Dead and is Alive Again

All right, again, Luke chapter 15. Luke 15. I think I've referenced this passage of scripture over the years a number of times, but I'm not sure that I've ever preached a message from it. I pray maybe tonight the Lord would enable me to do so. Here in Luke 15, our Lord, he told a parable. Look at verse 11.

And he said this, he said a certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to the father, he said, father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. Now this younger son, he's a picture of a sinner. He is a picture of each and every one of us in our natural state.

And he tells his father, he says, give me that which falleth to me. What he's saying is, give me that which is mine. Give me that which I deserve. He didn't say, give me what you will. He says this, he said, give me that which falls me, that which is, again, that's my due.

We should never look to God or his gifts as a debt that he owes us. That's what false religion does. That's a picture they paint and it says this, well, if I'm good and faithful, God will give me good health. If I'm good and faithful, God will give me, he'll make me wealthy. If I'm good and faithful, just whatever I want, that's what he'll give me.

The problem with this, again, God is not a debtor to any one of us. This young man approaches his father as he himself being worthy of what he's asking his father. As he comes to him as saying, I deserve this. Listen, we need to approach God like Jacob did.

He prayed to God in Genesis 32.10. He said, I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies. I'm not worthy of the smallest blessing that you would bestow upon me. That publican, remember how he approached God? Remember, he just said this, he said, God, be merciful to me, the sinner.

Bartimaeus, he sat there by the highway. What was he doing? He was begging. He didn't say, you owe me this. He didn't say, I'm deserving of this. He said, Jesus, thou son of David, would you have mercy on me? You see the difference? This younger son, he said, give me what's due to me. And you know what the father did? He gave him just what he asked for. You ever hear that saying, be careful what you ask for? You might just get it. The father gave it to him.

It says he divided his living, and the father let that younger son have his way. You know, often, if you think about it, often that which we desire, it's the very thing that we ought not want. Typically, what we want is our way. I want my way. He came to his father. He should have just stayed home, shouldn't he? He should have never left. He should have never asked for his inheritance. He should have just patiently waited on it. One thing, you could say he wanted the money. He wanted his way. He wanted his way.

Give me that which is due. And again, the Father let him have his way. Few occurrences of this in God's Word. If you think back there to the garden, what did Adam do? He did what he wanted to do, didn't he? He took of that fruit and he ate it. Not what God commanded him to do. He did what his wicked heart wanted to do. And God let Adam have his way. Adam's responsible, isn't he? And as a result of that, man fell. Israel wanted a king. What did God do? In time, He let them have their way, didn't He?

They said, we want to be like all these other nations. We want to be like everybody else. We want to have a king that will judge us and go out before us. A judge that will fight our battles. They had Almighty God Himself. That wasn't good enough, was it? They wanted, they said, give us a king.

And Samuel heard the words of the people. They just kept asking. And Samuel heard the words of the people and he rehearsed them in the ears of the Lord. And the Lord said, hearken unto their voice and make them a king. And you know, they crowned King Saul, they put that crown on his head. And you know what he brought them?

Nothing but grief, nothing but trouble. At Calvary, there at Calvary, those wicked men, they crucified our Lord on the cross. What did they do? They did exactly what their evil hearts wanted to do. With their own wicked hands they crucified and slew the Lord of glories.

In Acts 2.23 we read this, him being delivered by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and by wicked hands crucified and slain. Their own way, what they wanted to do. You know, all we, we read this in the Word of God, all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned every one of us where? To our own way. That's what you want. And God let them have their way. Well, let's read on here, Luke 15 verse 13.

Not many days after, The younger son gathered all together and he took his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance with riotous living. He went into a far country. He got as far, I just wonder like how far was it until he felt like he was far enough away from his father? We sing this, we had wondered, we all had wondered, far from the fold of the shepherd of the sheep. Far away, and there he wasted away his substance, his property, his possession.

Everything he had, he wasted it away with righteous living. All of it, gone. everything he had, everything that his father had given him, gone. And there's going to come a day, there's going to come a day when every earthly possession we have is going to be gone. We brought nothing into this world and it is certain That's not up for debate. It's certain. We're not going to carry anything out. He wasted it away.

What does it profit a man if he should gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Read on in verse 14. When he spent all, spent everything he had, when he spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land. And he began to be in want. And he joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into the fields to feed his swine. And he would have faint, filled his belly with the husk that the swine did eat.

