The Lost Sons, Part 4

If you have your Bible turn with me to Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter 15 is to continue our study of this wonderful parable that helps us understand the heart of God and man's response to God's call in his life. It's a picture of salvation. It's a picture on how God works in the heart and life of a man and then how that man responds to what God does when he calls him to a place of repentance. It's about God's ministry, God's ministry to reach and to rescue in order to redeem those who are lost. It's about man's responsibility to repent and return to his God.

It's about God's sympathy where he restores and rewards those who have repented and come back to him. It's a beautiful story of salvation. And it all begins because there were some sinners and tax gatherers who had come together to have a meal with the Lord and as he was eating with them there were some religious people there as well. Some of the scribes and some of the Pharisees. And they were upset because this one, this self-proclaimed Messiah, in their mind would eat with sinners. It would cause our Lord to launch into this story, this story, this parable that has three different parts to it.

One about a lost sheep, one about a lost silver coin, and one about two lost sons. In the first two he declares the necessity for repentance.

For there's joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. More so than over 99 who are righteous or in this case self-righteous. And so he talks about and declares the necessity for repentance. And then he demonstrates for us in the parable of the lost sons about the reality of repentance. What does it actually look like? If there's joy in heaven over a sinner that repents, what does that repentance look like? And so we look at that story and we see that there are three characters.

There's a younger son, there's a father, and there's an older son. The younger son is representative of the sinners and tax gatherers. The older son is representative of the religious elite, the scribes and Pharisees. And then there is a father who is representative of God the Father who calls people to himself. And we've looked at that son and we saw about his request, we saw his rebellion, then we saw his repentance. And last week, let me review for you real quickly, we gave you seven principles about what that repentance looks like so that you can examine your life and say, is this me?

Have I done this? Have I come to a place of repentance in my life? And if so, if I have, it then becomes a character quality of those who are born again. So these seven principles then play themselves out on a regular basis in my life because I want to have communion with my God. But these seven principles outline for us what this young man did when he got up, he went back to his father and turned from his sin that he might have communion and fellowship with his father. Because neither son had a relationship with their father.

Yes, their father brought them into existence because he was, quote, their father. But neither boy had a relationship with their father. The younger son would have one when he repented. The older son never had a relationship with his father, as we will see next week. And we'll see how it is he ends up not having a relationship when the story is concluded. And so we begin to understand this, this story, this parable, and has three phases to it to understand God's plan of salvation and the redemption of man.

He came to seek and to save that which was lost. Christ was an evangelist. He came to redeem souls. This is why he was here. And this is what the story is about. And so many people miss the emphasis of the parable of the lost sons because they don't understand the context of Luke 15. It's all about salvation. It's not about a wayward child who grew up in the church and rebelled. It's about salvation. That's what it's about. And once you begin to understand that, you begin to see what repentance looks like.

And we told you that for a man to repent, he reflects upon the destiny of his life. The young boy says, I will get up, I will go to my father, because he came to his senses. He was ignorant. And those who are ignorant must know the truth. Those who are lost must know the way. Those who are dead must know the life. Jesus is that, John 14 6, the way, the truth, and the life. This boy was lost, he was ignorant, and he was dead. And Christ would be the way of salvation for him. And so he reflected upon the destiny of his life.

He's not going anywhere. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the ends are over the ways of death, not life. He knew that his destiny was a failure. And so when he came to his senses, which by the way is what Second Timothy 2 25 and 26 says, that when a man truly repents, it's because God has granted him the gift of repentance and caused that man to come to his senses.

Please understand that when you look at these principles about repentance, they are God-initiated. They are God that moves in the heart of man, that causes him. Repentance is as much a gift as grace and faith and belief is a gift. And so when God calls a man, he turns. Why? Because God has called him. And when he turns, this is what it looks like. He reflects upon the destiny of his life. And then number two, he realizes the severity of his sin.

I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. The order is so significant. He realizes the severity of a sin. It's against God. He has violated the law of God. Anybody who truly repents realizes that what they have done is wrong, not because of their consequences, but because it violates the character and nature of God. And that's the heart of somebody who has a godly sorrow that leads to biblical repentance. So he reflects upon the destiny of his life. He realizes the severity of a sin and he recognizes that the responsibility is all his.

