Participants: Mark Howard
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000775
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01:00 Freedom, what a wonderful privilege,
01:04 it is to be free, to live in a world 01:07 where we can have freedom. 01:10 But freedom is also something it comes in many different, 01:13 there are many different ideas about freedom. 01:15 Today we want to talk about not just any old freedom. 01:18 But the kind of freedom 01:19 that you can find alone in Jesus Christ. 01:23 That's going to be our subject. 01:24 The title of our message is "Free Indeed". 01:28 And I'm going to ask you to bow your heads 01:29 as I and you ask God's blessing on our time together. 01:35 Father in heaven, Father, today we come before you 01:43 to learn from Your word. 01:46 We want to learn Father, what true freedom is all about. 01:50 The freedom that we have in Jesus Christ, 01:53 so father today, I pray for the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. 01:57 The spirit of truth that leads into all truth. 02:01 Father, may He open our minds in our understanding 02:05 to Your word today we ask it 02:06 in, Jesus, name and for His sake, amen. 02:14 You know, it's interesting today the idea of freedom 02:16 has been strangely perverted in the day that we live in. 02:21 I would dare say, that there is never been a generations 02:24 so recklessly independent and so antagonistic 02:28 against authority is the generation we live in today. 02:32 Freedom once defined as the ability to choose him 02:35 you'll serve is now defined as whatever you want to do. 02:40 Freedom to do your own thing. 02:45 This has perverted our freedoms of speech, 02:48 our freedoms of press and religion. 02:52 Some of the greatest wickedness is enacted 02:55 under the guiles of so called freedom. 02:58 In fact, we see this mentality perverting our society. 03:02 There is an old rock and roll song that says, 03:06 I'm free to do what I want any all time, 03:10 that's the concept of freedom. 03:13 We see that in our social relationships 03:16 as men and women want to enjoy 03:18 the privileges of the marital relationship, 03:21 without the commitment. 03:23 I don't want to be tied down they say, I want to be free. 03:29 We see it in the family circle 03:30 as young people want the privileges of a safe home 03:34 without the restrains of house rules. 03:37 I need my space they say, I need my freedom. 03:43 And we even see it in the church, 03:47 as professed Christians want all the privileges of having, 03:50 Jesus Christ, as their Savior 03:52 without the commitment to having Him as their Lord. 03:57 Jesus doesn't expect me 03:58 to change my life for Him they say. 04:01 He accepts me just as I am, He wants me to be free. 04:09 But is this reckless unrestrained 04:11 freedom to do my own thing, is this true freedom? 04:17 Or is it possible that true freedom in Christ 04:21 would restrict our carnal independence 04:23 more than we're willing to allow. 04:26 I want you to open your Bibles with me 04:28 to the gospel of John. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. 04:32 We're going to John Chapter 8, 04:34 Matthew, Mark, Luke, John Chapter 8 04:38 and we're going to begin in verse 30. 04:42 John 8 and verse 30. 04:44 Jesus had a little confrontation here 04:46 with the religious leaders of His day 04:49 and freedom was the subject. 04:53 In John 8 verse 30, the Bible says, 04:55 "As Jesus spoke these words many believed in Him. 05:02 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him. 05:05 If you abide in My word you are My disciples indeed. 05:11 And you shall know the truth 05:13 and the truth shall make you free. 05:19 And they answered Him and said, we are Abraham's descendants, 05:23 and we've never been in bondage to anyone. 05:25 How can you say, 'You will be made free'? 05:31 Verse 34 and Jesus answered them 05:33 and said "Most assuredly, I say to you, 05:36 whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 05:40 And a slave does not abide in the house forever 05:43 but a son abides forever. 05:45 Therefore if the Son makes you free, 05:48 you shall be free indeed". 05:54 Jesus told these religious leaders I can make you free 05:56 this is-what do you mean make us free? 05:57 We are not in bondage to anybody, 05:59 we are already free. 06:03 Jesus says, no you'll be free if you abide in My word. 06:08 What does that mean to abide by the word of, God, 06:11 to abide in, Christ, word? 06:14 It means more than just to hear His word, 06:18 or the think about His word. 06:20 But it means to make His word 06:24 the whole substance of your hopes and your plans. 06:29 It means to let, Jesus, word guide you 06:31 in your thought, in your action. 06:33 He says, if you allow for this, 06:35 you'll find true freedom. You'll be free indeed. 06:42 It's interesting that there are 06:44 two ideas of freedom being contrasted here. 06:47 Those religious leaders, Jesus, was speaking to 06:51 were looking at a freedom from, Christ. 06:54 When, Jesus, wanted to show them freedom in, Christ. 07:03 Freedom from, Christ, or freedom in, Christ, 07:06 which will it be? 07:07 Where does true freedom lie? 07:10 And today we're going to go to a parable that, 07:12 Jesus, told that I think illustrates 07:14 this point perfectly. 07:17 It's the parable you are going to find 07:19 in your Bibles in Luke Chapter 15. 07:23 We are in the book of John, 07:24 go back one to the book of Luke. 07:25 We're going to Chapter 15. 07:28 And we're going to read about the parable 07:30 known as the "parable of the prodigal son", 07:33 the parable of the prodigal son. 07:41 Luke Chapter 15 and we will begin in verse 11. 07:48 Luke 15 in verse 11 here is what the Bible says. 07:52 "Then He said a certain man had two sons. 07:57 And the younger of them said to his father, 07:59 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' 08:04 So he divided to them his livelihood. 08:10 And not many days after, 08:11 the younger son gathered all together, 08:13 journeying to a far country, 08:15 and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living". 