And no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, how many servants of my fathers have bread enough to eat and to spare, and I perish with hunger." He reached a point when he realized, when it was revealed to him, that there was only one place to turn. He'd turned to a citizen of that country, but he couldn't help him, could he? He had him out there in the barn eating with the hogs. Only one place to turn. Without hope, without help, without God in this world. And listen, there was only one place for this young man to turn. And that was to his father.

Remember that woman with the issue of blood? We read she had suffered many things of many physicians. And it came to a point that she spent everything she had. And she was none better. She was brought to the point where, listen, not only did she have nothing, but she was in the same condition. Her condition had not improved. But then she sees the master. And he's the great physician. She sees him and she said, if I can just touch the hem of his garment. Brought to the point of knowing, listen, I'm nothing. But my father is everything. Christ is all.

He left, when he left his father's house, he left with wealth, he left with his inheritance, and now What's his condition? He's broken. He's poor. He's helpless. He's unworthy. I imagine his shoulders were probably drooped about as low as they could go and his head was hanging down. But he's heading home. He's returning to his father, to the throne of grace. Only one place where there's any hope for a wretch. No other place to turn.

Back in Genesis 43, Israel told his boys, he said, won't you go back down to Egypt and buy some corn? And Judah spoke to his father Israel and he said, send the lad with me, we'll rise and go for this purpose, that we might live. that we might live and not die, both of us. Thou and our little ones. Listen, at that time, there was only one place to go for corn.

That was in Egypt. That was to Joseph. There is absolutely, there is absolutely no salvation from sin. There is no other place to turn. other than the Lord Jesus Christ, his substitutionary death, his shed blood. This prodigal son, he was brought to the point where there was but one place to turn. Where was it? His father's house.

Two simple truths here, and these apply to this young man, they apply to us. We must be brought to know our poverty. We must be brought to know the truth about ourselves. To see ourselves as what we are, as sinners, empty, broken, and destroyed. And every earthly foundation has to be swept away. All these self-righteous rags that hang on us, they have to be stripped off, and we stand naked and guilty before Almighty God. Scripture says there is none righteous, no, not one. There's none that understandeth. There's none that seeketh after God. This young man left. Think about this.

Now, when he left that home, he was seeking anything and everything but his father. And now, that's the only thing he seeks, isn't it? He seeks his father. The second truth here that we must learn is, listen, where do we find these things? Where's the food? He was hungry, wasn't he? Where's the food? in his father's house. Where's there peace? In his father's house. Where's joy? Only one place, in my father's house.

Riches, mercy, grace, one place, my father's house. And look at Luke 15 verse 18, he said, I'll arise and I'll go to my father, And I'll say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. I am no more worthy to be called thy son. Just make me as a hired servant.

And he arose and he came to his father. And when he was a great way off, his father saw him. And he had compassion. And he ran and he fell on his neck and he kissed him. He was a great way, He was a great way off. But the Father saw Him, didn't He? He saw Him, He saw Him from all eternity. Known unto God are all His ways from the beginning. He saw Him and listen, He had compassion on Him. What's that mean? He loved Him. He's his son, he always loved him. Loved him with an everlasting love. And he ran and he fell on his neck and he kissed him. He wasn't ashamed to be seen with his son, was he? He's mine.

Verse 21, and the son said to him, he said, I've sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and I am no more worthy to be called thy son." This young man repeats back what he had been taught through all this. What had he been taught? I'm a sinner. And he goes from, listen, he goes from telling his father what's mine what you owe me, what I'm deserving of. He goes from saying, give me what I deserve to this. I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy of an inheritance. I'm not worthy to be called a son. Thief on the cross. But he said, Lord, remember me. I'm nothing special. Just remember me. when you come into your kingdom.

That Syrophoenician woman, remember her daughter was at the point of death, and she went and she begged the Master to heal her daughter. And the Master said, he said, I'm not sent but to the lost house of Israel. That didn't chase her off, did it? What did she say then? She said, Lord, help me. Help me." And he said, it's not me to give the children's bread to dogs. Well, that's pretty hard, isn't it? You're nothing but a dog. That didn't run her off either, did it? She knew that was the truth. How do we know that? Because that's what she said. She said, truth, Lord. Truth.

I am a dog. But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table. Matthew 23 verse 12 says this, Whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased, but he that shall humble himself shall be Exalted. Who did He go to? He went to His Father. He went to Him. Our Lord said this, All that the Father hath given me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Luke 15, look at verse 22. The father said to his servants, bring forth three. He gives three things here. He says, you bring these three things.

