Evangelist Carolyn Malaika Foster-Brooks
THE MINISTRY OF S.A.R.A.H. in Lyons, GA.
PRAYER:
God, my Father above, I thank you right now for your undying love. Lord I am before You as a humble servant, yet bold enough to not be afraid of the Gospel of Your Son and my brother, Jesus Christ.
God bless all those who read Your Word and apply it to their daily lives.
In Jesus name, I have prayed.....Amen.
SCRIPTURE: Luke 15:18-23
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.
TEXT:
Luke 15:11-32.......Jesus used parables that made his listeners think and often were examples of something they could relate to in a worldly way. The parable of the Prodigal Son has been called a "gospel within a gospel" and the "crown and pearl of all of Jesus Christ parables" because of its vivid portrayal of the gospel truth! You see in response to the grumblings of the Scribes and the Pharisees, Christ structured a parable around the Jewish custom whereby a father could assign his possessions to his heirs during his lifetime.
Jesus tells us about a parent who had two children, both for whom he was responsible. Raised under one roof and not treated any differently. Yet, one son, the younger one, had an obvious rebellious spirit which was contrary to the rules and regulations of his father’s house.
Sometimes, no matter how much you teach your child the right way to live, they come to a point where they feel like they don’t have to do what you tell them to... such was the case of this " man-chld". He was apparently at an age when he was developing into his man-hood, he wanted to hang out with the fella’s, get a girlfriend and do all that he thought he was big and bad enough to do! He became bold enough to tell his father ( not ask him), but to tell him that he wanted his father’s money NOW so he could leave and see the world and what it had to offer!
In my spiritual mind and having had an experience like that myself with one of my two children (my son), I can imagine that the father was not pleased at all. There is no happiness in having a disrespectful, disobedient child, living in your home, eating your food, sleeping under your roof and wearing the clothes that you provided. But you see, when they come to you that way, there is something called tough love when you have to let go and let God deal with that rebellious spirit (demon).
Yes...the father gave him enough to live on and the bible says that the son took his journey into a far country.
A far country.
Anytime you fall away from the arch of safety of the Lord who is your guide and your protector- you are in a far country!!! You see, a far country is not necessarily a place that you go to physically, but anytime you are out of your mind, you are in a far country and trust me, if you think you can do without the Lord, anytime you think you can be disobedient, bold enough to demand something from your Father God that you do not deserve, YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND AND IN A FAR COUNTRY!!
But just like the Lord will never leave us or forsake us and love us with an agape kind of love- that is how this child’s father felt about his son!
He didn’t want to see his boy out in the world, but he no longer wanted to abide by the rules and regulations of his father’s house.... So the father had to let his child go and see that the world had nothing to offer him. (The father knew this to be true because he ,himself, had been there and done that!)
Thanks be to God that the father was a praying man. He remembered Deuteronomy the 1st chapter and the 29th verse when Israel rebelled against the Lord. The scripture says, DON’T BE AFRAID! (30) THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GOING BEFORE YOU. HE WILL FIGHT FOR YOU JUST AS YOU SAW HIM DO IN EGYPT. (31) AND YOU SAW HOW THE LORD YOUR GOD CARED FOR YOU AGAIN HERE IN THE WILDERNESS, JUST AS A FATHER CARES FOR HIS CHILD.
The father loved the Lord with all of his heart, with all of his soul and all his strength. He believed in the 10 Commandments and he did as Deut. 6:7 instructed....to REPEAT THE COMMANDMENTS AGAIN AND AGAIN TO OUR CHILDREN. TALK ABOUT THEM WHEN YOU ARE AT HOME AND WHEN YOU ARE AWAY ON A JOURNEY, WHEN YOU ARE LYING DOWN AND WHEN YOU ARE GETTING UP AGAIN.
He prayed for his son even though he didn’t like the life he chose, he loved his son like Christ loves us....
I said he was a praying father!
