Let's take one more look at Luke
chapter 15. Luke chapter 15. We have here the parables. Commonly
we look at this and folks think this is talking about the parable
of the prodigal son. But really this is a trilogy
of parables. Our Lord tells us plainly that
the parable is one in the opening verses of the chapter. It's a
parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Now, unlike other parables, this
parable gives us many instructive lessons. It tells us many things
that we need to learn about God's method of grace and salvation.
But let me remind you again, parables, when you read them
in the scriptures, are inspired illustrations given by our Lord
and recorded by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to show us
one thing, one thing. That's the purpose of a parable.
If while I am preaching or one of these other men is preaching
to you, we're trying to make a point, and we want to show
it to you. will tell you a story, give you
an illustration, either factual or something that is just a story
that illustrates the point. Don't ever think, well, boy,
that was a poor illustration, because those things about that
just didn't fit. Well, pictures don't always fit.
You don't try to make everything fit. And the parables do not
always fit. Men and women make great mistakes
interpreting parables. Say, well, that's got to mean
this, and this has got to mean that. By a predetermined interpretation
of scripture, attempting to make everything in the parable fit
some set of doctrines or some set of things. The fact is the
parable generally, almost always, is intended to show one specific
aspect of gospel truth, one specific character of our God, one specific
thing about God's method of grace and his work of grace in the
salvation of our souls. The parable that's before us
here in Luke 15, as I said, shows us many things. And yet, as you
read the parable, read it carefully, You'll find that this parable,
too, really was showing us one thing. One thing. Just one thing. Look at verse 7. When the lost
sheep is brought home on the shoulders of the omnipotent shepherd,
our Lord tells us here, I say unto you that likewise joy shall
be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. more than over
99 just persons which need no repentance. In verse 9, when
the lost coin is found by the effectual work of God the Holy
Spirit compared here to a woman, then he calls for a time of rejoicing. And our Savior says in verse
10, likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence
of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. And then
when the lost son returns to the father's house, our Lord
tells us that God Almighty threw a party in heaven for him. And
the elder brother came home, and he heard everybody singing
and dancing. He didn't have any idea what
was going on, because he was a stranger to all this. And he
called out one of the servants and asked him, said, what's going
on? And in verse 32, now here's a text. This is how it's explained. The father says to his elder
son, it was meet. It was meet. It was right. It was reasonable. It's the right
thing to do. That we should make merry and
be glad. For this thy brother was dead
and is alive again. and was lost and is found. Now here's the one thing taught
throughout this parable. The God of glory, our Heavenly
Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is full
of grace, full of mercy, ever ready to save poor sinners. anxious to be merciful, rejoicing
in the exercise of his tender mercies and loving kindness toward
helpless, fallen, needy sinners. Our Lord gives this trilogy of
parables to tell us one more time that he delighteth in mercy. Now, the elder brother in this
parable clearly represents the scribes and the Pharisees to
whom this parable was addressed, those who thought themselves
righteous. This elder brother was filled
with anger toward his father and filled with anger toward
the prodigal because the father rejoiced in saving the prodigal
and because the prodigal got the salvation. That's all. He was filled with anger. He
was mad as a hornet. This elder brother, as he sat
before us here, speaks then of the scribes and the Pharisees. He resented the father's love
toward his worthless son. He rebelled against the heavenly
music of joy over the restored son. And he dared to say to his
father that he had never broken one of his commandments. This
elder brother was angry and bitter at the kind and gracious, loving
reception of the wicked younger son. This boy went out rich and
came back poor. He went out clean and came back
polluted. He went out well-clothed, robed
in the king's clothes, but he came back in rags. He went out
well-fed, nourished as a king's royal son. He came back utterly
starved. He went out in proud, haughty
rebellion. He came back in broken. broken,
bitter shame. May God save us from being like
the elder brother and make us as this younger brother, this
younger son, the prodigal. He dared to presume upon his
father's goodness. And he said to his father, give
me the portion of goods that's rightfully mine, as if his father's
goods were rightfully his. Isn't it amazing that, especially
these days, I hear children talking as though what mama and daddy
worked hard for really belongs to them. And I'll take mine now. No, no, no, no, no, no. But the
father said, all right, I'll give it to you. And he gave him. the bounty of his house. And soon he took everything he
had, gathered it all up together, and took off. Got just as far
away from home as he could. We're told he went into a far
country. And there he wasted his substance
with riotous living until nothing was left. He was utterly busted. And then he went out and joined
himself to a citizen of that country. As I've told you many
times, John Gill says that citizen of that country was a farisite
preacher. And he sent him to work his way back into his father's
good graces. He said, now, things aren't so
bad. You look bad, but it ain't that bad. I know you feel bad,
but it ain't that bad. I know you're kind of dirty right
now, but it ain't that bad. I'll tell you how to get yourself
a new set of clothes. And I'll tell you how to clean
all that filth off of you, and I'll tell you how you can get
yourself well nourished, and you go back, present yourself
into your father's good graces. I've got some hogs out here in
my field. You go feed them. It'll be all right. And so he
crawled over in the hog bed in the muck of free will. and in the slime of righteous
works. And thereby he endeavored to
bring himself back into his good standing with his father, and
he would have filled his belly with the husk that the swine
ate, but no man gave unto him. That is, there was nothing in
the husk to satisfy the hunger inside him. And then there arose
this mighty famine in the land, and the prodigal came to himself. God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to before. Thursday night, Brother Ed Ballard,
I haven't seen him in a long, long time. He and his wife came
over to the services at the Middle Fork Church where I was preaching.