08:21 Now I've got a question for you, 08:23 when does a person usually get the inheritance, 08:29 that's right, that's when the father would die. 08:33 And I'm going to submit to you 08:34 and I think you'll see this as we go along, 08:36 that what this young man was saying in essence 08:38 with his father, "I wish you were dead". 08:42 You say, how can we know that, well just stick with me. 08:46 So the young boy goes to his father, 08:48 young man goes to his father, he says father, 08:50 I want the money you've got coming to me 08:51 and the Bible says the father 08:53 divided unto him, his livelihood. 08:57 I believe the King James Version says his living. 09:00 Now if a person gives all their livelihood, 09:03 all their living to somebody else, 09:05 what does that mean that they have left? 09:08 Probably not a whole lot, probably not a whole lot, 09:11 this was not a little thing, this was not a little request. 09:16 This son asks his father for the inheritance. 09:19 I don't want it later dad, I want it now. 09:23 And then the Bible says 09:28 that the son went into a far country. 09:32 Notice what it doesn't say. 09:33 It doesn't say this son got the inheritance 09:35 and then he went by to the nearby town 09:37 and he had a high time. 09:39 Came home every night and went back out partying 09:41 and having a good time 09:42 and-- It's not what the Bible says. 09:46 Any of you ever grow up in a small town? 09:50 I grew up in a small town, 09:52 small town of Mount Vernon, in Ohio. 09:55 The time I was young we had no-there wasn't 09:58 even a McDonald's in the town, 10:00 blessing in disguise. 10:02 There were no movie theaters. 10:05 There was nothing going on in that town. 10:06 And I remember as a young man just wanting, 10:08 longing to be out of the small town, 10:11 being in the big city, where every thing is going on. 10:14 We had big cities nearby about 45 miles away 10:18 in one direction and 30 miles away in another direction. 10:21 And I remember enjoying going to the city 10:24 and seeing all the bright lights 10:25 and all the things that were going on in the city. 10:28 But it wasn't a far country, it wasn't a far country. 10:31 Now it doesn't say that the young son 10:33 went over to the big city nearby the house, 10:38 you know, a few miles away 30 miles, 50 miles. 10:42 It say he went into a far country, 10:43 why a far country? 10:48 Because that son wanted to get as far away 10:51 from home as he could. 10:58 A book on the parables of Christ, 11:00 Christ Object Lesson, comments this way it says, 11:05 "This younger son had become weary of the restraint 11:09 of his father's house". 11:13 He'd become weary of the restraint, 11:15 weary of the rules, tired of the rules, 11:17 you know, how it is. 11:18 When the kids usually run away, 11:20 if you run away as a kid, you see little kid 11:23 something happens with mom and dad, 11:24 he has his will crossed. 11:26 So he get his little suitcase out 11:28 and packs himself a peanut butter 11:29 and jelly sandwich walks on down the street, 11:31 gets down to the corner, goes a couple of blocks, 11:35 starts to get hungry, goes three blocks 11:36 opens up the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and eats it. 11:41 Starts to think what he came out for 11:44 and he decides to turn around and go back home again. 11:46 It's typically when the will is crossed. 11:49 It's typically when the freedom so called is restricted 11:54 and it's no different with the story here. 11:56 The Bible says, the young son wanted his inheritance 11:59 and he doesn't stay at home and enjoy that inheritance. 12:01 The Bible says as soon as he got it, 12:02 he went out into a far country. 12:06 Far, faraway from his father's house, 12:10 you'll see, he fell that dad's rules 12:15 were a little bit too much. 12:17 The chores he had to do were unnecessary. 12:21 All the restrictions were binding up his freedom 12:24 all to be free he thought. 12:27 If I can just be free in his mind he envisioned, 12:29 what it would be like, 12:30 to get out and do things his own way. 12:32 He had a plan in his mind 12:34 and his plan was better than his old man's plan. 12:36 He knew that if he could go out on his own 12:38 then he would find happiness, then he would find joy, 12:41 then he would find freedom. 12:52 The Bible says as we go on there, 12:56 in verse 13 we did read verse 13 13:00 but let's look at it again "And not many days after, 13:03 the younger son gathered all together, 13:05 journeying to a far country, 13:07 and there wasted his possessions 13:10 with prodigal living". 13:12 Now I'm reading the New King James Version 13:13 of the Bible, prodigal, 13:15 it's not a word we use a lot anymore. 13:17 The word prodigal simply means wasteful. 13:20 The prodigal son, the wasteful son, 13:22 he took the inheritance, he went into a far country 13:25 and he wasted it. 13:29 He wasted his possessions. 13:34 You know, he went out left his father's house 13:36 went into a far country and got all those things 13:39 that he thought were going to make him feel free, 13:40 all those things that it were going to make him happy, 13:42 he had that picture in his mind, he went out, 13:44 he is going to get the new camel 13:45 with the shiny black hooves and the heated saddle 13:48 and he is going to go get the nice chariot 13:50 with the wide rims and he was going to go get the-- 13:53 he is going to have all these girls 13:54 and he was going to have this nice house, 13:55 he is going to have all these things 13:56 and he had this picture in his mind 13:58 and he went out to this far country. 14:02 I can picture him going out on the town. 14:05 He goes out to the bar with the fellows 14:06 and he says come on everybody drinks are on me. 14:09 And suddenly he was surrounded with friends. 14:15 Question, do you think the young man felt free. 14:21 Listen to me, I guarantee he felt free. 14:24 I guarantee you initially he went out 14:26 and said this is it, my plan was right. 14:29 I knew all along that my old man didn't have the idea, 14:32 he didn't know what makes for true happiness. 14:34 Now I'm out, now I'm free. I'm having a good old time. 14:40 For a while, for a while, 14:47 for while everything seem to be going fantastic. 