hurt and so lame that his father would go to him and pick him up and embrace him and kiss him. swiftness of our God. How but it gets better. It says that he fell on his neck and embraced it. That's his nearness. His nearness. God wants to embrace you.

God wants to be near you. God wants to be close to you. You see that? You see, if you feel far from God, guess who moved? God didn't move. You did. God's not going anywhere. He's on to. president he's not going anywhere but you see if you feel far from God it's because you moved and and and this father would would would want to be near his son and you will notice listen you will notice before he's ever robed before he's ever washed before he's ever cleaned up his father is embracing him that's important isn't it because you see sometimes we think we've got to clean ourselves up for God to accept us.

So now we got to look good, we got to smell good, we got to do good. But all that's pride and self-righteousness anyway. God just takes you right where you're at. And this father wanted to be near this son, the nearness of God. The Psalm has said it this way. In Psalm 73, verse number 28, as for me, the nearness of my God is my good. Isn't that great verse? The nearness of my God is my good. That's what I want. Psalmist, what I'm going to say Psalm 145 verse number 18. The Lord is near to all who call upon him in truth.

God wants to be near to you. And if you call upon him in truth, guess what? He's there. He's there. And this father, because of his watchfulness, because of his tenderness, because of his swiftness, and because of his nearness, he would demonstrate his affection for this son. You also need to note that knowing did he embrace him, he kissed him. That's his forgiveness. He kissed him. He loved him. He forgave him everything. He didn't accuse him. He accepted him. He would continually kiss him. And as the boy would try to speak, his father would continually kiss him and kiss him and kiss him.

it was a repeated kissing. And even though the son would try to speak and try to confess, he just had to get it out. Isn't that the way it is with God and us? Sure it is. You see, our God just embraces us and he holds us. He loves us. And you know what? The more he does, the more we just got to get it out. We've got to confess. Now, the boy was forgiven. he was forgiven already because the father saw his heart. He knew his heart. He knew his coming. And in spite of that confession, the father was embracing him and kissing him.

It's not that the father doesn't care that there's a confession. It's as if the forgiveness is greater than the confession because he just wants you to understand. I forgive you. I forgive you, your sin. I'm not going to forgive your sin. I'm going to blot your sin away. I'm going to wipe it away. I'm not going to bring it back up again. And that's the way God is. I like what the prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah chapter 43, verse number 25. I even I am the one who wipes out your transgressions for my own sake.

Did you get that? God says I wipe out your transgressions for my sake. Not for your sake, but for my sake, God says.

You know what that says? That says, I want you with me so bad that I'm going to wipe out your transgressions for my sake. That's why I want you with me. That's our God. And I will not remember your sins. I'm not going to keep bringing your sins up. God's not going to do that. Psalm 86. Verse number five says, for thou, Lord, art good, and they need to forgive and abundant in loving kindness to all who call upon thee. Ah, he came back. There were no ifs. There were no buts. There were no questions.

It was just the full embrace of his father. Because that's how God receives repentant spirit. That's how God receives it. You see, the world wants that. They do. But they are unwilling to repent other sin to receive it. They don't want it. They don't want it that bad because they think their ways better. But for us who are believers and have experienced it, We know that this is life. We know that this is the way. We know that this is truth. We know that this is great. And we love our God so much because of it, so much.

That's his affection. Let me move to point number two. His acceptance. His acceptance. You'll notice that it says, In the Son said to Him, Father, I have sinned against heaven.

And in your side, I am no longer worthy to be called your son. He'd already rehearsed this thing. He already knew what he was going to say. He must have said it 100 times before he ever got home. But the father said to his slaves, quickly bring out the best robe, put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and starrows on his feet and bring the fattened calf and kill it. His dad interrupts him. He interrupts him. He's trying to speak to his father, and his dad interrupts him. It's almost as if his dad's not even.

even listening to him because his dad is enacting the great plan of, of reception for his son. And I want you to notice the four aspects of this acceptance and the four things that happens to this young man that happens to you when you're born again.

This is so good. It's rich, rich, rich with meaning. I love what Charles Spurgeon said when he said, my sins, my Savior, how sad on thee they fall. Seen through thy gentle patience, I tenfold feel them all. I know they are forgiven, but still their pain to me is all the grief and anguish they laid my Lord on thee. That's the repentant spirit. Lord, I know that they grieve you. And I know you've forgiven me, but I need to let him go. And this is the boy. He's just letting them all go, letting it all out.

The father interrupt him says, hey, got a plan. This is what we're going to do. Number one, got to bring not the robe, but what?

The best robe. It's not any robe. This is the best robe. This is not so old rag. This is the best they got. It's been reserved for him. It's the best of all the robes. Bring the best robe and put it on them. And put it on them. That is so significant. is it not true that when we are born again we receive new clothes we receive new garments we are robed in the righteousness of christ the bible says over in Isaiah chapter 61 these words I will rejoice greatly in the Lord my soul will exalt in my God for he has clothed me with garments of salvation he has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness that's what God gives us.

He gives us the best robe. What's the best robe? His righteousness. The garments of God. That's how when God looks down from heaven, he no longer sees you as a sinner anymore. You're no longer viewed as a sinner once you're saved. God never calls you a sinner once you're saved. Now you sin, but he never calls you a sinner because now you're a saint. And the reason you are a saint is because you are clothed in the righteousness and the garments of God. So when he looks down from glory, What does he see?

He sees his righteousness. He doesn't see your sin. This boy has been clothed. He has been washed in the cleansing blood of the lamb. Remember over in Revelation, Revelation chapter 3, Christ promised this to the church of Sartis. He says this. In verse number five, it says, He who overcomes shall thus be clothed in white garments, and I will not erase his name from the book of life. and I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. Oh, the overcomer, he gets my garments. And it says over in Revelation 7, how we get those garments.

Verse number 13, and one of the elders' answers saying to me, it says, these who are clothed in white robes, who are they? And from where have they come? And I said to him, my Lord, you know, he said to me, these are the ones who come out of the Great Tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in. in the blood of the lamb. And in Revelation chapter 19, we are that army that comes up with God in that white garments, in those glowing garments because they are the robes of the righteousness of Christ.

And so what happened? This boy receives not only royalty, but purity. He's made clean. That's the way we are. When we give our lives to God, he washes us in his blood, and we receive the royal treatment. And then it says, and put the ring on his hand. Get the robe, put it on him. Get the ring, put it on his hand. If the robe is a symbol of purity and royalty, then the ring is a symbol of dignity and authority. Why is that? Because it's the signet ring, and those who had the signet ring gave authority for transactions.

And that's important. Listen, the ring is a symbol of completeness. That's what it is. It's a symbol of completeness. And man is complete in Christ. You see, this man was incomplete. until he came to his father. When he came to his father, he was now complete. When you come to God, you are complete. Without God, you're incomplete. And with that completion comes dignity and comes authority. To be a vessel used by God. To be a vessel used by God to proclaim the gospel with authority. And this man received the signet ring, which gave him dignity.

He restored his dignity back to him. The dignity that was lost at the fall in Genesis chapter 3 is restored when a man gives his life to Christ. He now is something, and that gives him authority. We'll have to cover the rest next week. Let's pray together. Thank you.