And before services, we were talking a little bit about God's
ways. He's been through some difficulties.
He said, I tell folks all the time. Tell them all the time.
People don't pay any attention. I tell them all the time. God
Almighty is just exactly opposite what you think He is. And He
always does just exactly opposite what you think He's going to
do. And He always does it just exactly opposite of the way you
think it ought to be done. I said, that's exactly right.
That's exactly right. How on earth is this father going
to bring his prodigal son home? Starving to death. Starving to
death. Starving to death. You see, God
has his ordained means by which he will graciously effectually,
irresistibly bring sinners to themselves and home to him. And you know what his ordained
means are? It's called predestination. You know what his ordained means
are? It's everything that is, has
been, or shall be. The famine rolls, and this particle
is awakened. There appears to have been a
stirring in his conscience, an awakening of sorts. We're told
in verse 17, he came to himself. I guess it'd be all right to
presume that prior to this he was madman. He was beside himself. All men by nature are, you know.
All men by nature are. They are utterly ignorant. They're
spiritually insane, and they do things exactly opposite of
that which will profit them. But now he came to himself. His
conscience seems to have said to him, you fool, look at yourself. Look at your filthy rags. Look
them over. And he blushed with shame. Look where you are. Look what
you're doing. Look at yourself in this hog
pen, wallowing around in this muck and mire of imaginary righteousness
and goodness. Do you really think that you
can please God by all this? Well, you can't even eat this
stuff yourself. Are you going to bring it to God? Oh, blessed is that
man or woman whose conscience is not yet seared as with a hot
iron. When he came to himself, the
poor prodigal began to Reason. Very reasonably. He said, how
many hired servants of my father's house have got everything they
want to eat and some left over? Bread enough to spare. And I
perish with hunger. What a contrast. Here's a man
who was once a king's son. Possessor of all wealth and all
honor. A noble man. Angels were his
servants. And here he is in a hog pen,
in rags, filthy and starving. That's a pretty good picture
if I fall in at him. With his father's house in mind,
his heart breaks, his eyes swell with tears and he hangs his head
in shame and he cries, what have I done? His heart goes back to
his father's house, the father he had forsaken, the house he
had left, the love he had despised. And look at verse 18. He said,
I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants,
and broken, poor, helpless, utterly worthy. I believe I can identify with
him. He heads home. And you know what? These days
folks ask you, if you love Jesus, you're going to go to heaven.
You don't love Jesus. Don't talk about that nonsense.
And you're not going to decide to love Jesus. That ain't going
to happen. Believe on him. Believe on him. He didn't go back home because
he loved his father's house. He didn't go back home because
suddenly there was something good and noble in him. He didn't
go back home because I believe I'll go home to my father now,
I've changed my mind, everything's going to be alright, I've decided
to let him be God. No, no, no, no. He went back
home because he didn't know where else to go. He went back home because he
had to. He went back home because he was starving and there wasn't
bread anywhere else. He went back home because he
was naked and there wasn't clothes anywhere else. He goes back home
with his head hanging low, ashamed. Headed to his father's throne
of grace. The only place where there was any hope for such a
wretch. Now look at verse 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. And the son said, Father,
I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son. And the father just said, Put his hand over his mouth.
He said, I've choked down all I can bear from you. He wouldn't
listen to the word. All was forgiven. He says in
verse 22, the father said to his servants, bring forth the
best robe. Put it on him. Put a ring on
his head, his shoes on his feet. Bring hither the fatty calf and
kill it. Let us eat and be merry. For
this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found. And they began to be married.