14:54 But the Bible tells us, in verse 14, 15:01 "But when he had spent" how much? 15:05 All, when he had spent all. Think about that for a minute. 15:12 Now the Bible, doesn't tell us how much it was, 15:14 but at least it gives us the impression 15:17 that the amount of money he received 15:19 was a sizeable amount of money. 15:21 He got a good chunk of money. 15:26 Have you ever got money you didn't expect? 15:30 You know, I've got money I didn't expect, 15:32 a check comes from somewhere, you overpaid your insurance, 15:34 or something or the other happens 15:35 and you get this check, how long does it last? 15:39 Generally it doesn't last real long, 15:42 you know, for some people it does 15:44 and it should-we should be wise with the money 15:47 that we receive, that's a talent 15:48 the God has given us just like other things. 15:52 But so often times it's gone before you know. 15:55 This young man, he got all this money 15:56 and I think he-I'm confident, 15:59 that when he got that inheritance, 16:01 he said this is going to last me the rest of my life. 16:04 This will go for the rest of my life, 16:05 I'll be sitting pretty this will be perfect. 16:08 I'll never have a need again. 16:12 Going out, camels, girls, the night life. 16:22 And I picture the day he went in to the department store, 16:26 he went to buy himself a nice new sharp looking 16:29 leather jacket or something, he pulled out that credit card 16:32 and he hands it over and he is sitting there 16:34 and they said, sir we got a problem here 16:37 with your card, this thing is not going, 16:39 going through this, gets little embarrassed, 16:42 he is like oh, I don't know, 16:43 I don't know, what you do with the shirt, 16:45 let me hand you another one. 16:47 No, I'm sorry, there is nothing on that. 16:49 Well, I don't have any cash on me, 16:51 let me, he tries a third one. 16:57 No, you don't have any money. 17:00 I can see him calling up the bank and saying, 17:02 pardon me, you know, I had this problem today 17:04 and I was very embarrassed 17:05 and some things got to be a mistake here, 17:07 tell me and they were sorry sir, 17:08 you're out of money. 17:11 You're in the red, you're lost. 17:16 The Bible says he spent all, he spent all. 17:28 And suddenly all the gold and the tinsel, 17:31 the picture of the beach house, 17:33 the fancy camels, the girls all begin to fade. 17:40 Suddenly his freedom didn't feel so free. 17:49 And all his friends left him. 17:52 It's funny sometimes what we do for friends, 17:55 I've had people tell me before when it comes 17:57 to spirituals decisions in your life, 17:59 I don't want to make the spiritual decision, 18:00 my friends will mark me, my friends will they might 18:04 even just start being my friends and I, 18:07 I have to ask myself, 18:08 what kind of friends do you have. 18:15 Now you'll say hey, how do you know, 18:16 these friends won't stick in around, 18:18 well, we'll get to that in a moment. 18:29 Let's talk about the inheritance though, 18:31 the Bible said, he spent all. 18:33 Let's make some applications here, he spent all. 18:36 What was his inheritance? 18:37 What were the possessions he was spending, 18:39 if we're to take this parable and apply it, 18:42 what these possessions be. 18:44 You may say I don't have a whole lot of money. 18:48 Any money we have is the Lord's. 18:50 The Bible says in Deuteronomy 18, 18:52 God is the one, who gives us power 18:53 to get wealth whatever we have is His. 18:56 He has given us what we do have, 18:57 but think beyond money, think about your health. 19:01 You know, I regularly meet people 19:03 who have broken health, who have broken down health 19:07 and we take it for granted. 19:10 I've people in my congregations that are in wheelchairs. 19:13 Praise, God, I'm not in a wheelchair, 19:15 praise, God, you're not in a wheelchair. 19:16 Some of you are. 19:20 And yet the health that we have, 19:22 whatever we have is a talent God has given us, 19:25 it's a gift from God, praise His name for it. 19:30 What about our education? What about musical ability? 19:34 All of these things are talents God has given to us. 19:37 How we're spending them? 19:42 Are we spending those things for His glory? 19:45 Are we wasting them? 19:50 You know, sometimes we have no mind for the future. 19:55 We think we can just go and recklessly enjoy 19:58 the pleasures of sin withoutany consequence. 20:01 Well, here this young man is 20:03 and the Bible says he spent all. 20:10 And there arose verse 14, 20:13 "There arose a severe famine in that land, 20:18 and he began to be in want" or in need. 20:24 Not only did he spend all, 20:26 but then a famine came in the land 20:28 and he began to be in need, 20:29 something he hadn't been before. 20:31 When he was living in his father's house 20:32 he wasn't in need. 20:34 When he went out with that inheritance, 20:36 he wasn't in need, but the Bible says 20:38 a famine came in to the land and he began to be in need. 20:43 Now listen to me carefully friends. 20:47 Sometimes God allows famine to come into our land 20:51 so to speak, to wake us up. 20:54 Sometimes I've got people they say, 20:56 I don't understand and I had so many bad things going on, 20:59 I just-my car just broke down, 21:00 I just threw my back out, this, that, the other thing. 21:04 And often times these individuals are running 21:08 from the decisions God is asking them to make. 21:11 And say I don't know, why this is going on, 21:14 you know, there is an old saying that says, 21:17 "Most of us don't look to God 21:18 until we're lying flat on our backs." 21:21 And it's sad but true. 21:23 Too many times, God allows famine to come into our land. 21:28 You ask somebody, 21:30 hey, you want to go to church with me today. 21:31 No, man I can't go with you. 21:32 How about prayer meeting or, 21:34 you know, you want to do a Bible study, 21:35 man I don't have that time, I've got big plans they say, 21:39 God can alter your plans. 