Note: I would note that Loran Livingston had an influence of ideas in this message. I listened to his message on May 21 on Pentecost Sunday.
Title: Bring them to Jesus
Theme: It is important that we bring our prodigal children to Jesus and lay them at His feet.
Text: Mark 9:17 - 19
Opening Scripture
Mark 9:17-19 Then one of the crowd answered and said, "Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. (18) And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not." (19) He answered him and said, "O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me."
Introduction
Let me summarize the story. Jesus, Peter, James & John had just come down from the mountain. It was a glorious experience. God appeared affirmed whom Christ is, “This is my son in whom I am well pleased”. Elijah and Moses appeared, pillars of the prophets and the law. It was a “mountain top experience”. It was enough that Peter wanted to stay. (You have been there where you just want to stay in His presence.)
But it seems in this life we all must come down. So down the mountain Jesus and his three disciples comes. Then at the bottom of the mountain they are met by a man who has a son that is full of a demon.
Notice what this father says, “I brought You my son”. It was my intention on bringing him to you.
It is no doubt that he was exhausted. If he is like most parents, he had tried everything to help his son. When he first exhibited these characteristics no doubt, he took him to the doctor. They probably prescribed some cure to no avail. He probably took him to the religious leaders.
This story reminds me of the challenge of every parent. First of all, the challenge of helping a child grow in the Lord. Second the challenge of keeping the Lord before them. Then finally what to do when they rebel. What to do when they follow a different path.
Two weeks from now we will focus on Keeping Your Children in Jesus. Next Sunday is our family day. We will celebrate Family Day together.
What did the father do? What did Jesus do?
Father: Brought him to Jesus
Jesus: Bring him to Me
Bring your family to Jesus
You know the story: A group of people brought some little children to Jesus so He would lay hands on them. The disciples rebuked the people and wanted to send them away. Perhaps they thought the children were bothering Christ; He had more important things to do. Jesus corrects them saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:13-15)
This was not taught. It was the desire of these parents to bring these children to Jesus. Why? So that Jesus could lay hands on them. He could bless them.
Lesson: It is never too early or too late to bring your child to Jesus.
This starts at birth. We bring them to Jesus. We pray over them. We live as example and expectation to participate in the call of God in their lives.
Do not despise their youth. God can use them at a Young age.
Acts 2:17 'AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAYS GOD, THAT I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL FLESH; YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS. (Joel 2:28)
Bring your prodigal to Jesus – prodigal son
There is a chance they will stray. Stray from the Lord. Stray from their call. This is what happened to the prodigal son.
No doubt the father prayed. The story does not tell us this, but we see this father as God. No doubt that he prayed for the safety of his son.
Did he know where he was at? Good question. Did word get back that he was in the city having a party? Maybe. Did he hear as son fell on hard times and found himself in a pig pen? Probably so. But he never stopped praying. He never stopped hoping.
He put his faith in God that one day his child would come home.
Luke 15:20-24 "And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still 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 to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' (22) "But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. (23) And bring the fatted calf here 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.
Job offered sacrifices for his children – the mercy and grace of God shown in parents.
Job offered sacrifices for his children just in case they sinned. In other words, he never stopped interceding for them. He never became callous and disconnected from them. We forget that God did the same for us. We were all prodigals running from God at one time.
It takes different times for different prodigals.
Don’t do this alone
Notice that the man, who could not find Jesus, brought his son to the disciples
Jesus said in, Mat 18:19-20 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. (20) For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."
Remember this is a spiritual battle
We make this application to ourselves and the people around us, but what about our prodigal. Do we see it as a spiritual battle or just rebellion against us?
Ephesians 6:10-20 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. (11) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. (12) For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (13) Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (14) Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, (15) and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; (16) above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. (17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; (18) praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— (19) and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, (20) for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Pray Effectively
Effective Prayer (from How One Mom Prayed for Her Prodigal Child, and Her Encouragement for Other Parents - Blog - Eternal Perspective Ministries (epm.org)
Al Mohler Quote : “Although the Bible offers a great deal of guidance on how we can deepen our communication with the Creator, effective prayer has more to do with the one doing the praying than it does with how we are to pray.” Scripture says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16), and the, “Eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer” (1 Peter 3:12; Psalm 34:15), and, “The prayer of the upright pleases Him” (Proverbs 15:8).
Jehoshaphat
In 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat called his people to pray and fast when a vast army of enemies was coming against him. He inquired of the Lord and sought His help, realizing he had no power to face the enemy. He cried out to the Lord in their distress to save them and said, “We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” They praised God for the things He had done and what He can do because of His power. “Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.” The Lord said to them, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” So they worshiped God and praised Him with voice and song. The Lord set ambushes against their enemies, and they were defeated.
Advice
1. Remember we were all there at one time
2. Repent for the mistakes. Even before your children. And move on.
3. Room. Give God room to work. He is working.
4. Rest. Do not push them away with ultimatums and broken relationships.
5. Reveal. Pray for them at church but do not gossip about them. There is a big difference.
Conclusion
Here are some scriptures that you can declare and pray over for your child:
Philippians 1:6, Psalm 121, Psalm 91
Php 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
Psalms 121:1-8 A Song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? (2) My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. (3) He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. (4) Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. (5) The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. (6) The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. (7) The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. (8) The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.
Psalms 91:1-16 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. (2) I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." (3) Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence. (4) He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. (5) You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, (6) Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. (7) A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. (8) Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. (9) Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, (10) No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; (11) For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
(12) In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. (13) You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. (14) "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. (15) He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. (16) With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."
These are not positive confessions but a trust in the God who created us.
So as we close this message I would like us to take time to pray over our prodigals. Also I would like us to place their names in this bucket, if you have not. This is very serious. So stand. If you have a prodigal you are praying for will you join me down here?
Prodigal Grieving
The first stage of grief is shock. This is when you first find out about their choice to leave God, and/or you, or about the secret life they’ve been hiding.
Denial is the second stage of grief, and can last days or decades. You simply refuse to accept or believe that your child has chosen to take this.
Anger is the next stage. You feel angry that they choose to reject God, and often you and/or your spouse, and sometimes the whole family. This is legitimate to feel anger, although we need to be healthy in how we deal with this stage of grief.
Bargaining simply believes, if “X” did or did not happen, my child would not be a prodigal. Actually, bargaining is where many parents get stuck blaming themselves, each other, the church, the prodigal’s friends, etc., but being a prodigal is 100% the prodigal’s choice.
Sadness is a part of grieving. You’re sad your child is walking away from the Lord and His blessings.
Acceptance is the final stage of grief. I find this has two parts for a parent of a prodigal.
1. Accepting fully your child is a prodigal rejecting God and he or she is having those consequences.
2. That your parenting did not cause your prodigal to reject God.
You will grieve like the Father grieved, so I recommend you find other parents of prodigals who you can connect with and encourage and support one another.
Purpose