Now how did all this happen? How did the prodigal come to
himself? How did he come to his father's
house? What was it that brought about
such a change in this poor soul? That sounds like real deep questioning,
doesn't it? That sounds real deep. You still
have your horses, Betty Jo? How do you get them to go where
you want them to? You stick a bit in their mouth and a bridle over
their head, and you take them where you want them. That's all. And God Almighty sticks the bit
of His grace in your mouth, and the bridle of His omnipotence
over your head, and the reins of His sovereign dominion, and
thereby takes you where He will. That's all. What's that called? He says, I will pour upon them
the spirit of grace and supplications, and they'll look upon me. When
God Almighty is determined to save a sinner, He pours out His
grace upon that sinner and causes the sinner to look to Him, to
believe on Him. Though inexperienced, and I grant
inexperienced, and it needs to be clearly understood in our
experience of it, it appears that God's grace is the response
of our repentance in faith. But nothing could be further
from the truth. That is never the case. You see, God never
waits for the sinner to take the initiative. Grace never waits
for the sinner to take the first step. Love never waits for one
to move toward it, but rather God's mercy, love, and grace
moves toward the sinner and causes the sinner to come home. Blessed
is the man whom thou choosest and causest to approach unto
thee. God Almighty, as he's portrayed
as the father in this parable, saw his son when he was yet a
great way off. And he never took his eyes off
his son. He never ceased to care for his
son. And when his son came home, it
was because his father saw him and had compassion on him even
back yonder. He saw him before he fell, and
he saw him when he fell. He saw him all the time. He had taken his goods and run
away from home trying to get away from God, but he never got
away from him. And he wasted his substance in
riot just living away from his father's restraint. But he never
got away from the restraint. The father says, hitherto shalt
thou go and no further. And the father holds his own.
He saw him in his filth. And he saw him in the hog pen. And he saw him as he began to
reason with himself. And he saw him coming home. And
he cared for him all the way, secretly. How do you know that? Because when he got home, everything
was ready for him. He said, I told you he was coming today. Look
out, there he is. Here he comes. Bring the fatty
calf. Kill it. Let's eat and be merry.
My son's come home. Oh, needy soul, come to God Almighty
by faith in Jesus Christ, and you will find it so. God in heaven. will receive you with such joy
that he'll throw a party on your behalf around the throne of grace. How come? Because it was meat. It was meat. Now that's what
I want us to look at this morning. These three words. For just a
few minutes, it was meat. God Almighty explains his wonders
of grace this way. It was meat. He explains the
salvation, reception, and restoration of this particle this way. It
was meat. He tells this self-righteous
elder brother why it is that this worthless, no count, down
and out, no good, doomed, damned, consciously guilty sinner would
be received by him and everybody would rejoice. He said it was
meat. It was meat. What is this meatness? Why is
it only right and reasonable for the God of glory to receive
sinners, embrace them, and rejoice in saving them? Let me give you
four, five, maybe six reasons. First, it was meat that caused
the sinner coming to God by faith in Christ. is the object of God's
eternal, everlasting, indestructible love. God says concerning his
own, I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with
loving kindness have I drawn thee. God says to the sinner, listen
to me now, listen to me, Right where you are right now, are
you coming to Christ? This is what God says, I loved
you with an everlasting love. And the reason you're coming
is because with loving kindness I've drawn you. And every believer
verifies with Paul the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Ghost which is given to us. It is just right. It is just reasonable. Can I
say it is natural to God to receive sinners? It's as natural to God,
Babi Estes, to be gracious as it is to you and me to be mean. It's as natural to God to be
gracious as it is to be holy. It's as natural to God to be
merciful as it is to be just. He's gracious. I might as well think of the
sun not emitting light as think of God not being merciful. I might as well think that the
rivers of the world do not run into the sea as to think that
the river of God's love will not run to his own. I might as
well think that you could have fire and no heat as to think
that you could have God and no love. God is love. I don't mean he's a loving God.
God is love. I don't mean that God will love. I mean God is love. God being
our great God, being the character he is, cannot. I chose my words deliberately.
He cannot. I say God cannot turn his back
upon a sinner seeking mercy in Christ. He cannot. Because God who cannot lie says,
I will not. You mean, preacher, if I come to Christ, if I believe on the Son of God,
if I come to God by Christ Jesus, you mean God has sworn That he'll
receive me? No, I mean he's already received
you. That's right. Several years ago
I was preaching, it's been 1989 or 1990, I was out in California.