21:42 Listen if you're putting God first in your life 21:44 God can alter your plans, you may say unfair, 21:46 listen to me. 21:48 God wants you a eternal salvation 21:50 more than your happiness in this life, 21:52 He wants happiness in the after life. 21:54 This life is going to come to an end at some point in time, 21:58 God wants you to have eternity 22:00 and sometimes He allows a famine 22:01 to come into your land to wake you up, 22:03 to wake your senses up. 22:06 In the book Patriarchs and Prophets, 22:08 page 470, the author says, 22:10 "God speaks to His people in blessings bestowed, 22:15 and when these are not appreciated, 22:17 He speaks to them in blessings removed, 22:21 that they may see their sins, 22:22 and return to Him with all their heart. 22:26 God allowed a famine to come into the land 22:27 of the young man here, 22:28 because he wasn't seeing things clearly. 22:32 He began to be in want. 22:34 Now if you were to parallel all this 22:35 with a Christian experience I would call this conviction. 22:40 This is when a man comes under conviction. 22:42 This is parallel when the sinner realizes 22:45 their need of a Savior. 22:46 There are so many people going through this life 22:48 that don't realize how much they need Jesus. 22:50 They see no need for religion. 22:55 You know, Jesus said, 23:00 "Those who are well had no need of a doctor, 23:03 but those who are sick. 23:06 And then He said, "I have not come 23:07 to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." 23:11 How many of you go to a doctor when you feel well. 23:15 We go to the doctor when we are sick. 23:18 Jesus, said, I'm the doctor. 23:20 And I've come to call sinners to repentance. 23:23 Too many people don't feel the need of the doctor 23:25 and therefore they don't go and Jesus cannot help them. 23:29 So He allows the famine to come. 23:37 Someone has said, 23:38 our greatest need is a sense of need. 23:41 Our greatest need is a sense of need. 23:45 When we're going to realize our need for, Jesus. 23:47 Well, the Bible says, 23:48 this young man began to be in want. 23:51 He realized he had a need of something, 23:54 he came under conviction. 23:56 But notice he is not planning to go back home yet. 23:59 He is starting to think, 24:00 maybe my plan wasn't such a good idea, 24:02 maybe my plan wasn't the best plan. 24:13 But then he makes another plan 24:14 the Bible tells us verse 15. 24:19 Then he went, and his friends, 24:23 his good friends took him in and took care of him 24:27 until he got back on his feet. 24:29 Is that what the Bible says? 24:32 No, no the Bible says, "Then he went 24:35 and joined himself to a citizen of that country, 24:38 and he sent him into the fields to feed swine. 24:41 How do I know that his friends forsook him, 24:44 doesn't say anything about his friends here, 24:45 when this man is down and out, where are all his good friends, 24:49 where are all his good friends 24:50 that he was so worried about impressing. 24:57 Some of us are so concerned about impressing 24:59 certain people that when the times get tough 25:04 they won't be there anyway. 25:05 We say, I'm going to loose my friends, 25:06 they are not your friends anyway 25:07 sometimes there are not your friends 25:09 if they won't standby you in the hard times. 25:11 Well, this young man he thought for sure 25:13 these people will be there for him. 25:16 But the Bible says, he spent all the famine arose. 25:24 And he had to go find the citizen of that country 25:27 that would hire him and send him out 25:29 to feed his pigs, to feed his pigs. 25:35 Any of you ever been on a pig farm. 25:38 I grew up around pig farms. 25:42 If you ever smell the pig farm. 25:45 You've never smell, you don't know, 25:47 you don't know anything that smells nasty 25:48 till you've been on a pig farm. 25:50 And these pigs are rolling in their stuff all day long 25:52 and he's just ooh, 25:54 this young man is sent out to feed the pigs. 25:59 Certainly by now his beautiful picture, 26:06 panoramic picture of freedom has faded. 26:10 All the pretty girls, all the fancy camels, 26:13 and chariots, and houses, and everything else. 26:17 Here he is, slopping the pigs. 26:25 Did he now returned to his father, 26:27 no, he said you know what, 26:28 maybe my plan wasn't the best way 26:30 but I'm gonna fix it. 26:32 I'll get myself out of this mess, that's why I said 26:35 his conviction was not a step further. 26:40 It was conviction, but it wasn't the conversion, 26:42 he seize the need. 26:45 But know he is going to attempt to fix it. 26:48 I see that my plan maybe wasn't the best plan, 26:50 I realized it my idea of freedom 26:51 might not have been the best plan, 26:52 I'll come up with the new plan. 26:54 And the Bible says, he joined himself 26:55 to a citizen of that country 26:57 and he went out to feed the swine. 27:02 He would rather become a slave 27:05 to a citizen of that barren land 27:07 than return to his father. 27:12 Even yet he would rather 27:13 be a slave to a citizen of that barren land 27:16 than to go back home to dad and he quote. 27:21 He'd find his way out of this mess. 27:26 I want to tell you something here 27:27 about feeding the swine for a moment. 27:32 Look at verse 16 with me, the Bible says, 27:35 "He would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods 27:38 that the swine eat and no one gave him anything". 27:44 He would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods 27:47 that the swine eat but it says no one 27:48 gave him anything he would gladly filled 27:50 his stomach but he didn't and let me tell you why? 27:54 Hold your finger there in Luke 15 27:56 and go with me to the book of Matthew, 27:59 Matthew Chapter 7, Matthew Chapter 7 and verse 6. 28:06 I want you to see what the Bible says here, 28:09 Matthew 7 and verse 6 and notice what Jesus says, 28:16 Matthew 7 in verse 6 28:17 "Do not give what is holy to the dogs, 28:21 nor cast your pearls before swine, 28:27 lest they trample them, under their feet, 28:30 and turn and tear you in pieces." 28:34 Don't cast your pearls before the swine, why? 28:37 Because swine don't understand the value of pearls. 28:39 Now is, Jesus, talking about pigs here and pearls, no. 28:42 Jesus, is saying don't waste your time 28:44 sharing the precious truths of the gospel 28:47 with those who don't want to hear them with the ungodly 28:50 and the unrepentant. 