He asked the Lord to have mercy on his child for Hebrews 4:16 said, LET US, THEN, FEEL VERY SURE THAT WE CAN COME BEFORE GOD’S THRONE WHERE THERE IS GRACE. THERE WE CAN RECEIVE MERCY AND GRACE TO HELP US WHEN WE NEED IT.
.......so one day when the son was out spending his substance ( wining and dining...sneaking and lying), Mercy and Grace showed up to watch over him, but he still didn’t want to come home!
The father kept on praying for his son and asked God to give his son time to get his self together. He was ready for his child to come home. He hadn’t seen him in a while, but Jesus said...THE FATHER IS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO DECIDE DATES AND TIMES. THESE THINGS ARE NOT FOR YOU TO KNOW. (Acts 1:7)
Oh, Lord! the father cried out. What should I do?
Mark 11:22-24 tells us that Jesus answered, HAVE FAITH IN GOD. I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, YOU CAN SAY TO THIS MOUNTAIN (how many of you have faced an obstacle as big as a mountain in your life??) GO FALL INTO THE SEA. AND IF YOU HAVE NO DOUBTS IN YOUR MIND AND BELIEVE THAT WHAT YOU SAY WILL HAPPEN, GOD WILL DO IT FOR YOU. SO I TELL YOU TO BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE THINGS YOU ASK FOR IN PRAYER, AND GOD WILL GIVE THEM TO YOU.
Jesus also said to the father, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE FOR THE ONE WHO BELIEVES.
Immediately the father cried out, I DO BELIEVE! HELP ME TO BELIEVE MORE! (Mark 9:23-24)
Is there anybody out there who believes that God is an on time God? He may not come when you want Him, but He’ll be there right on time!
(I’m still talking about a Parent’s Answered Prayer!)
By now the son had SPENT all his substance, WASTED his seed, LOST his friends, his youthfulness, his good looks, and his money... he was homeless, hungry and his head hung low......
But glory again be to God, TIME had been waiting on him and at the same time his father was praying, the boy came back from the far country!!! Yes, he came back to his senses!! He’d been locked up in Satan’s prison and was in a pig’s sty.
The things his father taught him finally began to hit home...ALWAYS REMEMBER WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE TEACHINGS. STUDY IT DAY AND NIGHT TO BE SURE TO OBEY EVERYTHING THAT IS WRITTEN THERE. IF YOU DO THIS, YOU WILL BE WISE AND SUCCESSFUL IN EVERYTHING. (Joshua 1:8)
And finally, his father’s prayer was answered!
It was time for the Prodigal Son to go home and what he received when he saw his father was unconditional love and forgiveness.
Unconditional love and a quickness to forgive goes hand in hand!
It was by the Grace of God that this son’s life was spared and it has been by the Grace of God that we are where we are today. While there is no substitute for doing the "good" things that protects us from the devil and from evil in the world, we must also admit that there is no "sure formula" for keeping a child or an entire family from all harm or evil spiritual attack.
What we do know is that God in in control and Jesus Christ will always have victory over Satan!
When troubles come your way, you can lift up your hands and say, Hallelujah anyhow, because there are three (3) things you can be sure of:
1- God knows what we are going through.
2- God is with us in the circumstances we are facing. HE NEVER LEAVES US OR FORESAKES US. (Heb. 13:5) We can trust God to deliver us from evil, to lead us into right decisions and right actions and to help us face and overcome the troubles that seem to overwhelm us. The Lord will help us deal with all pain, blame and shame that we experience and He will heal us and make us whole as we put our total faith in Him.
3- God’s plan for our lives will be accomplished. His methods may be hard for us to understand. Even sometimes might seem too much to bear. But GOD IS BOTH THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH. (Heb. 12:2)
The answered prayer of a parent.
Call out to God on the behalf of your children, your family and everyone you know, requesting God’s mercy on their lives. We are called to follow in Job’s example today. We are to live blameless and upright lives before our children and also to pray for our children daily, no matter how old they are or what circumstances they are in.
Cover your family with prayer. And then trust God to cover them with His protection.
When you have done all that you know to do, until you just can’t do no more- LET GO AND LET GOD!
HE WILL PROVIDE!
Amen. And so it is!