A fellow came in to the church rescue, sort of by accident,
one Saturday morning he was looking for an Adventist church and was
having a meeting. And they didn't have a building up, or did have
a sign up rather, a rescue. And he saw the cars there, drove
by, said, well, that must be it. Went in there, and I was
preaching that Saturday morning. For some reason, he sat down
and listened. And I guess he was 60 years old
or better. He met me after the services.
Can I talk to you? I said, sure you can. Tears running
down his cheek, he said, do you mean to tell me And if I trust
Christ, the surety you've been talking about, God forgives all
my sin forever completely. I said, that's what I mean to
tell you. And he's still sitting there rejoicing in the message.
That's what I mean to tell you. God Almighty has sworn Him that
cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out. You know, if we saw
an earthly father, who had such a son. A son who had despised
his love, wasted everything he had ever given him. And then
came back home. But came back home only because
he had to. Came back disgraced, degraded,
ragged. If any earthly father was so
magnanimous and great, kind and good, as to receive that son
with a suspicious eye. And say to one of his household
servants, now keep an eye on that boy. Keep an eye on him. You know what he's done before.
He's a bad apple. You know what to expect of him.
But we'll take care of him. He's my son. If any earthly father
did so, we would admire his goodness. But God, our father, takes the bad apples and receives
them into his house in full restoration of sonship. I don't mean by that that he
restores his love to us. No. I don't mean by that he restores
his goodness to us. No. I don't mean by that he restores
his wealth to us. Oh, no. No, no, no. I mean he
makes us to be restored to his love and his goodness and his
wealth. Fully restores us and assures
us that everything is perfectly well between us and Him. Come
then, O needy sinner, come. Come in humble faith. Oh, what
you made the total sum is canceled by Christ's death. How we ought to adore and stand
in awe constantly of the absolute free indestructible, immutable,
overflowing love of God for our souls. I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene. And I wonder, oh, how I wonder
how he could love me, a sinner condemned unclean. He loved me and gave himself
for me. Wonder of wonders this is. But here's another reason why
it is meat. It was meat for the father to
make merry. Meat for the angels to make merry. Meat for the restored son to
make merry. It was meat for all the restored
sons to make merry. It was meat for the Holy Spirit
to make merry. It was meat for the Lord Jesus
to make merry. Because upon the return of this
chosen sinner, this sinner redeemed by the precious blood of Christ,
the Son of God sees of the travail of his soul. and dissatisfied. This was the joy set before him
for which he endured the cross, despising the shame. Look in
Isaiah 53 for a minute. Isaiah 53. The Lord says, for the transgression
of my people was he stricken. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He put him to grief, when thou shalt make your soul an
offering for sin. What's this? Isaiah 53, 10. He
shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. What's that
mean? Read verse 11. He shall see of
the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. Some of you ladies may have known
what it is to carry a child nearly to term and lose it. There's an emptiness in the house
that's been prepared for the child, an emptiness in the heart
of the mama, an emptiness because the child never came to life. That will never happen with the
Son of God. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
shall never be discovered a miscarriage. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. Here in this parable, our Lord
could not have chosen, he could not have chosen a stronger, more
expressive word than this word meet. Let me tell you what it
means. I took time to look it up. Our
Lord says, the Father explained his grace this way, it was necessary. It was binding upon us. It must needs be. It was a matter
of necessity. It behooved us to make Mary. This was something I had to do.
This is something I had to do. This is something binding upon
me. This is something necessary to
me. Preacher, can it be said that something is binding upon
God Almighty? If He makes it binding, it is.