28:54 The swine is representative of the class 28:57 of those people who are ungodly and unrepentant. 29:04 The Bible says the young man went to feed the swine 29:07 and went along to eat what they were eating, 29:10 but he didn't, you know why? 29:13 Because when you come to, Jesus, 29:16 when you start to understand truth, 29:20 even if you've not made the decision for, Jesus, yet. 29:23 Once you begin to understand truth, 29:25 you can't go back to err and enjoy 29:27 at the way you used to. 29:30 Once you've tasted the truth, 29:33 you can't go back to err and enjoy it. 29:35 He would love to just go back 29:37 feed himself with all that garbage, but he couldn't. 29:40 He knew too much now. 29:42 He began to sense his need, he knew his plan was not, 29:44 the plan that he should be following. 29:49 The food of that country could no longer fill him. 29:54 You know friends, there maybe someone watching now, 29:58 who has struggled and not made the decision 30:08 to follow, Jesus, all the way. 30:09 Maybe you have some issue in your life, 30:11 you err in your life where the Lord has been 30:13 convicting you of something that you need to do, 30:16 something you need to follow through with 30:19 and you're saying maybe later maybe later it's gonna, 30:21 it's gonna cost me too much, 30:22 maybe you're worried about those friends again, 30:24 maybe you're worried about family members, 30:26 maybe you're worried about 30:27 what its going to do to your job. 30:31 Maybe you're just going-- You are just thinking 30:32 it's gonna restrict my freedom, 30:34 I'm not going to be able to go out 30:35 to night clubs anymore. 30:36 I'm not going to have the freedom 30:37 to do all those things. 30:40 But even now you're not finding the pleasure 30:44 you use to find in those things. 30:46 Even now you're not enjoying them the way, 30:48 you want to convince yourself that, 30:49 that you are, but even now 30:52 you're not finding the pleasure in those things anymore. 30:55 You can't go back to eating what the swine are eating. 31:01 And so the young man is here, 31:02 what a miserable situation he finds himself in, 31:04 what a miserable situation. 31:07 He can't go, he can't go back 31:09 and he doesn't want to go forward 31:12 and so here he is feeding the pigs. 31:19 The Bible says verse 17 "But when he what, 31:30 when he came to himself, 31:34 he said, How many of my father's hired servants 31:39 have bread enough to spare, and I perish with hunger! 31:48 I will arise and go to my father, 31:52 and I will say to him, Father, 31:54 I have sinned against heaven and against you". 32:00 The Bible says he came to himself, 32:04 you know, before the city begin to be in want, 32:06 he realize the need that he had 32:08 but he wasn't need to back home, 32:09 he wasn't ready to face his dad, 32:11 he said no I can't do that yet. 32:13 I'm not going to go back and echo, 32:15 I'm going to work it out myself, 32:18 just like so many of us. 32:20 When God shows us there is no life 32:22 that need to be corrected, 32:24 we say, well, I'll work it out myself. 32:25 I see the need, but I'll fix it, you can't fix it. 32:30 The reason God chooses need, 32:31 he says that will come to him, so he can fix it. 32:36 Now we've got a change in the story. 32:37 Now it says, he came to himself, 32:42 something came to his attention, 32:43 he began a new revelation came to his mind. 32:46 He said, what I'm doing here, 32:49 I can see him sitting there slopping the pigs one day 32:51 and he just stops and it dawns on him, 32:52 he says what in the world I'm doing here with these pigs. 32:57 What I'm doing here. 33:00 My father's servants have it better than this. 33:05 Now you need to keep something in mind. 33:08 It wasn't long ago 33:09 that this young man was not willing to live 33:12 in his father's house as a son, let alone as a servant. 33:18 But something has changed 33:20 in his understanding of his father. 33:22 Something is changed, he is beginning to see 33:24 his father in a different light. 33:25 He is beginning to see that maybe dad wasn't 33:27 as overbearing as I thought he was. 33:32 I mean his own servants are doing better than I'm doing. 33:35 The young man who wasn't even willing to live 33:37 as a son in his father's house 33:39 is now actually even considering 33:41 going back as a servant. 33:45 And he begins to compose his speech. 33:50 Verse 18 "I will arise and go to my father, 33:52 I will say to him, Father, 33:53 I have sinned against heaven 33:54 and against you or before you". 33:59 Verse 19 "And I am no longer worthy 34:01 to be called your son. 34:05 Make me like one of the hired servants". 34:14 We call this phase repentance and notice something, 34:19 you know, there is a lot of ideas of repentance. 34:22 I'd say there is a lot of false repentance. 34:23 There is a lot of people who'll say, 34:25 oh, yeah, I'm a sinner, I'm going to accept Jesus. 34:30 But they don't ever really serve him. 34:33 Notice the true repentance 34:35 always brings about reformation. 34:38 True repentance always brings about reformations. 34:41 This young prideful man who wasn't willing to live 34:44 as a son in his father's house, 34:45 now willing to live as a servant, why? 34:47 Something has changed. 34:50 He is willing to come home 34:51 and he is going to repent before his father. 34:58 I will arise and go to my father, 34:59 but I want to tell you, we're not still 35:01 we're still not to the point of conversion 35:02 in the young man's life. 35:05 We're still not to the point of conversion 35:07 and the reason is this, he actually believed. 35:11 Now he has a new view of his father. 35:13 Remember, dad was so restrictive 35:15 before I got to get out, I'm not free at home, 35:17 all his rules are oppressive. 35:19 Now he is actually saying you know, 35:20 I'll be willing to go back. 35:24 But there is a problem, 35:26 he still, he actually believes his father will 35:29 take him back as a servant. 35:31 He still doesn't see the true character of his father. 35:33 He still hasn't realized 35:35 the true character of his father. 