“OH, WHAT A SAVIOR!”
Luke 15:11-24
David P. Nolte
Jesus: King of kings and Lord of lords. Virgin born Revelation of God in the form of man. Sinless High Priest. Compassionate advocate and intercessor. Savior of all who believe. And, what a Savior He is!
The text for today is one familiar to all of us. It is one that speaks of our rebellion and separation; it speaks of the Father’s willingness to allow us free-will. It manifests the bleak situation in the far country, away from home and Father. It reveals the action of repentance and restoration. It reveals the gladness of a gracious Father as contrasted with the darkness of an unloving heart. They call it “the Parable of the Prodigal Son” because of the prodigality, the wasteful squandering of resources, of that wayward young man.
“A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. "Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.” Luke 15:11-16 (NASB).
To me, the key figure is the Father. He provided the wealth; he gave the boy freedom; he kept the light of love burning; he ran to embrace the returning boy; and he provided the royal welcome. He represents our Father, our God, our Lord – our Savior! And Oh, what a Savior is mine!
He is a wonderful Savior!
I. BECAUSE HE SAVES THOSE WHO WANDER:
A. “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.'” I’ll paraphrase the implication of his request: “Hey, Dad – it doesn’t look like you are going to be kicking the bucket anytime soon, and I don’t want to wait until then to inherit, so how about divvying it up premortem?” “So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.”
B. Man! That world out there looked good to this guy.
1. But he viewed it through the eyes of immaturity and naivete.
2. His vision was clouded by false expectations of “the good life!”
3. What he thought would be the epitome of enjoyment turned out to be the depths of despair.
4. He wanted what he wanted when he wanted it which was “Now!” The starry-eyed son wandered from home in pursuit of freedom, fun, food, and the “fantastic life!” Well, that was his plan, but as Solomon said, “Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word.” Proverbs 16:1 (MSG).
C. Why didn’t the father stop him or argue with him or deny his request?
1. From the beginning in Eden God gave humankind the right to choose to obey or to disobey.
2. The father rightly surmised that the consequences would be harsh and a better lesson than a lecture.
3. Besides, we are not robots with no senses. The result is that we might make very poor choices and create our own dilemma. We wander wherever our whimsy leads and then we find ourselves in the far country being a pig’s maitre d’.
D. Like that boy, we wander into the far country when
1. we neglect our devotional time..
2. we fall in love with this world.
3. we allow the ungodly to influence us.
4. we allow fear or favor to draw us away from the Lord and we take our eyes off of Jesus.
5. As Solomon said, “Because you hated Knowledge and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God, Because you wouldn't take my advice and brushed aside all my offers to train you, Well, you've made your bed—now lie in it; you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?” Proverbs 1:29-31 (MSG).
6. Then, when we wander off the right path to our own destination, and when things foul up, who gets the blame? Solomon said, “People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed?” Proverbs 19:3 (MSG).
E. An ancient Scottish legend illustrates the peril of wandering away and forgetting the best things. A shepherd boy was tending a few sheep on the side of a mountain. One day he wandered from the flock and came to a huge cave. There was a door to the cave and it was closed. And as he was looking around, he noticed a very beautiful flower.
The boy knelt down and pulled out the flower in his hands. He was admiring it when suddenly there was a loud noise. He looked up and saw the doors to the cave opening up right before his eyes. There were bright lights that shine from the inside of the mountain.
With the flower in his hands, the shepherd boy rushed inside. And his eyes widened because he saw piles of sparkling gold, diamonds, precious stones and jewelry. He dropped the flower and began to gather the riches in his arms. Finally, with all that his arms could carry, the boy turned and started to leave the cave. Suddenly a voice said to him, "Don’t forget the best."
Thinking that perhaps he had overlooked some choice piece of treasure, the boy turned around and quickly picked up additional pieces of priceless treasure. As his arms literally overflowed with the treasures, he began to run out of the mountain cave. Again the voice said, "Don’t forget the best."
But the boy’s arms were filled, and he hurried outside. All of a sudden, there was a loud noise. The boy looked around and saw the mountain cave closing its doors.
A third time the shepherd boy heard the voice, and this time it said, "You forgot the best. For the beautiful flower is the key to the vault of the mountain."
