The story is told of a Spanish father and his teenage son named Paco, which was a very common Spanish name. Their relationship had become strained like many father and son relationships. They had become strained and the rebellious son finally ran away from home. Heartbroken, the father immediately set out to find him. He searched everywhere for months in his hometown of Madrid, Spain, but with no success. Finally, as a last resort, the exhausted father placed an ad in the local newspaper, hoping that his son would see the ad and respond to it. The ad simply read this, Dear Paco, Please meet me in front of the newspaper office at noon this Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you, your father. To the father's amazement, when he showed up at the newspaper office on that Saturday at noon, 800 Pacos had showed up looking for forgiveness from their estranged fathers. The greatest need in our world today is for forgiveness. First and foremost, from God. And second, from others. Today, as we celebrate Father's Day, And forgiveness is one of the vital qualities that we're gonna be looking at in the passage that we'll be studying. If you have your Bibles, again, turn with me to Luke chapter 15. In Luke 15, verses 11 through 24, I wanna bring out this morning four qualities of a godly father. Four qualities of a godly father who patterns himself after God himself. God is the model father. He is our heavenly father as believers. And a godly father patterns himself after God himself. The first quality of a godly father is this. He is gracious. He is gracious. Look at verse 11. And he, Jesus, said, a man had two sons. Now in this phrase, Jesus introduces the three characters of this story. Again, this story is known as the parable of the lost son or the prodigal son. It's called the greatest short story ever written. The younger son, whom we will be looking at this morning in this passage, verses 11 through 24, represents all unbelievers who are rebellious and irreligious. The older son, in verses 25 through 32, represents all unbelievers who are hypocritical and self-righteously religious. And the man, the father of these two sons represents God himself, who is the model father. Now, as I said, this parable primarily is addressing unbelievers. The prodigal as well as the older son are unbelievers. who need to repent to be reconciled with God. But I believe in a secondary sense. This parable can also at times be applied to believers who exhibit these very same attitudes and actions. And therefore, what we're gonna be looking at here applies to believers as well. When we move away from God. And since the main character is the father, he's the one really that this is all about. He's the one that we as believers, all of us as believers, should seek to pattern ourselves after. Especially us who are Christian fathers. Now the story begins in verse 12. Look what he says. Again, Jesus is speaking here. It says, the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me. Now stop there. The word estate refers to all of the material things that would be included in an inheritance a father would give, such as land and animals and possessions. And so the younger son comes and says, give me my share. Now in the ancient Mideastern culture, an inheritance was not typically received until after the father's death. Though he could choose to divide it up early if he wanted to. But usually the pattern was after the father died, then he gave the inheritance. But what is disturbing about this situation is that the younger son, probably here in his late teens, early 20s, initiates this process by a request that essentially was saying that he wished his father to be dead. The words give me reveal his arrogant, his selfish, his demanding and rebellious heart towards his father that disrespects and dishonors him and his authority as the head of the family. Now under the Mosaic Law, this Jewish father could have severely disciplined his son. As we see in Deuteronomy 21, 18 through 21. He could have severely disciplined his son for such dishonor and disrespect. But look what he does instead at the end of verse 12. It says, so he divided his wealth between them. Since his son was of age, he was old enough to be on his own, The father here graciously gives his son what he requests. Now since according to the Mosaic law, the firstborn son would receive a double portion or two thirds of the estate or the inheritance, according to Deuteronomy 21, 17, here we see that the father now gives the younger son the other third. He gives that to him. He divides it up and he gives his son a third of his inheritance. Now look what the son did with it in verse 13. Not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country. And there he squandered his estate or his inheritance with loose living. Notice that the son gathered everything together. That means he took his share of the estate in liquid assets. He got it all together. He was able to get it to go. He wasn't leaving anything behind. And then he left home. It says not many days later. Intoxicated with his newly acquired wealth, He went on a journey into a distant country. He couldn't wait to leave home. He wanted to get out of there, blow the scene. He was tired of living by godly standards and values of his home, of the Mosaic law. He wanted out. And so he goes to a distant land, a distant country. He thought he was missing out on all the fun. Thought he could find happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment elsewhere. And notice at the end of verse 13, there in that distant country, a Gentile country, away from Israel, There he squandered his estate with loose living. The word squandered here means to spend one's resources lavishly, extravagantly, wastefully. That's what it means to squander. And that he did with loose living. This means living an unrestrained, self-indulgent, and immoral lifestyle. You know, it's similar to what our culture is all around us today. In verse 30, the older brother said with contempt to his father about his younger brother that he had devoured your wealth with prostitutes. Again, he was