I have sinned. It's not the economy that's caused me to sin. It's not the way you raised me, dad, that caused me to sin. It's not the fact that mom didn't love me enough that caused me to sin. There is no blame-shifting. It's I have sinned. And therefore, he recognizes the responsibility is all his. And then he responds to his authority with no agenda and no demands. So come back and say, you know what, dad, I'm coming back, but I want everything like I had it before. I want the same room, with the same car, with the same friends.

I want everything to be just the way it was, with a few extra things taken out that I didn't like. No, there is no agenda. There is no demands. Because a truly broken and contrite heart, God accepts and God deals with. But the arrogant has a demand. The man is truly not repentant, has an agenda. He has a way he wants to go. But the broken man has no agenda, has no demands, responds to his authority by saying, whatever you want me to do. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. So whatever you want to do with me, you do.

That's a true biblical repentant heart. Whenever you judge someone's repentance, ask yourself, do they have an agenda? Do they make demands? Do they want their way? If so, that's not a repentant spirit. This person was truly broken over their sin. And then they refuse the company of their past. They refuse the company of their past. They don't want to hang on to their past. Years ago, it must have been 20 years ago now, I can recall very vividly that I was in an office with a young man and a young woman who had not been married very long at all.

And yet she had caught him cheating on her. And he said that he repented of his sin and that he was no longer going to see the lady. But she believed he was still seeing her. So she asked for a time with me as her pastor. And I said, sure. So they both came in. And he was trying to convince her that he no longer was having an association with this lady. So having listened to them go back and forth for a while, I said, okay, here we go. This is what we're going to do. I'm going to pick up my phone and you're going to call this lady and you're going to tell her, it's completely over.

I never want to see you again. I never want to be with you again. And therefore we will never have any contact ever again. He said, I can't do that. Oh, so you haven't repented then have you? Because you don't want to refuse the company of your past. You want to hold on to your past sin. See, you can't repent and hold on to your past sin. You can't do that. You got to refuse it. You got to cut it off. And for this boy to get up and go home, he had to leave his past behind. Leave it all. He had to move back to his father and go to him, turn to God from idols to serve the true and living God.

That's a repentance. See, don't you see? That's why you can see very few people ever repent. Why don't people repent? They want to hold on to their past sins. They love their sin. It was to the next point that they repudiate all iniquity both seen and unseen. They can't hate sin because they love their sin. They can't refuse their past because they want to stay in the past. They love what their sin did for them. A repentant spirit refuses the company of the past, repudiates all iniquity both seen and unseen because they want to move from that.

They love what God loves. They hate what God hates. That is a true biblical repentance spirit. Anything less than that is not repentance. Please mark that down because I don't want you to be confused about what the Bible teaches concerning repentance. Then a repentant spirit rejoices, rejoices in the liberty and the sufficiency of God alone. They were married. They began to be married and they would live in that freedom and live in that sufficiency. He would live in the freedom of his father's home.

He would live in the sufficiency of his father's gifts. He would live where he left because that's where he needed to be and the joy would overwhelm him. That's why as 2 Corinthians 7 10 says, this is a repentance that never wants to be repented of. You never want to renege on your repentance. You never want to go back and say, you know what, it really, God didn't really do for me what he thought he was going to do. Oh no. A repentant spirit says, God has been so good to me. He has opened so many doors for me.

He has been so kind to me. He has set me free from the bondage of sin. He has given me an inheritance in his kingdom and I am so grateful and I continue to rejoice over the liberty and the sufficiency of God alone. And that's the story of the young son. He came to a census. He went back home. He gave his life to his father. That's a repentant spirit. Now the great thing about that is what God does in response to that. Because the father shows us the character and nature of God. And he's our topic of discussion today.

Next week it will be the older son. And you're going to see some things that maybe you've never seen before about this older son that will open your eyes to the self-righteousness of this boy's lifestyle and how it is he had no relationship with his father although he stayed home. It's like people who go to church and have no relationship with God. This is the representative of the older boy. But that's next week. Let's look at the father because what this does is open up to us the character and nature of God.

