From Prodigal to Pilgrim
Luke 15: 11-24
11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again*; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Introduction: The greatest thing about Christianity is that we are never too far from God’s grace. It’s not that far to the Father’s house. There is a song entitled “Farther Than Your Grace Can Reach” written by Jonathan Pierce and I like the refrain…
No fault, no wrong, no dark of night
Can hide me from Your eyes
I cannot fall or climb
Farther than Your grace can reach
This is the story of the prodigal that became a pilgrim.
First, let’s look at:
I. The Prodigal
a. The choice – a problem child
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
Several words can be used to describe his behavior…
He is restless…
He was reckless…
b. The Conduct – the pleasure
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
The prodigal son, or lost son, was an abuser of grace. Grace is most often defined as unmerited or unearned favor. He had a loving father, a good home, provision, a future, and an inheritance, but he traded it all in for temporal pleasures. We are the prodigal son.
It’s a broad road to hell and a narrow road home Jesus said.
Matthew 7:13-14
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
c. The Cost – the pain
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
15 And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
16 And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
His family
His funds
His food
His friends
At some point the prodigal becomes a pilgrim…
II. The Pilgrim
a. The Wake-up
17 And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
Two things happened that changed everything. First, he said I don’t like this hog pen and second, things are better at the Father’s house. That was the turning point in his life. There is a term for this change. It’s called repentance. It’s defined as turning from sin to God. If we would find our way to the Father’s house we must repent.
Unless we see ourselves as unworthy, we cannot possibly fall upon the grace of God. Unless we realize that we are spiritually destitute, we will never be saved. It is only the needy who reach out for help or saving.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
b. The Way Home
There are many bad choices we can make in life but it only takes one right choice to find our way home.
18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
19 And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
ILL - Forgiveness works like this, " No matter how many steps we take away from Jesus, it only takes one step to get back, and He comes running", Steve Gulbronson
c. The Welcome
Any time that a sinner is saved there is joy. Joy for the sinner; joy for the saints; and joy in heaven.
Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
20 And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
21 And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
23 And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again*; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
A GOOD MOTHER
(a classic illustration by D. L. Moody)
A young man went home from one of our meetings some time ago. He had been converted. He had previously been a dissipated young man. His mother had made it a rule, she told me, that she "would not retire till he came home." That was her rule, she said, "never to go to bed till my boy was at home.
If he did not come home till five o’clock in the morning, I sat up, and when he was out all night I got no sleep; but when he came home I always met him with a kiss. I threw my arms around his neck. I treated him just as if he was kind, attentive and good. Sometimes he would be out all night. Those nights I would not go to bed. He used to know it.
One night he came home. I looked to see if he was under the influence of liquor. He came up to me, and he said, ’Mother, I have been converted,’ and then I fell on his neck and embraced him, and wept over him tears of joy. Why," said she, "Mr. Moody, you don’t know what joy it gave me. I cannot tell you. You don’t know what a load it took off my heart. You don’t know how I praised God that my prayers had been answered."
Finally,
Homeless Man Comes Home to His Mother
In 1988 there was a story in the LA Times entitled “A Mother’s Search for Russell Love.” It told of a woman in Houston named Beverly Elliott. She had not seen her son, Russell Love, for four years and had not heard from him in two years; but she knew he was homeless somewhere in Los Angeles County. The FBI and L.A. Police said they could not help her. Longing for her son to come home, in October she ran a personal ad in the Times for twelve days. It read, “Russell L. Love from Houston or anyone knowing where he lives, please call his mother collect: 713-447-5968. Russell, your mother will never forget you. She loves you!” She desperately hoped someone would get in touch with her. A man named Ralph Campbell, who had spent twenty five years living on the street, had once given some extra sandwiches to a friend. He remembered that this friend had turned to another homeless man and said, Russ, do you want a sandwich?” Campbell phoned the newspaper. He led a reporter to some shipping containers in a parking lot. There were some bedrolls there just where he thought this Russ might be sleeping. The next morning the reporter returned and saw a young, blond man asleep, rolled up in a bright yellow blanket. When he awoke, he lay there and smoked a cigarette. The reporter asked if he was Russell Love. He said he was. “Your mother wants you to call her,” said the reporter. On Friday he did so. They talked three more times over the next week and after she sent him some money Russell flew home. Upon his return they “grabbed each other and hugged and hugged.” Said Russell, “It feels great to be home.” I’d say Russell was ecstatic.
It feels good to be home. Today you have the opportunity to come home, to return to your Father. He has not forgotten you and He never will. He will always love you. Jesus is waiting for you, to take you there. All He needs is you. You are, after all, the one He came for in the first place. COME HOME.
From a sermon by Curry Pikkaart, Living in Ecstasy, 12/26/2009
CHRIST TRANSFORMS A PRISONER
Chuck Colson tells story after story of men in prison who had committed crimes, but who came to Christ and were thoroughly converted. No one would have guessed that some of these men would be devout followers of Christ one day.
One such story was the account of a man named Danny. Danny had been a fighter, and he was in prison for murdering a man named John Gilbert. But someone gave him a Bible, and as he read it, he found himself being attracted to the Jesus he was reading about. Colson tells his story: "The more Danny felt drawn to Jesus, the more he saw himself in a new light. He was used to comparing himself to the guy on the next bar stool, and that way he usually didn't look so bad. But when he compared himself to Jesus, he started to feel afraid. This man who never raised his fists scared him as nobody else ever had. He also read the passages about people being 'cast into outer darkness,' where there was 'weeping' and 'gnashing of teeth.'
Danny knew something about darkness... Lying on his bunk at night, Danny began to review his whole life, horrified by the person he had become. He saw himself living for his next drink, his next coke party; he saw himself using women. His last girlfriend had been good to him, but he would have thrown her away for the next quarter ounce of coke. In fact, he probably had.
That next Sunday, when the guard called out for people who wanted to be let out of their cells to attend chapel, Danny shouted, 'Cell 16.' But he sat like a stone through the service, hearing little. He was there to ask a question. Afterward, he approached Chaplain Bob Hansen and asked him if the passages he had read about outer darkness were really about hell.
'Yes,' said the chaplain.
'Then I'm in big trouble,' Danny said.
'When you get back to your cell, get on your knees by your bunk,' said the chaplain. 'Confess your sins to God, and pray for Jesus Christ to come into your heart.'
Danny did just that. In his cell, he knelt, confessed that he was a sinner, and asked Christ to be his Lord. As he did, he kept remembering horrible things he had done, and the memories brought both pain and an eagerness to be forgiven. Talking to God seemed like carrying on a conversation with someone he had missed all along without knowing it. He could almost hear God replying through a silence that echoed his sorrow and embraced it. Danny not only felt heard, he also felt understood, received. He slept that night. And every night afterward."
Eventually, Danny was released from prison, got married and had five children. He then graduated from Wheaton College and was ordained. He went on to work with troubled kids in Boston, and then was offered a job as prison chaplain. He had been very far from the Father, but turned around and began to work in the Father's vineyard.
There are many stories like Danny's. And, conversely, there are many stories of religious leaders in our time whose lives are full of hypocrisy and lies. We have all read their stories and heard about their corruption and fall. What appears to be is not always what is. Those who appear to be working for God and living for him are not always the ones who are. Those who appear to be far from God are not always as far as they seem. Jesus' words ring true: "But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first" (Matthew 19:30).
(From a sermon by Rodney Buchanan, The Will to Believe, 9/25/2012)