living it up. He thought a godly father can graciously give his children certain freedoms, certain opportunities in order to help them learn how to live a godly and responsible life. But just because he does that doesn't mean that the children will. There are no guarantees that they will choose to do that very thing. And the younger son didn't. And although sin can be pleasurable for a season, as you see in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 25, it can be pleasurable for a season, that season comes to an end eventually. And it always brings forth the consequences of destruction and death. Always. Proverbs 16, 25 says, there's a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death. Galatians 6, 7 says, do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. And that's exactly what happened. As we see in verse 14. Look what it says. Now when he had spent everything, a third of the estate, this huge estate, he had spent it all. He had spent everything. A severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. The son is now broke. He's broke in a distant country, and the country itself is suffering from a food shortage due to a severe famine. For the first time in his life, we read, he began to be impoverished. The word impoverished here means to be reduced to poverty, to be in desperate physical need. However, this young man was very resourceful, and he comes up with a plan. Look at verse 15. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, And he, the landowner, sent him into his fields to feed swine. Thinking that he could make life work still on his own, if he just got hired to work by someone who was wealthy, he could do it. The problem was, life didn't work out the way they envisioned. Notice that the landowner sent him into his fields to feed swine. Now today we'd say, well, there's no problem with that. No problem with that. But again, remember who this is. This is a Jewish young man. Prior to when God declared all foods clean, under the Mosaic law, swine were considered by the Jews as the worst kind of unclean animals and to have a job feeding them was the lowest possible humiliation. Again, for a Jew. In addition to that, verse 16 says that he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating. These pods were long, sweet-tasting beans from carob trees. And his situation was so desperate that he would have eaten even the pig's food, but he couldn't do it because it's not digestible for humans. He would have eaten the very food that he was feeding the pigs, but he couldn't even do that. His best efforts to meet his needs were not enough. And notice at the end of verse 16 it says, and no one was giving anything to him. Experiencing the physical pain and suffering of starving to death. We think we're starving to death if we miss one meal during the day. This young man hasn't eaten for a long time. feeling the pain, feeling the suffering over this, and having no one to help him, no hope on the horizon. The son is hopeless and helpless to make life work on his own. He thought he could. He thought he could. You know, at some point in our lives, we all think that we can make life work apart from God. We can do it in our own strength, our own wisdom, our own effort. And in his misery, he comes to a place where he hits rock bottom. You know, that's different levels for different people. As a pastor and counselor, I'm always amazed at how far some people will just keep going, keep going, keep going until finally some don't seem to even hit the bottom. They just keep going, going. They're willing to just keep on going down. But this young man felt so ashamed. He was all alone. He was so far away from home with no help from anyone. However, I know we know the saying at the end of ourselves is what? The beginning of God. If we will turn to Him, God Himself said in Hosea chapter 5 verse 15, in their affliction, in their affliction, their misery, their distress, they will earnestly seek me. God is sovereignly in control of this situation and brings this person to a place of hopelessness and helplessness. And by God's sovereign grace, this is exactly what the son did. When he was at the end of himself, he looks to God. We see that in the second quality of a godly father, which is this. He is generous. He is generous. Look at verse 17. But when he, the younger son, came to his senses, he said, how many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread? But I am dying here with hunger. Although the son kept, his father out of his mind when he was indulging himself. That was the last thing he wanted to think about, was home, his father. The principles, the standards, the values that his father taught him. That was the last thing. But now in his desperate condition, he came to his senses. In other words, he began to think clearly about just how generous his father really was. He reminds himself, how many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread? Hired men often had a harder life even than the slaves did. You see, slaves lived with the family that they were serving. They were part of that household. Therefore, they could be confident that they would have food and shelter That's not true with hired men. Hired men were the poor temporary day laborers at the bottom, the very bottom of the social economic ladder. That's why we're told in Leviticus chapter 19 verse 13 of the Mosaic Law, it required that hired men be paid their wages that same day. Why? Because their survival depended on it. It was hand to mouth. They needed that. They didn't wait two weeks to get paid. They worked, they got paid that day. The son now remembers just how generous his father was in providing for them, for these temporary day laborers. They had more than enough bread while he is dying here with hunger. So in his own heart, the son says to himself, look at verse 18, I will get up and go to my father and will say to him, father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. This is a beautiful description of a broken and repentant heart over a person's sin. This is the turning point in his life, this young man's life. This is