And whenever you study the character and nature of God great things begin to happen because you see God for who He is. And now you see, you begin by looking at the story and say this is God's ministry to reach and to rescue those who are lost. And then you see man's responsibility and which is to repent and return to his God. And now you begin to see God's mercy and how He restores and rewards the truly repentant heart. Let me tell you something.

You truly repent of your sin. God not only restores your life, He rewards your life. Why? Because there is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over 99 self-righteous people. Heaven waits for this moment. Heaven is ecstatic about this kind of moment. This is what makes heaven rejoice. This is what makes God rejoice. This is what makes those who follow God rejoice because it's all about the redemption of souls and then what God does as a result of that. So we're going to look at three things of the Father.

We're going to look number one at His affection. Then we're going to look number two at His acceptance.

And then number three we're going to look at His attitude. Okay. Let me read to you the portion about the Father.

Verse 20. And He got up and 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 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 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 His feet. And bring the fattened 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. Wow. Three things. Number one, the Father's affection.

Seen in verse number 20. The first thing I want you to see about the Father's affection is His watchfulness.

His watchfulness. What does the text say? It says, while He was still a long way off, His Father saw Him. His Father not only saw what He was, but saw what He would become. While He was a long way off, while He was far off, His Father saw Him. Folks, do you understand the implications of that? Probably not. So turn to Acts 2.39. Acts 2.39. This is so good. Peter is preaching on the Day of Pentecost and he preaches about the Messiah and how the Israel had killed the Messiah and how He rose again the third day and they needed to turn from their sin.

It says in verse number 37, Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, Repent and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit for the promises for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself. This promise is not only for you, but for those who are a long way away, those who are far off.

And then over in the book of Ephesians, the second chapter, it says this, verse 13, But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Verse number 17, And He who came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. That phrase far away was a phrase used to describe the Gentile nations that were so far away from God, but peace to those also who are near. That's the nation of Israel. And here was the father who saw his son while he was a far off. The question is, when did he see his son? He saw him in eternity past. He saw him before time began. That's when he saw him. That's why he was waiting for him and that's why he was looking for him, because he knew he was coming.

How did he know he was coming? Because he was elected in eternity past. How did he know he was coming? Because he had been predetermined to come in eternity past. How did he know he was coming? Because he was called by God in eternity past. How did he know he was coming? Because he was chosen by God in eternity past. That's how he knew he was coming. That's why he could see him a far off, a far way away. Before the son ever saw him, the father saw the son. Folks, this is important. Over in 2nd Timothy chapter 1 verse number 9 it says this, verse 8, but we know that the law is good.

I'm sorry that's wrong, that's 1st Timothy, I need 2nd Timothy. My bad. 2nd Timothy 1 verse number 9, Who has saved us and 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. That's when we were called. From all eternity. You see, we forget, we forget that the watchfulness of God is a part of His affection towards us who believe. That is, He, the Bible speaks about, you know, what happens before salvation, what happens at salvation, what happens after salvation.

What a great study, the study of soteriology. To understand that before salvation, there is calling, there is choosing, there is foreknowledge, there is election, there is predestination. All that transpires in eternity past. Okay? Then when you are saved, there is faith, there is belief, there is repentance, there is grace, there is mercy, there is justification, there is sanctification. And then after you believe, there is that continued sanctification, plus there is the security of the believer, there is that ultimate glorification that is going to take place.

The study of salvation is such a mammoth study, but it encompasses everything of the work of God in the life of a believer. And all that took place before salvation took place in the heart and mind of God before the world was ever created. God had a plan. When this boy was a long way away, far away, He saw him. The boy had yet to see his father, but the father saw him because the father knew he was coming, because the father had called him from eternity past. See that? This is His watchfulness. And then I want you to notice this, second characteristic about His affection, His tenderness.

Listen to what it says. His father saw him and felt compassion for him. That's His tenderness. Now, the compassion of God is something where He feels not only the pain on the inside in His bowels, but He actually seeks to meet and relieve the pain. That's pity, that's compassion, that is the tenderness of God. The Bible says in Matthew 9, 35, that Christ saw the people as a sheep without a shepherd and felt compassion for them.