35:39 So he has got his speech ready 35:40 and he begins to come home. 35:42 Now the Bible tells us, verse 20 35:47 "And he arose and came to his father, 35:49 but when he was still what, 35:52 a great way off his father saw him". 35:58 I want you to think about something with me. 36:02 None of us sitting here this morning 36:04 can see somebody a great way off. 36:09 We can't see somebody a great way off, 36:12 primarily because we're not looking for anybody. 36:16 When the Bible says, the father saw his son 36:19 a great way off. 36:22 That tells us that the father had been watching for his son. 36:30 Furthermore the Bible gives us no indication 36:32 whatsoever about how long the son was gone, 36:34 was it two months, whether its six months, 36:36 was it a year, was it five years, 36:38 was it ten years, we don't know. 36:44 All we know is that--neither did the father know, 36:47 neither did that father know, which tells us that day in, 36:52 day out, he was looking 36:54 and longing for his son to come home. 36:59 And some of you here are parents, 37:02 who have children who've not accepted the, Lord Jesus. 37:07 Maybe at one time they did and they've fallen away 37:09 and you pray for them and you long for them 37:12 and you watch for them. 37:13 Don't give up hope. Don't give up hope. 37:16 We don't know how long that son was gone, 37:18 but that father did not give up hope. 37:20 Day in, day out, he waited, 37:21 he watched, he prayed when will my son come home. 37:27 And when one day he looked off 37:29 in the distance and he saw, 37:31 down the road he saw his son. 37:35 A way off in the distance the Bible says, 37:37 that the father begin to walk out to the son, 37:45 and met him on the roadside and said all right young man, 37:48 we've got to deal with some things here, 37:50 first and foremost you are on probation. 37:54 Is what the Bible tells us, look at what it says, 37:59 "When the father looked he saw he watched 38:02 and he saw his son a great way off. 38:07 Verse 20, "His father saw him 38:09 and had compassion, and ran, 38:13 and fell on his neck, and kissed him. 38:18 And the son said to him, 38:19 'Father, I have sinned against heaven 38:20 and in your sight, 38:22 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. 38:23 But the father said to his servants, 38:25 bring out the best robe, and put it on him". 38:31 Clean up this smelly boy of mine, 38:33 keep in mind he was out there slopping the pigs. 38:37 Notice, it doesn't say 38:38 the father told him clean him up 38:41 and then bring him back 38:42 and I'm gonna hug him and kissed him. 38:45 That smelly boy came home with his rags 38:47 and that father was not hindered in running 38:50 and throwing his arms around his son and kissing him. 38:55 And then he told his servants, 38:56 come over here and take this son of mine 38:59 and put the best robes on him. 39:03 And put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 39:09 Now there's something here you might not pickup 39:11 and I want to bring out to you. 39:13 That ring was not just the father said 39:15 hey, go down to the local jewelry shop 39:16 and pick up a nice little ring to put on 39:18 and say I have nice you know, fancy ring to wear. 39:22 In those days the ring and influential family 39:24 like that would have a ring 39:26 that was called a signet ring, 39:27 it was like the family check book. 39:33 This son had gone and blown his inheritance 39:37 and yet when the Bible says, the father said get the ring 39:42 and putting on him. 39:44 What it's telling us is that 39:45 when the father received his son back, 39:47 he received him fully instated 39:49 to the position he was in before he left. 39:55 You know, friends our heavenly father 39:57 longs for us to come home. 39:59 Longs for us, it doesn't matter 40:01 where we've been, what we've done, 40:03 he longs for us to come home. 40:06 Ready to throw his arms of love around us, 40:09 to cloth us in the robe of his righteousness, 40:13 and to fully reinstate us to his original idea 40:17 and plan for our lives. 40:21 What a beautiful picture 40:22 of our heavenly father in this story 40:26 and as the son begins to blew out his little speech, 40:28 father forgive me, 40:29 the father doesn't even pay attention to it. 40:33 He fully accepts his son back. 40:43 Now what's taken place here? 40:47 Has the father changed, 40:48 did the father say you know what son, 40:50 I'm gonna change all the rules 40:52 and now you just say you come home 40:54 and you'll enjoy things here. 40:57 No, there is nothing wrong with the rules 41:00 the father had. 41:01 It wasn't the rules, 41:02 it was the son's understanding, 41:04 or misunderstanding of his father in who he wants. 41:09 You know, there are Christians today, 41:10 there are even people professed to follow, Christ, 41:12 to say you know, what? 41:13 I don't think we need to be keeping 41:14 God's commandments anymore. 41:17 They are too restrictive, they take away our freedom, 41:19 we're just like that son, we want to run away, 41:22 there is too many rules, God gives us too many rules, 41:24 we have this perceived idea of freedom. 41:28 And sometimes God just let us carry it out 41:30 and go out into a far country 41:31 and find himself in a barren land. 41:34 Until we began to be in want 41:35 and we realize it's not the rules that God has, 41:38 it's my own carnal heart that's holding me back. 41:41 There is my own sinful desires 41:44 that make me feel restricted. 41:52 Has the father changed? 41:53 No, the change was in the son. 41:56 When the son came and he gave the speech 41:58 and then the father fully accepted him back 42:01 that's where the point goes 42:03 where we cross from conviction 42:04 to repentance to conversion, 42:07 because full conversion comes when we gain a true picture 42:13 of our loving heavenly Father, who He really is. 42:18 We realize, it is not this vengeful, God, 42:20 who simply wants us to serve Him, 42:22 because he is larger and in charge, 42:24 I'm, God, and you're not, serve me. 42:26 We come to the understanding that everything, 42:28 God, asks of us is to give us the freedom indeed, 42:33 that He alone can give. 42:39 Now we can end the story here would be fantastic, 42:41 but we can't because the story continues on. 42:44 Remember the man didn't have one son, 42:47 he had two sons. 42:52 He had two sons and picking up in our story. 