where things totally change. In saying, I have sinned against heaven, he is fully owning and acknowledging his sin against God, first and foremost. His sins had piled up to heaven, and he is owning the fact that he has sinned against God. To go on to say, and in your sight shows that he is also fully owning and acknowledging his sin against his father. By what he has done in taking that inheritance and squandering it, even demanding that he even get it. You see, true repentance always takes 100% responsibility for one's sin. Let me say that again. True repentance takes 100% responsibility for one's sin, not 99%. It makes no excuses, it blames no one else. And since the Father in this parable is God himself, the Son, doing this, this is a picture of salvation, of the younger Son coming in his heart, repenting of his sin, and being saved. The fruit of his repentance is in evidence in feeling remorse for hurting his father, wanting to humbly say to him, look at verse 19, I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired men. You see, before the son desired to be anywhere, anywhere but home, Now the only place he desires to be is home. But notice, not as a son, not as a slave, but merely as one of the hired men. You see, that is a broken, humble heart. A heart that is repentant, that has owned the reality that he deserves nothing but judgment. You see, true repentance changes our heart. It crushes our pride. So that in humility, we now see ourselves the way we should see ourselves. As I've said many times before, if we got what we really deserve, things would be a million times worse than whatever it is we're going through. We live in a day where you deserve such and such. Count how many commercials there are where you deserve this, you deserve that. Because it's touching off people's pride. Yeah, I deserve this, I'm entitled to this. Bottom line is, if we got what we deserved, we would be in hell. We deserve nothing but judgment before a holy God. And this young man comes to that place. But what he experienced from his father caught him by surprise. This brings us to the third quality of a godly father, which is this. A godly father, he is forgiving. He is forgiving. since true repentance is always evidenced in changed behavior. We're told in verse 20, look what it says. So he got up and came to his father, but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him and ran and embraced him and kissed him. You see, the change had already taken place in his heart. So now he sets out to do what he had rehearsed in his mind and heads for home. What is the natural sinful thing, the natural human thing that we are tempted to do when someone breaks our heart, humiliates us, rejects us, takes advantage of our graciousness and generosity to them. What is the knee-jerk, natural thing to do? You see, when the father saw his son, he could have become full of anger at him. He could have just laid into him, I told you so, rebuked him, you're no longer my son. You've humiliated me, you've embarrassed me, you've done us, get out of here. He could have avoided them all together. He could have just written him off and rejected him as a lost cause. Remember, the Father represents God himself. Notice. While he was still, the son was still a long way off, walking down that dusty road, his father saw him. He saw him. This means that he had been looking and waiting for this day of his son's return. And in seeing him, he felt compassion for him. The word compassion means to feel deep sympathy, to feel sorrow for another's suffering and distress, even though that person brought on themselves their own suffering and distress. Not only does it feel the sympathy and sorrow for that person, but it's accompanied by a strong desire to then alleviate that. Then moved by his loving compassion for his son, the father immediately, look what it says, ran and embraced him and kissed him. The word ran here literally means to sprint. He took off, he saw him a long way off and he took off running as fast as he could. Father was so excited at his son's return that although it was a humiliating and shameful thing for a man to show his bare legs in that culture, that's why they wore these great big long tunics, the father didn't care. He pulled it up and he took off running. And coming to his son, notice that the father, again, did not rebuke him. but he took him in his arms and embraced him. The word embraced is to fall on his neck, to give him like a huge bear hug. He embraced him and he kissed him. Let me just say, since the father in this parable is God himself, What a picture of what God in Christ has done for us. Seeing our desperate need of salvation, God demonstrated his loving compassion for us when he ran to us in Christ. who as our substitute willingly took upon himself the holy wrath of God the Father against sin. And he paid in full the penalty for sin that we deserved. He embraced us with his love. He kissed us with his mercy and his grace. Second Peter 3.9, we read that God is not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. He desires to see unbelieving sinners repent and to come to saving faith in Jesus Christ. And God also desires wayward believers. Wayward believers. Those who have put their faith in Christ, but have walked away from Him for whatever reason. He desires them to repent and to come back home to Him. He promises in 1 John 1, 9, if we confess our sin, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sin, to cleanse us from what? All unrighteousness. Not just some, all. Let me ask you, since God ran to you in Christ, have you run to Him? You see, it doesn't matter how far away from God you may have gone. You can never go beyond the reach, the reach of His grace. We cannot out-sin God and his grace. Romans 5.20 declares, where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. Therefore, like God himself, the model father, a godly father is always there. He never gives up on his children. No matter what they do, no matter how far away they are. He doesn't write them off. Although he has to give them to the Lord. He has open hands, he gives them to the