The Bible says in Psalm 111, verse number 4, the Lord is full of compassion. Psalm 145, verse number 8, the Lord is gracious and full of compassion. He felt compassion. Listen.

He saw him. We know He sees the outside, right? We know He sees the outside of the boy. And just to see the outside of the boy would cause you to feel compassion for the boy, right? I mean, you can look at people on the outside and I can look at you and I can feel compassion for you just by the way you look, right?

But He sees in the inside, which is far worse than the outside. That's important because I can't see what's on the inside of you, you can't see what's on the inside of me. That's a good thing. It's bad enough just to see what's on the outside, but to see what's on the inside is triply bad. And yet Christ sees everything on the inside and He feels compassion for him. Passion because of his soul, it's dead. Passion because of his heart, it's lost, it's depraved. He is so far from God. He feels compassion for him.

That's the tenderness of Almighty God. See, God sees not only the outside, He sees the inside. He says, I want you. Well, that's amazing because none of us having looked at each other's inside would say, I want you. But God does. I want you. That's His tenderness. So you see His watchfulness, you see His tenderness, and then you see His swiftness or His shamelessness. It says, He ran. He ran. I told you last week, a noble man never ran. Didn't have to. His servants ran for him. But in order to run, he had to pull up his robe and tie it to his legs, expose his legs, and never would a noble man ever expose his legs.

That would be disgraceful. That would be shameful. And that's what he did. He pulled it all together. He ran to his son. He ran after him. That's His swiftness. Who should have been doing the running? The boy. The boy should have been running home. He should have made a beeline so quickly, he should have sprinted all the way home. But instead, it's the father who sprints to him. It's the father who runs to him. It's the father who acts in a shameful kind of way because he is shameless in his behavior.

This is why we call it His swiftness or His shamelessness. Because all he was concerned about was his son. He was willing and wanting that boy. That's the affection of God. This is what happens when someone repents. They experience and understand the watchfulness of God. That all the while they were in their sin and all the while they were away from God, there was one who was waiting for them to come. Who had been called and chosen from eternity past. And that when that person gets up, even though they're far away away, He sees them.

Feels compassion for him. In spite of what it looks like on the outside, what it looks like on the inside. And then once the repentance happens, the father runs to the boy. That's what God does for us. He runs to us. He finds us. And then it says, He embraced him. He embraced him. That's His nearness. God wants us near to Him. He embraced him. Notice, He embraced him before he took a shower.

He's got pig slop all over him. Excrement from all the pigs on his clothes. He smells the high heaven. His hair, filthy. He hasn't eaten anything. He hasn't showered. He hasn't cleaned himself up. He embraces him before he's ever washed. Before he's ever robed. He is embraced. Wow. Could you imagine the stench on the boy? How bad he must smell? You know, my kids come in from practice from being outside. It's like, whoo, get away. Go shower first.

Quick, do something quick. Clean yourself up. But this boy had been outside with the pigs, eating the pigs' food, wrestling the pigs for their food. He was filthy. He smelled the high heaven. You see, we think that somehow we've got to make ourselves right before God accepts us. Oh, no. Oh, no. That's a workspace system. Somehow I must dress well. I must smell well. I must look well. I must be well for God to embrace me and to accept me. On the contrary, God embraces us and accepts us amidst all of our filth.

Because He's going to cleanse it. He's going to do it. He doesn't. We don't do it. That's so important. You can't gain God's favor. You can't gain God's acceptance. You are not good enough. You'll never be good enough for God. You can't be. And that's the miracle of salvation because in the spite of all of our badness, in the spite of all of our evil, in spite of all of our sin, God embraces us. And as the Bible says, fell on his neck.

Embraced him so much they fell over. Wow. That's the affection of God for His people. Remember Psalm 73. Psalm 73 verse number 28 says this, But as for me, the nearness of God is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge that I may tell of all thy works. Over in Psalm 65 verse number 13, I'm sorry, 65 verse number 4, it says these words, How blessed is the one whom thou dost choose and bring near to thee. To dwell in thy courts we will be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, thy holy temple.

