Verse 11, a certain man had two
sons. When I read or hear about two
sons, I automatically think of two things. The first one is
Adam and Christ. They are the only two men who
ever walked this earth that were not begotten of another man.
Adam was not begotten at all. He was created. But Christ was
begotten of God, not man. So these are the only two, Adam
and Christ. 1 Corinthians 15, 47, Paul said
the first man, Adam, is of the earth, earthy. The second man,
Christ Jesus, is the Lord from heaven. Paul said in that same
chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, 22, For as in Adam all die, how many
die? All that are in Adam. Even so
in Christ shall all be made alive. How many are made alive? All
that are in Christ. And we're in Him from the foundation
of the world. So that's my first thought of
two sons is Adam and Christ. Secondly, I think of God's elect
as distinct from the rest of Adam's race. And we have this
all the way through the scriptures. Two sons, Cain and Abel. Abel was in Christ. Cain wasn't. Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac was
in Christ from before the foundation of the world. Ishmael wasn't. Esau and Jacob. Jacob was in
Christ from the foundation of the world. Esau wasn't and God
himself was bold enough to say Jacob have I loved But Esau Have
I hated so it's all the way through the Bible only know the two sons
in Matthew 21 and the two sons here in Luke 15 the elder son
is clearly in Adam and representing all unregenerate humanity that
hates Christ. And the younger son represents
Christ, not as an individual, but as a representative person
who, as it were, condescended, came into the hog pen of this
world not to stay, but to go back to the father, back to the
father's house and to take all his sheep with him. It's a beautiful
picture. But this morning, I want to mention
a few specifics about this young man as an individual and consider
a sinner coming home. You see, the father's house was
home for this young man. The father's house never was
home for the elder brother. He never had the father's heart. He never had the father's interest
in mind. He appears to be faithful for
one reason, that it all might be his one day. That's all. And
I'm sure he had a good reputation in the community. The neighbors
all felt just wonderful about this elder son. What a good boy
he is. But that oven run off and ain't
nothing to him. But the motive of this elder
son was to have it all. But now I want to mention some
things about this younger son. Number one, he never ceased to
be his father's son when he left home. Though he wanted to get
away, he wanted to get out of that house. He wanted to get
out from under his father's authority. He wanted to live his own life,
the saying is. And that's what most people want
today. That's what most young folks
want today. Teenagers, young adults. Want to get out on my own, want
to be my own person, want to live my own life. But the relationship
remained. He never ceased to be the father's
son when he left the father's house. This Bible teaches that
before God ever created the earth or created man or man fell. God Himself chose a specific
number of Adam's fallen race, yet being uncreated, He chose
a specific number to be His children. Ephesians 1-4, Paul said, According
as He, God the Father, hath chosen us, we who are brought to believe
in Him, He hath chosen us in Him, that is in Christ, before
the foundation of the world. So the Father's house is not
a boarding house. It's a private family dwelling. The Father's house is not a prison. The Father's house is not an
orphanage. It's a private dwelling of him
and all the children he's begotten. Now, when Adam fell, God's children
fell in him. But though fallen in Adam, God's
children chosen from eternity did not cease to be God's children. Somebody said, well, why don't
you become a child of God? You can't become a child of God.
You're either his from eternity or you never will be. Have you had your name written
in the Lamb's book of life? Too late, too late. Those names
were written in the Lamb's book of life from the foundation of
the world. Read your Bible. You say that's getting strong.
This is the book we're just talking to you about what the Bible says
now. We fail in Adam. And that same nature. That same nature that ignored
God's word. That rebelled against God that
disobeyed his word. That same nature in Adam is passed
on to us. All Adam's race went to the hog
pen that day. And all Adam's race die at the
hog pen. If they're left to themselves. If they only be Adam's race.
But God's children went to the hog pen with Adam too. And they
don't die there. They can't die there. They get
awful close. They hit rock bottom as this
boy did and as I did. And if you're God's child, you
did or will. You see, it was unthinkable for
a Jew to eat pork. They wouldn't do it. Well, they
missed a lot, hadn't they? Let alone work on a hog farm. That would be lower than low
for a Jew. But this boy was so desperate. We just read to you that he considered
eating what the hogs ate. He's low, so very low. But guess
what? He's still his father's son. That didn't change. That didn't
change. I can imagine all the neighbors
talked about it. That boy will never be back.