The prodigal forgot the best when he left home. We forget the best when we wander away from God! When we forget Jesus we are cut off from His treasures. As the hymn says, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love, Here's my heart. O take and seal it; Seal it for thy courts above.” We wander but still He can save!
II. BECAUSE HE SAVES BY GRACE:
A. “So 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.”
B. The song said, “There, on the cross, where He died for my sin, Oh, what a Savior is mine! Giving His life a poor wand’rer to win, Oh, what a Savior is mine! Rising again in His infinite grace, Oh, what a Savior is mine! Shedding upon me the light of His face, Oh, what a Savior is mine!”
C. Here is where the grace comes in:
1. The boy did nothing to endear himself to the father. He did no good work to merit his reception. He had not earned a position in the home.
2. But even before he declared his delinquency the delighted dad dashed to down the dirt road to declared him desirable! That’s a picture of grace!
D. Grace is a profound concept and a firm assurance: John Newton (Possibly Rob’s ancestor) called it “Amazing Grace!”
1. Amazing because it is free. You’d think God would exact some payment for forgiving our sins, but He doesn’t.
2. Amazing because it is for the worst of sinners.
3. Amazing because it is tireless and unrelenting.
4. Amazing because it is powerful enough to
a. Save us from sin. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB).
b. Empower us to handle adversity. God told Paul about that when instead of removing Paul’s ailment, He said, “ My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB).
c. Provide for our needs, and the needs of others through us. “ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, "He scattered abroad, He gave to the poor, His righteousness endures forever." 2 Corinthians 9:8-9 (NASB).
E. Here’s a simple illustration of grace. A man was driving when he noticed a turtle working to make his way across the hot pavement of the county road. He steered to pass over the turtle, wondering if he would ever make it to the side of the road before being run over or boiled to death in his shell. He turned the car around and headed back for the turtle which had made pitiful progress, making his way step by heated step toward the side of the road. The man stopped, got out of the car, picked up the turtle and moved it into the grass on the side of the road.
The man continued his journey home thinking about that turtle which had no idea who or what the man was, let alone what he was trying to do for him. He had no clue that the man purposed to help him.
The man pondered the question; “Where would I be now if God were too busy to turn aside and save me?”
As the man showed grace to the turtle and rescued it frm death -God has graciously turned to us and saved us! Oh, what a savior He is:
III. BECAUSE HE SAVES TO THE UTTERMOST:
A. “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 fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.”
1. There was no miserliness. Dad was no piker! It wasn’t “Hey, Ruben! Toss a couple turkey dogs on the grill – the brat’s back!”
2. It was prime rib and all the trimmings ! (I’ll take mine medium and without horseradish, please!)– a meal fit for a king! Far beyond the boy’s expectation
B. We cannot fathom the magnitude of what God has in store for us!
1. “Just as it is written, "Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NASB).
2. Our wildest whimsies; our greatest guesses; our “fantasticest” fancies don’t even come close to the reality of His salvation!
C. The song said, “Oh, what a Savior! Oh, what a Savior! Oh, what a Savior is mine! Unto the uttermost, wonderful, glorious! Oh, what a Savior is mine!”
D. When He saves to the uttermost,
1. He saves to the full extent of our guilt.
2. He saves to the depths of our despair.
3. He saves to the farthest reaches of our wandering.
4. He saves us to the lowest level of our failures.
E. Nobody else can save like Jesus does. Let me illustrate. An officer in Napoleon’s army who was devotedly and enthusiastically attached to him was mortally wounded in battle. As the last struggle drew near and he lay dying in his tent he sent for his chief. Napoleon came. The poor man thought his emperor could do anything. He earnestly pleaded with his leader to save his life. The emperor sadly shook his head and turned away. But as the dying man felt the cold, merciless hand of death drawing him irresistibly behind the curtain of the unseen world, he was still heard to shriek out, “Save me, Napoleon! Napoleon could not save him and he died in anguish of soul
People cry out to their good deeds, “Save me!” They cry out to religion, “Save me!” They cry out to their good intentions, “Save me!” They cry out to their sincerity, “Save me!” These things cannot save us – but Jesus can– and does to the uttermost!
PRAY / INVITE
If you have not done so, believe in Jesus, repent of and turn from your sins, be buried in baptism and then live fort Him Who saved you so graciously and completely. Decide that and then do that as we sing, “I Am Thine, O Lord.”