And then over in Psalm 145, The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. Listen, God is always near to those who call upon him in truth. The boy would repent. It would be a truthful repentance. It would be from the heart. And God is near to those who call upon him in truth. Listen, if you feel far from God, guess who moved? God didn't go anywhere. It's you. It's not God. It's our fault. If you don't feel the presence of God around you or the presence of God in you, it's you who's moved away from God.

God wants to embrace us. He is near to all those who call upon him in truth. You might be calling upon God, but you might not be calling upon God in truth. So you see his watchfulness. You see his tenderness. You see his swiftness coupled with his shamelessness. You then also see his nearness, and then you see his forgiveness. He kisses him. He sees him as far away away. He felt compassion on him. So he runs to him, embraces him, and he kisses him. Not just once, but the text is that he continually kisses the boy.

He's forgiven. He is experiencing acceptance from his father, yet to be cleaned, still smelling, and yet never said a word. Never said, I've sinned. He hasn't said anything. Because the father sees the heart. He knows the heart. A lot of people pay verbiage to the Lord, but their hearts are far from him. That was Israel. They said all the right things on the outside. That's what the older boy did. We'll see next week. Everything on the outside was good, but everything on the inside was bad. For this boy, everything looked so bad on the outside, but on the inside, because there had been a returning, there had been a repentance.

Then what does the father do? He sees the heart. He's been forgiven. He's been kissed. He's been embraced. He's been accepted into his home. Isaiah 43, this is so good. Isaiah 43, verse number 25. Listen to this. I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions, listen carefully, for my own sake. Did you ever think that God forgave your sins for you? He did not. You're secondary. He forgives. He wipes out your transgression for his own sake. Paul would echo that in Philippians 1, verse number 29.

It's been granted to you to believe on the Lord and to suffer for him for his sake. Not your sake, but for his sake. You see, your salvation is all about God. It's about God's salvation. This is a story about God and his marvelous affection, his marvelous love, his marvelous redemption. It's all about God. God does it for his sake, not for yours. He wipes out your sin for his glory, for his honor, because it's all about him. And this story is about the father's affection for this boy. The boy hasn't said a thing yet.

He's fully forgiven. He's totally forgiven. He's yet to speak a word. He's yet to open his mouth. He's so overwhelmed by the father's affection, he can't even say anything yet. He's going to have to say something because on the inside, he feels he's got to let it out. Because that's what happens to the believer. When they are embraced by God, they still have to let it out. They've got to confess it. They don't want to hold it in any longer. They've got to let it out. And that's why the boy says in Luke 15, he says this, 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. He didn't have to say any of that. He was totally accepted. Totally forgiven. Because his father embraced him and kissed him. That's just unheard of. Especially in a shame on our culture as these Pharisees and these scribes and these Jewish people lived in. His father would take all the shame. Embrace the boy. Because he didn't want his boy to get to the city to have to hear the scorn, mocking and the ridicule. He was going to take it all upon himself.

And that's what Jesus Christ did for us at Calvary's Cross. It's a beautiful picture of redemption and what God does to the repentant spirit. He's forgiven. His sins are forgotten. In one embrace. In one kiss. In one sprint. Because he felt compassion for him while he was still far, far away. The boy confesses. But the forgiveness of God is greater than his confession. Because he sees his heart. Which leads us to point number two, and that's his acceptance.

That's his acceptance. It's almost as if the father interrupts him. It's almost as if it doesn't make a difference what he says. Because you see, please understand this, it doesn't make any difference what you say. Because God sees your heart. There's too many people in the church who say all the right things, but their hearts are far from God. And God doesn't hear them anyway, even though they're speaking. Because their sins have separated them from the Lord God. But it's almost as if it doesn't make a difference what he says.

Because he sees his heart. He knows his heart. His actions demonstrated his repentance. It's not what he said that made him repentant, it's what he did that made him repentant. He came home. He refused the company of his past. He hated the sin of his past. He wanted to come to a father that would embrace him and love him and accept him. And so he knew that he had to get up and leave where he was. So he did. The father accepted him. Based on a heart that was committed to turning. And now you have his acceptance.