He's no good. They'll find him somewhere in
the ditch, dead. Left to himself, he won't be
back. But God doesn't leave his children to themselves. That's
the blessed thing. Verse 17 says, And when he came
to himself, that is, it began to register Who he was. And he said, I don't belong here. Now he never said I'm better
than this. That's what religion does. No. Puffs you up. It makes you good
enough to look down on everybody else. No, he never said I'm better
than this. But he said, my father is better
than this. This is not becoming of my family. There's nothing to me, but he's
better than this. The father's love so worked in
that boy's heart. So he said, I want to be with
my father. I want to be in my father's house. Now the elder brother was there
in body only. He wasn't really there. But this boy said in his heart,
I want to really be there. In my heart, I want to be there.
I want my very being to be at one with my father. And this is what happens to all
God's elect children somewhere along life's way. In the whole story, this son
only has two petitions. The first one was, give me. Give me. I won't. And the father did. He gave him
what he wanted. But in time, how much time we
don't know, but in time after bitter experience, his petition
changed. And it's no longer give me, but
the next petition, verse 19, make me. I can't be trusted with what
you've given me." You reckon he's the only one
who could ever say that? I can't be trusted with what you've given
me. Father, make me, make me, make me a hired servant. Put
me under a law. make me earn my bread, then I
can feel good about myself for doing it. It'll do something
for my self-esteem. That's what it's all about nowadays,
you know. I'll be my own man. I'll make
my way. The father didn't answer that
petition. He can't be a hired servant. You see, the Father's heart is
not moved with what you can do. The Father's heart is moved with
who you are. If you're His son. There's a whole lot of elder
brothers in church today. All over this land. But they're
there in body only. protecting their interest. But God's children don't want
the farm. They want the father. That's the difference. Next,
he began to feel the shame. We see it in this story. After
he had made such a mess of his life, He couldn't bring himself
to come home and say, father, it's me. I'm your son. No, he said it'd be easier and
more appropriate to say, father, I'm no more worthy to be your
son. If I could just be one of the
hired servants. But the father don't permit sons
to earn their way. Sons enter the house for who
they are, not what they do. Then we note the waiting father
in the story. Verse 20, he arose and came to
his father, but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw
him. Now the father wasn't sitting
on the porch looking down the road every day for just anybody. He wasn't waiting for some stranger
to come up and say, sir, I'd like to be a part of your family. The preacher said, I could make
a decision to be your son if I wanted to. No. He's waiting for one that's already
his son. Is this clear? But before you'll know. If you're
that son. He'll have to reach into that
hog pin of your heart. And bring you to the end of you. And put it in your heart. To
start home. Do you know when a runaway starts
home? When there's nowhere else to
go, no roof to get under, no bread to be found, not a material
roof and physical bread, no, but spiritual, spiritual. Everybody
wants to run to God on their deathbed, but he brings his children
to their deathbed. some of us a long time before
we die. And I'm glad I've been there. He brings us to see ourselves
perishing in our sin. When he was a great
way off, verse 20 says, his father saw him. The father saw him before
he saw the father. The father sees you this morning. And if he is your father, he'll
make you want to be his son. Otherwise you'll ignore this
and every other preacher you'll ever hear until you die in your
sins and plunge into hell. That's how it works. Now, this father. saw him and
had compassion, had compassion. He never sat on the porch till
the boy got there with his arms crossed, said, I tried to tell
you. No, he had compassion and ran,
ran. Our father's older than anybody
you've ever seen, but he can still run. Our father can run. He ran and fell on his neck. The boy was already down. Maybe he couldn't go another
step. The father ran to him, fell on his neck and kissed him. And by the way, when the father
kissed him on the neck, he never got a whiff of some
fresh smelling cologne. He got a whiff of that hog pen. But the father don't mind. Our father don't care where you've
been. He's glad you're home. The father knew where he'd been. He knows where you've been. There were others at the hog
pen. And this boy never asking anybody's
permission to go home. You don't have to ask anybody. Just start talking to the Father