43:03 Verse 23, "And bring the fatted calf here 43:05 and kill it, and let us eat and be merry". 43:08 Verse 24, "For this my son was dead 43:10 and is alive again, he was lost and he's found. 43:15 And they began to be merry. 43:18 Now his older son was in the field, 43:20 and as he came and drew near to the house, 43:23 and he heard the music and the dancing. 43:25 He called one of the servants 43:26 and asks what these things meant. 43:28 And he said to him, your brother has come home, 43:31 and because he has received him safe and sound, 43:33 your father has killed the fatted calf. 43:36 And the young man says, my brother is home, 43:38 I want to go and see him, I want to go throw 43:40 my arms around him and welcome him. 43:44 Is that the Bible says, all that it would say that. 43:52 No, the Bible says, that he was angry. 44:00 Verse 28, "But he was angry 44:02 and would not go in, therefore the father came out 44:07 and pleaded with him. 44:10 And so he answered and said to his father, 44:13 "Lo, these many years I have been serving you, 44:16 I never transgressed your commandment at any time, 44:20 and yet you never gave me a young goat, 44:22 that I might make merry with my friends." 44:25 But as soon as this son of yours came, 44:30 he disowned his brother in his own heart, 44:32 disowned his brother. 44:34 As soon as this son of yours came, 44:36 who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, 44:39 you killed the fatted calf for him. 44:43 And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, 44:48 and all that I have is yours. 44:52 'It was right that we should make merry and be glad, 44:54 for your brother was dead and is alive 44:58 and was lost and is found.'" 45:10 The older brother was angry, he was angry, 45:17 because he said I've never done the things 45:20 that my brother has done. 45:22 I've always been a faithful servant to you, 45:24 it's not fair. 45:28 It's not fair, why I had to live here 45:30 and follow all these rules and he never had to 45:33 and then he comes all he gets the same thing as me. 45:39 Jesus told a parable, about people working in vineyard. 45:45 The vineyard owner came out at the beginning of a day, 45:49 he saw some men standing around, 45:50 he says hey, listen I need some helpers. 45:54 Who of you need work? 45:55 Some of the guys say yeah, we could use some work, 45:56 come on out work for me, I'll pay your denarius a day. 45:59 They said good, 46:01 we could use the money, we could use the work, 46:02 they came out they begin to work for him. 46:04 Later on that day 46:06 the vineyard owner was in town, 46:07 he sees some other men standing idle 46:09 in the market places. 46:10 Why you're standing idle around here, 46:11 I can put you to work if you want to work, 46:12 they said great we love too. 46:13 He says come on now, I'll hire you for denarius a day. 46:18 At the end of the work day he goes out again 46:20 find some men standing around, 46:21 he says, why you're wasting your time 46:23 standing around, I need help, you want to work? 46:25 They said sure, we want to work. 46:26 He says come on out, I'll pay you denarius. 46:30 And at the end of the day when the work is done, 46:32 everybody comes to get their money. 46:36 The men who were there from the morning, 46:38 he hands them denarius, 46:40 the men who are there at noon, 46:41 he hands a denarius, and then here come those 46:43 who came at the end of the day 46:44 and he gives them the same pay. 46:47 And the people are irate, they says this is unfair. 46:50 How come, I'm working all the day along, 46:53 these guys come and work one hour 46:55 and they get the same pay as me. 47:00 The master said listen, 47:02 you thought it was fair when you started, 47:03 why isn't fair now. 47:08 You know, some of us a Christians, 47:10 some of us feel that way, we say I've been Christian, 47:12 I've been Christian my whole life, 47:14 it's not fair, we have some of these 47:15 new people come into the church, 47:16 they make these recent decisions 47:17 and they gets as much recognition as me. 47:22 Well, just like the older brother, 47:25 well, just like the older brother, 47:26 how come I never got to do, how come I never got to do. 47:29 My young brother went out and he got and went around, 47:31 he got to go to the parties, he got to go to the clubs, 47:34 he got to do all the stuff, 47:35 I never got to do any of that. 47:38 And now he gets the same thing I get. 47:42 Question, did the older brother enjoy 47:47 living in the father's house 47:48 anymore than the younger brother did. 47:51 The reality is no, just because he stayed at home, 47:56 it doesn't mean he appreciated 47:58 the rules of his father's house 48:00 anymore than the son, it doesn't mean 48:02 he appreciated the living in his father's house 48:03 anymore rather than his brother. 48:11 The only reason he stayed was 48:12 he thought he get some extra payoff out of it, 48:14 and that's way some of us are. 48:17 Sometimes we're like older brothers, 48:18 they are prodigals, there are prodigals that are out, 48:20 some of you're prodigals tonight. 48:24 Some of you're prodigals where, 48:26 you feel that you've been wandered away, 48:30 you've been in a far country, 48:33 you wandered away from the, Lord, 48:34 and you feel the need to comeback. 48:37 Some are older brothers, we've been in the house, 48:41 the whole time, they've been in the father's house, 48:44 but we felt restricted. 48:48 We didn't like all the rules 48:49 anymore than our younger brother did. 48:52 But we stuck around, 48:54 because at least we get a payoff, 48:56 at least we'll be viewed better 48:57 by the father it's not-- 49:00 That's an obscure picture of who God is 49:04 and what He wants for us. 49:08 Notice what the father says to that brother. 49:17 The father says son, verse 31, 49:21 "You are always with me 49:24 and all that I have is yours". 49:31 What the father saying is to his older son, 49:33 son you're missing the point. 