Listen to what it says. But the father said to his slaves. He didn't say, yes son, I hear you, I forgive you. He didn't say that. Yes son, it's good to see you, I'm glad you're back. He didn't say that either. In fact, he didn't say anything to his son. Because the father's actions demonstrated his acceptance. His love. His mercy, his kindness. So he speaks to the slaves. Right? The father said to the slaves, quickly bring out the best robe, put it on him. Let's talk about the robe for a second.

It's not any robe, it's the best robe. It's the best robe. He gets a robe. He gets a ring. He gets sandals. He gets a fattened calf cut up in his arm. Really for the honor of the father. But those four elements represent the acceptance of the believer. The reward the believer receives. First of all, he gets a robe.

The robe is representative of royalty and purity. Royalty and purity. Notice that he puts the robe on him before he showers.

He puts the robe on him before he gets cleaned up. Why? Because the robe is going to wash it all away. Isaiah 61 talks about the robes of righteousness, the garments of God that cleanse us. It's the robe of righteousness that purifies us. That dignifies us. That gives us royalty. Bring the best robe. And every Jewish home would have a best robe for the father who would wear it on only special occasions. The highest of all occasions. Reserved, by the way, for the oldest son once he died. But the father gives it to the youngest son.

Puts it on him. Quickly, bring the best robe. The Bible speaks in Revelation chapter 3. Verse number 5. 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. That's the robe of righteousness. Over in Revelation chapter 7. Revelation 7 verse number 14. And I said to him, Lord, my Lord, you know, and he said to me, these are the ones who came out of the great tribulation and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

And then when we come back in Revelation 19 with the Lord, we come back in white robes. Why? Because we have been robed in the righteousness of Christ. See, when you have repented of your sin, you are robed with Christ's righteousness called the garments of God. Isaiah 61 verse number 10. So when Christ looks down from heaven, when God looks down from heaven, he sees you robed in Christ's righteousness. And that signifies the purity and the royalty of the believer who is now a son of the living God.

He is a son in the kingdom of God. He is a child of the king. So the robe represents royalty and purity. Then he gives him a ring which signifies dignity and authority. Dignity and authority. Remember way back in Justice 41, Joseph obtained a ring, the signet ring of Pharaoh. It gave him dignity. It gave him authority. Because no transaction could be made without the signet ring's emblem upon it. So this young boy now has all the authority in the home. More so than the older son. With that authority comes the dignity of sonship.

He now is brought into the family as a son. My son was lost, but now he's alive. He's been found. He's no longer dead. And now he has authority. Now he has dignity. Why? Because he has purity and he has royalty. Give him the ring. Put the sandals on his feet. Sandals. Know what they represent? They represent stability and prosperity. Because no slave wore sandals. They went barefooted. Only fathers and sons and daughters had sandals. Which signified that they were prosperous versus a slave who wasn't.

Put the sandals on my boy's feet. He needs stability. His feet have been cut. They've been bruised. They've been torn apart. But now we're going to give him stability. And we're going to give him prosperity. He's back into the family. He has full rights as a son of his father. Therefore, he has full rights to the inheritance of his father's kingdom. And then kill the fattened calf. You know, the Lord doesn't give us any leftovers. Doesn't give us that dingy little calf in the back that nobody else wants.

It's the fattened calf. It's the calf designed specifically for the biggest celebration in a family. And this fattened calf will be slayed at this time. And will be eaten at this time. Because my son who was lost is now found. It represents the hospitality and the joy that one experiences by being a part of the family of God. This boy is fully accepted as a son. Fully embraced as a son. Fully a part of the family of his father. What a beautiful story. That's what God does in response to a repentant person.

That's why the Bible says it's the goodness of God. That leads us to repentance, Romans 2, 4. The goodness of God. This is the goodness of God. This is the goodness of God. This is the reward of God. This is the restoration of God. This is what God wants to do in the life of people who repent. I want to make you dignified. I want to have you completely forgiven. I want you purified. I want you solidified in the family of God. I want you to understand who I am and what you're going to receive. Because you've come to me.

You're a father who longs to embrace you. Who runs after you. Who falls on your neck and kisses you and accepts you. Because you've been forgiven of all your sins. All your sins have been forgotten. They've been thrown to the depths of the sea. Never to be remembered no more. That's God. That's what he does. What does number three do?