where you are. This boy was talking to his daddy
a long time before he got there. Did you see that? He was saying, I'm sorry. I've sinned against heaven. And
before you, I've made the biggest mess of my life anybody could
possibly make. I'm no more worthy to be called your son. Our father can hear you where
you are and he will hear you if you're
interested in getting home. He's not interested in financing
your rebellion any further. The Lord gave me that thought
in the night, and I'm just going to repeat it to you. He's not
interested in financing your rebellion any further. But that's all most folks want. But if you're interested in getting
home, our Father's really into that. I read about a man who ministered
to wounded soldiers overseas in one of the wars. Time passed. He said he was so
weary. He was feeling so unproductive. He tried to share the word of
God with many. This didn't seem to be having
any effect, but he couldn't quit. I like that. That's where I'm
at. That's where I live. He couldn't
quit. He felt like he'd said all there was to say. But he said he came up on two
Russian soldiers, wounded. And they were at a place they
were being cared for physically, but he felt that he just must
speak a word. But he didn't know what. He was
so down. He felt nothing he could say
would affect these two rufflican characters. So he said immediately,
it came into his mind and his heart to read this story. He turned to Luke 15 and read
this to those two men and said, when he looked up, both men were
in tears. And one of them said, I've never
heard that story in all my life. I wonder this morning, if you've
ever really heard it. I mean, really heard it. I read
a book this week about runaways, mostly teenagers, and there's
really some unbelievable stories. And I think the saddest one I
read was about a boy who had run away, and I thought about
this boy, and I thought about this boy. He'd run away, and
he'd been gone for a number of years. And he came to his wits end, and
he went home. And when he got back to the town
and the community, it was after dark, and he knocked on the front
door, and the porch light came on. And the man opened the door and
the boy said, it's me. I'm your son. And the man said, I don't have
a son and closed the door. That's sad. I promise you if
our heavenly father has put it in your heart to come home, He'll not slam the door in your
face. He'll not say, I told you so. He knows all about how beat up
you are, how messed up you are. John Newton wrote, the Lord was
willing to claim a wretch like me. He found me. He drew me. He changed me. And the Father said in verse
22 to his servants, bring forth the best robe. The best robe
was the priestly robe. This boy's fixing to take over. After having conquered on the
cross, Our Lord, having conquered the hogpen of sin, he said just
before he ascended, all power is given me in heaven and in
earth. This whole business is mine.
The best wrote. Put a ring on his finger. That
was the signet ring, the father's stamp, seal of authority. Put shoes on his feet. Servants
didn't wear shoes, only sons. See if there's any leftovers
in the kitchen. No. Kill the fatted calf. That one
we've been saving for this special occasion. It's party time. Why? Verse 24, For this my son was dead, and is
alive again. He was lost, and is found, and
they began to be merry. That's what the party's about. Christ our Lord lived this. He went to the hog pen. He was made sin for us. He went to the hog pen because
that's where He finds all His sheep. How deep the Father's love for
us, how vast beyond all measure, that He should give His only
Son to make a wretch his treasure, a wretch like me, a wretch like
you. If it's ever in your heart to leave the hog pen, it'll be
because the Father's love has reached in drawing power from
where he is to where you are. Thank God. Thank God. A sinner coming home. Turn in
the white book with me, if you will, to 174. 174. We hadn't sung this in a
long time. Now, a lot of churches sing this
for what they call an invitation. And they're wanting to pull people
down to the front, make a spectacle before men. No, we're not doing
that. Don't want you to come down here.
This is not an altar down here. Our altar is in heaven. No. The only thing here that needs
to die is right in here. Okay? So right where you are,
we want to sing this as a worship song. A worship song. And if it's in your heart this
morning, sing it to the Lord that we're coming home. Okay?
So we'll try it without music and try to get through this,
but look at the words and worship. As we sing, I've wandered far
away from God. Now I'm coming home. The paths of sin too long I've
trod. Lord, I'm coming home. Coming home. Coming home. Never more to roam. Open wide. Thine arms of love, Lord I'm
coming home.