If he makes it binding, it is. He says it is right, it is reasonable,
it is absolutely necessary and binding on us to make Mary and
be glad. Because you see, the purpose
of God is as binding upon him as his character. The justice
of God is as binding upon him as his purpose. And both the
purpose and justice of God make it binding upon our God to receive
and justify and forgive every sinner for whom Christ died at
Calvary, rejoicing in their salvation. Shall a blood-bought sinner be
rejected, repelled, and turned away while coming to God by faith
in Jesus Christ, his darling son, by the power and grace of
his Holy Spirit? Never, never, never. It won't happen. So we'll preach
that. I didn't get any grace. It's
because you was trying. That's it. That's it. I haven't found that
to be the case. That's because you were doing
something. I looked at Christ and I didn't
have mercy. That's because you had just one eye on Him. The other was
on you. How can you say that? I get letters
from folks all the time saying, how can you be so narrow-minded
and dogmatic? Well, our Lord said, All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. That makes either God Almighty
a liar or you a liar. That's it. I tried, he didn't give me grace. You try. He didn't say try, he
said all that come. Him that cometh to me, I will
in no wise cast out. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone will see of the Son, and believe that
on him may have everlasting life, and I'll raise him up at the
last day. The justice of God being satisfied by Christ's precious
blood demands the salvation of every sinner for whom Christ
died. That means no believer can ever
be denied grace, salvation, and eternal life in Christ. The satisfaction
of Christ's souls to avail demands the salvation of all for whom
he endured that soul to avail. That means no believer can be
denied grace and salvation and eternal life in Christ. The joy
of Christ demands the salvation of all for whom He endured the
cost, despising the shame. That means no believer can be
denied grace, salvation, and eternal life. Indeed, the fullness
of Christ demands it. We are His church, the fullness
of Him that filleth all in all. Lindsay said as he closed the
message in the first hour, I said next week I'll talk to you about
this mediator. As a mediator, as a surety, as
a substitute, Christ cannot be full if one member of his body
is missing. Can't happen. What's that mean?
That means no believer coming to God by faith in Christ can
be denied his grace, his salvation, and eternal life. Now, turn to
John 17 for a minute. John 17. It was meet for the father to
receive his prodigal. It was meet for God Almighty
to receive me, embrace me, fall on my neck and kiss me. and rejoice
in having me home at the throne of grace, because he loved me
with everlasting love, because his son redeemed me. And it was
meet, because his son stands as our high priest in heaven
with our names inscribed on his heart, making intercession for
us. Look at John 17. Let me just
show you a little bit of what he prays. Verse 9. I pray for
them. And that's not all he said, is it?
I pray not for the world. You mean there's some folks in
the world for whom he doesn't pray? Yeah. He said so. He said, I'm praying for them
because they are mine They are thine and thine are mine, and
I'm glorified in them. Verse 17. What you praying for,
son? Sanctify them. Make them holy. Separate them. Pull them apart.
Bring them to me. Verse 20. Need to pray after
these alone. Oh, now there he's talking. Who
are these other ones he's praying for? Us. but for them also which
shall believe on me through their word. Verse 22, the glory which
thou gavest me I've given them. Verse 23, I in them thou in me
that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may
know by the salvation of these whom
you gave me from eternity to save. that thou hast sent me and hast
loved them. Now watch this, Rex, as thou
hast loved me. Can it be? Does God Almighty
love your worthless soul just like He loves His Son? That's
what He said. That's what he said. Father, I will that they also
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. Because only when they're with
me where I am will they be able to see my glory, that they may
behold my glory. Verse 26, last part, that the
love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them and I in them. And the Father hears him pray.
His dear anointed one, he cannot turn away the presence of his
Son. Here's a fourth reason for this
meekness. It was right. It was binding
on him. It was necessary for the father
and the angels to rejoice in receiving this wayward sinner
coming home to him by Christ Jesus because he was his son. He was his son. Now I could say
a ton about that. When he received this sinner,
he received this sinner who was born again. I know that he was
born again because he would not have come had he not been born
again. He that believeth on the Son of God, what does the book
say? What does it say, Larry? Hath. Hath! Hath! Everlasting life. You mean preacher? I believe God's given me faith
in Christ. Does that mean He gave me life?
That's what it means. That's just what it means. He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life. God receives
His sons because they're His sons, not receives them to make
them sons, but receives them because they're sons. And they
believe not to be sons, but believe because the Spirit came and sent
forth His Spirit into your heart, crying, I am a father, because
you're sons. And being made the sons of God,
they're partakers of the divine nature. Conformed to Christ according
to divine predestination. But there's more than that. When the Father sees me coming, home to him. He sees his son in whom he delights,
in whom he's well pleased, coming home to him because it's necessary,
it's neat, and it's right. How did Christ Jesus enter into
glory and take possession of heaven as a man? He entered in,
what does the book say, with his own blood. He could not go
back as our mediator any other way. He could not. When he was
made to be sin, he was made to be sin, and sin must be put away.
The Lord Jesus Christ possesses heaven's throne by the merit
of His obedience and the merit of His blood. And the Father
smiles with joy. Now listen to me. I possess God's heaven by the
merit of perfect obedience. And perfect atonement has God
sought through the worth of Jesus Christ, my Lord. It was me. It was me that God, our Father,
should receive sinners and rejoice in them. Because in the salvation
of sinners, He sees all the invitations and promises issued in the Gospel
being fulfilled and the Caesar's house feel.