One is this. The first one, he said, you bring forth the best robe. That's not just any robe, is it? The best robe. And put it on him. Listen, that best robe. Can that be anything other than the perfect, unblemished robe of righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ? The Father forgives us our sins and He covers our sin with the glorious garment of his son. It's a robe of righteousness. There's no other description for the best robe.

Second, he said this, put a ring. Put a ring on his hand. You know, a man and a woman, when they get married, they put a ring on each other's hand, on the finger. And that ring is a symbol of their love one for another. It's evidence their love for another and it's evidence to others that's their love one for another. We say, till death do you part. That's an everlasting love. That ring, it's round, it's unbroken. It's never ending. It has neither beginning nor end. What's he saying here? You're my son. I love you. Listen, you've always been my son. And you always will be my son.

Third, he put shoes on his feet. One of the old writers says this points to the walk of a believer. Our outward walk in conversation. Paul writing to the Ephesians, he said this in Ephesians 4 beginning with verse 1, he said, I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you're called, with lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, for bearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Well, quickly, back to our text, Luke 15, look at verse 23. I said three things, here's the fourth thing, okay?

There's a sacrifice. There's bloodshed. Scripture says without the shedding of blood, there's no remission. You see that in verse 23? Bring hither the fatted calf and kill it. Gotta be bloodshed. And let us eat and be married. Let's eat it. Listen, there's a necessity for eating. You know, without eating, there's no life. And we feed on him. And listen, that's true physically, and that's true spiritually. It's by eating that life is supported. It's maintained. Without being fed, his saints would starve, wouldn't we? That feeding, it preserves us from hunger and it satisfies us. It nourishes us. And then last, look at verse 24.

He says, This my son was dead. This is the father speaking. This, my son, was dead, and now he's alive again. He was lost, and now he's found. And they began to be married. He was dead and alive again. I was thinking about this a couple days ago. We have a hillside at home. And that whole hillside is covered with oak trees. And a few years back, there wasn't one leaf on any of those trees.

You would have thought every one, just by looking at them, you would have thought every one of them was dead. We cut several of them down thinking that they were. We probably shouldn't. We didn't know if they were dead or alive. But you know, when you look at them now, they're as green as they've ever been. You can't even see on the other side of them. Those leaves are so, so thick. There was a time when they looked to be dead, but they weren't.

This boy, I kind of wonder, when he traveled into that far country, sounds like his father was a pretty wealthy man, I wonder if people looked at him and said, you know that's old so-and-so, son. And somebody else probably, no, no, that can't be. That can't be his son. You ever take a look at somebody and make a pretty quick judgment and say, there's no way. There's no way that's a child of God. There's no way there's any life in that person. Maybe even think that of ourselves from time to time. No life in them. Let's not be too quick. Let's not be too quick to judge.

Listen to the words of this old man here. He said, for this my son. He's not talking about anybody, is he? Who's he talking about? He said, this is my son. He was dead. And he's alive again. He was lost. And now he's found. And they begin to be married. Turn back to Ezekiel 34. We open the service with this passage. Look at verse 11. Thus saith the Lord God. Who's speaking here? Our Father, the Lord God.

He said, I, even I, will both search my sheep and I'll seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day when he's among his sheep that are scattered, I will seek out my sheep and I'll deliver them. I'll deliver them out of all places where they've been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. I'll bring them out from the people I'll gather them from the countries, I'll bring them to their own land, and I'll feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, all the inhabited places of the country."

Who's going to feed them? The Father. He said, I, I will feed them in a good pasture. upon high mountains of Israel shall their fold be. And there they shall lie in a good fold, in a fat pasture, and shall feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock.

I will cause them to lay down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that which was lost. I will bring again that which was driven away. I will bind up that which was broken. and I'll strengthen that which was sick." Now he goes on, he says, the fat and strong, I'll destroy them and I'll feed them with judgment.

That's a good parable, isn't it? The father says this, again, he's talking about, he said, this is my son, He was dead, but now he's alive again. He was lost, and now he's found. And when they heard that, when they saw that, what was their response? They began to be merry. That puts a smile on our face, doesn't it? When the Lord shows mercy. All right, Isaac, come lead us in a closing hymn.

Dead and is Alive Again

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Dead and is Alive Again

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