His attitude. His attitude. Is this. Verse 23. Or 24. For this son of mine was dead. Has come to life again. He was lost and has been found. And they began to be merry. Notice it says they began to be merry.

It's a never ending celebration. This was the beginning of the boy's life. This was the beginning of his family life. This was the beginning of his celebration. The beginning of his merriment. The beginning of his satisfaction. The beginning of all of his joy. Now it begins. Why? Because without Christ you have no life. You think you do but you have no life. You exist in this world but you have no life. You have no joy in life. You have no abundant life. You exist on this planet but you have no life.

And that's why your life is so miserable. Until you come to Christ. Fully repentant. Then fully restored. And fully rewarded. And now the joy begins. And the attitude of the father is that this is what gives me joy. Remember Zephaniah 3 verse number 17. The Lord your God is in your midst. A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy. He will be quiet in his love. He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. This is the father. This is his attitude. He rejoices over you with shouts of joy.

Shouts of joy. There is an exultation over the fact that you are born. That's what makes heaven such a joyous place. You have been called from eternity past. When you repent of your sins that's when time intersects eternity. Which causes there to be an eruption in heaven. Over the celebration of the lost soul. That's been found. That's what makes heaven joyous. That's what makes heaven the best place to be in all the world. And the father exults over him. See God allows sinners to roam. He does do that.

He allows them to roam. To experience their own freedom. To experience their own choices and decisions. Like the father let the boy roam. And God lets us sin. And although God allows us to roam. He always responds to a repentant heart. Always. The broken and contrite heart God will not despise. And back in the book of Joel. The second chapter.

God speaking of the day of the Lord. The terrible visitation that's going to come upon the world. He says in verse 11. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome. Who can endure it? Yet even now declares the Lord. Return to me with all your heart. Return to me. Repent. And with fasting, weeping and mourning. And rend your heart and not your garments. I'm not looking for this external renting of your garments. I'm looking for an internal renting of your heart. I'm not too concerned about what you look like on the outside.

Because you can fool a lot of people. I'm just concerned about what you look like on the inside. I want you to rip your hearts. I want you to rent your hearts. I want you to return to me. But I want you to do it from the inside out. I want your heart. God says.

He says. And rend your heart. Not your garments. Return to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and compassionate. Slow to anger. Abounding in loving kindness. And relenting of evil. You want God to relent evil upon you? Rip your heart. Return to him. And then over in verse number 24 and 25. It says this in 25 and 26. Then I will make up to you for the years. That the swarming locust has eaten. The creeping locust. The stripping locust. The gnawing locust. My great army which I sent among you. And you shall have plenty to eat.

And be satisfied. And praise the name of the Lord your God. Who has dealt wondrously with you. Then my people will never be put to shame. God says.

You rip your heart. You return to me. You repent of your sins. I will relent of my evil. I will restore your life. And I will reward you with me. That's God's promise. Folks listen.

If you're here today. And you never turned from your sin. Today is the day you got to do that. Don't wait for tomorrow. Do it today. Give your life to Christ. And maybe you're a believer. And you have strayed away from the Lord. It's time you come back to Christ. It's time you get your life right with the Lord Jesus. What this pictures to us. Is a God who is merciful. Who is kind. Who is loving. Who is forgiving. Who does everything man so desperately wants to have happen. God does it. But he only does it to the repentant sinner.

For the unrepentant. He will not relent of his evil. He will not. But for the repentant he does. Funny thing happened. I lost that day. And that was the older boy. He's not there. Why isn't he there? And why is it when he returns. He is so angry. At what he hears. And why is it. He shows. More dishonor. To his father. Than the younger son did. And why is it. The story ends. With no conclusion. That's next week. Let's pray. Father we thank you Lord for today. And the great opportunity we have to study your word.

Truly you are a great God. You alone are worthy to be praised. I pray for every person today. Who's here never given their life to Christ. That today would be that day. That surely they would repent of their sin. Give their life to Christ. Feel the embrace of a Savior. The forgiveness. The acceptance. That comes only through a God. Who restores. The repentant heart. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.