49:36 You are looking at what you didn't get to do 49:39 instead of what you have gotten to do. 49:43 You're looking at what your younger brother did 49:44 as though that the prize, when the reality is 49:47 you had the opportunity to build the relationship with me 49:50 that he has not had. 49:52 All that we would value, 49:55 the opportunity we have to know God and, 49:58 Jesus Christ, to who ascend 50:00 above the frivolous things of this world. 50:04 All that we would appreciate 50:06 the blessings of being in the father's house, 50:10 of being one of God's children. 50:13 There are people in this world 50:14 who've not yet accepted, Jesus Christ. 50:16 There are some of you here 50:17 who've not yet accepted, Jesus Christ. 50:20 The blessings and the privilege 50:21 is not being out and living 50:24 for what the world has to offer, 50:25 the blessing is being in the father's house. 50:31 The father tells his son, 50:32 you've been with me all along, 50:33 you have gotten the prize, you've really gotten 50:38 what your son-what your brother never did. 50:41 He has missed out on years. 50:45 And the best we can do is try to make up for it, 50:48 the best we can. 50:52 The true prize friends, 50:53 is being in the presence of the father. 51:02 In the Christian classics Steps to Christ, 51:05 page 44, it says this. 51:09 "There are those who profess to serve God, 51:12 while their hearts are not moved 51:13 by any deep sense of the love of Christ, 51:16 they seek to perform 51:18 the duties of the Christian life 51:20 as that which God requires of them 51:22 in order to gain heaven". 51:24 Friends we don't live a Christian life 51:26 in order to gain heaven. 51:28 We live a Christian life, 51:29 because by the grace of, Jesus, 51:30 we have gain heaven in Him. 51:38 Such religion, it goes on to say is worth nothing. 51:42 A profession of, Christ, 51:43 without this deep love is mere talk, 51:47 dry formality, and heavy drudgery". 51:50 That was the older brother, he was in the house, 51:55 but he didn't enjoy being in his father's presence 51:57 anymore than his younger brother had. 52:03 The true prize is being in the presence of the father. 52:07 True freedom is abiding in the father's word. 52:13 Some of us still chafe under the rules. 52:18 Churches today are catering to the carnal hearts, 52:22 appealing to those who feel the church 52:23 is too restrictive. 52:25 You got coffee bars, you got arcades, 52:27 you get all kinds of business in churches today. 52:30 Where we think, well, this is the problem, 52:32 we need to lighten up the rules. 52:35 Notice something in the parable 52:36 that did not happen. 52:39 We have a clear, 52:44 a clear exhibition of the father's love. 52:48 There is no question, 52:49 when that father is looking day in day out, 52:51 looking down the road and he saw his son 52:52 long way off that he went and embraced him, 52:54 there is no question. 52:55 We can have no question about the father's love 52:57 for his son, but notice 52:58 something the father never did. 53:01 The father never ran after His son 53:04 to bring him home, why? 53:09 Because the son would have only run away again, 53:13 as much as the father loved the son, 53:15 he knew he couldn't go and drag his son back home, 53:18 it had to be his son's choice. 53:21 Friend, God, will not drag you into His service, 53:24 God will not drag you into serving Him. 53:30 God will only draw and appeal and invite. 53:34 But it must be our choice, 53:38 because if it's not our choice, 53:40 nothing will keep us in the presence of the father. 53:43 We've got to desire Him. 53:47 There are churches today they're trying to appeal, 53:49 to these prodigals by changing the rules 53:53 of the father's house, that's not going 53:55 to bring that anything about. 53:58 We've not yet learned 53:59 that true freedom is not doing whatever we want, 54:01 whenever we want. 54:04 True freedom is abiding in Christ word 54:06 and dwelling in the presence of the father. 54:13 The younger brother left home in search of freedom. 54:20 Supposing he would find it 54:22 in a reckless unrestraint life 54:25 in a distant land. 54:31 He learned the true freedom 54:32 was abiding in his father's house 54:34 and living according to his father's will 54:38 in his father's presence. 54:44 The older brother had true freedom all along, 54:49 but he didn't recognize it or appreciated. 54:54 Do we, do we appreciate the freedom 54:59 we have in knowing, Christ, and His will for our lives 55:03 or do we chafe under rules. 55:07 Do we appreciate the true freedom 55:13 that, Christ, offers us? 55:17 Maybe the question I had asked is 55:19 do you really want to be free? 55:23 Do we really want the freedom that God is offering us, 55:27 not this world's brand of freedom 55:28 that will only live you desolate 55:30 and empty in a barren land, but true freedom, 55:34 the freedom that comes from committing 55:36 your life to Jesus Christ? 55:40 Friends you're not watching this program by accident. 55:43 Some of you've been keenly impressed 55:46 that you've been playing the part of the prodigal. 55:49 You thought you knew a better way than God's way. 55:52 You were tired of all the rules 55:53 and you didn't realize 55:55 that the rules in the father's house 55:57 are for your own happiness. 56:01 Today you felt that you're in a distant land, 56:07 far from your father's house. 56:11 You felt the emptiness of the famine in that land 56:13 and you've longed for something more in your life. 56:17 Just know you can hear 56:18 the Holy Spirit speaking to you, 56:21 He is speaking to your heart and saying arise 56:24 and go to your father. 56:27 What would hold you back? 56:30 The Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart 56:32 and saying arise go to your father, 56:34 he will take you, he will receive you in his arms. 56:38 Fully reinstated as a son, as a daughter of God. 56:44 Is that your desire today? 56:47 Is that your desire today, friends? 56:52 God wants us to be free indeed. 56:58 Free Indeed with the freedom 57:00 that comes from knowing Jesus. 57:05 He says to you now, come home, come home. 57:11 Friend, will you come? 57:14 Will you come back to your heavenly father? |
Revised 2014-12-17