Lord. All parents need to give their kids to the Lord. and not allow them, the children, to control them emotionally. I see it all the time with people I talk to. Again, they're like this in their Christian life because they're hanging on to their kids. Their kids are doing fine, I'm great. Whoa, now I'm down here, because they're not. We give our kids to the Lord so we're not controlled emotionally by them. And although a godly father does that, no matter how much his children may break his heart, he never stops loving them. He never stops praying for them. Because that's what a godly father does, who is following the model father. Now shocked by his father's response, who ran and embraced him and kissed him, Verse 21 says, and the son said to his father, Father, I've sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. But before the son could even finish his rehearsed words of repentance and request that his father make him as one of the hired men, his father interrupts him. because he could see his son's repentant heart. He could see that. And with forgiveness in his voice, we read in verse 22, but the father said to his slaves, quickly, the word quickly means immediately, without delay, quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. These three gifts show the father's forgiveness of his son, his reconciliation with him, and his restoration of his son to full sonship. The father wasn't pleased to say, okay, yeah, I'll make you one of the day laborers. You can show up. And no. He was pulling him back in and wanting him to know that he has been restored to full sonship. Look at how he honors his son by putting on him the best robe, the best robe, which was reserved for the guest of honor. He reassures his son that he is a vital part of the family by putting a ring on his hand. Again, back then the ring had the family crest or seal that allowed him to act with authority on behalf of the family, to do official business. He had that seal, he could stamp it. a significant, vital part of the family. And he reaffirms his sonship by putting sandals on his feet. Well, how did that work? You have to remember that back then, only the masters and the sons wore sandals. The slaves and the hired men, most of the time, went barefoot. He said, put sandals on his feet. What a picture of God's forgiveness of all of us, all of those who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, received him as Lord and Savior. We've been reconciled to God. We have been clothed in the best robe of Christ's righteousness. He treats us as sons of God, joint heirs with Christ. He gives us authority to have full access to all of his spiritual resources and blessings that he has provided us at salvation. Therefore, as the forgiven, we who have trusted Jesus Christ, we are the forgiven. And as the forgiven, we are never more like God than when we forgive other people. Ephesians 4.32 says, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. You see, a godly father is forgiving. He's not holding on to some grudge. He's not holding on to the pain and then justifying his own sin towards the one who has hurt him. Godly father is forgiving, but that's not all. The fourth quality of a godly father is this. He celebrates reconciliation. He celebrates reconciliation. Look at verses 23 and 24. Again, the father still speaking to the slaves, says, and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and has come to life again. He was lost and has been found. And they began to celebrate. He threw a big party. The son's repentance had made him, who was once spiritually dead and lost, now spiritually alive and found in Christ. He is spiritually alive and found in Christ. And because of his reconciliation with the Father, the Father throws a party by telling his slave to bring the fattened calf, to kill it, and let's celebrate. Let's eat it and celebrate. The fattened calf was a special grain-fed calf that was reserved for special occasions. And there is absolutely nothing more special than this situation with his son coming home. In the parable of the lost sheep, in Luke chapter 15, verse seven, again in the same chapter, as the parable of the lost son, Jesus said, There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Just as our Heavenly Father rejoices in heaven with the angels over repentant sinners. So a godly father celebrates the reconciliation of his children to God when they come back to him, when they repent of their sin, and they are once again restored. Again, in that reconciliation, whether that has to do with salvation, because their child is an unbeliever, or it's a wayward situation where the child has walked away from the Lord and comes back to him. The godly father celebrates. The Apostle John had this same heart of celebration. You see, John was a father of many children, but these are spiritual children. Listen to what he says in 3 John 4. He says, I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. No greater joy than my children walking in the truth. And I know godly parents feel the same way. That's why when they're not, scripture's very clear. that a mother and father's heart aches with pain. Although God joyfully celebrates with the angels over repentant sinners, the heavenly party that all believers, us included, will one day participate in throughout all eternity is ultimately not in honor of us. as the lost who were then found. Instead, it is an honor of Him, our heavenly Father, our model Father. We will celebrate Him and all that He has done for us in Christ. Four qualities of a godly father who patterns himself after God himself. He's gracious, he's generous, he's forgiving, and he celebrates reconciliation. You know, as I think about today, it takes courage, it takes commitment, it takes dependence on God's grace for us as men to be godly fathers. I thank God for all the fathers in our church family who are committed to be just that, who are seeking to pattern themselves after our model father. Fathers, we love you and we, again, thank you so much for all that you are. We honor you today. And I just want to say God bless you, and I hope you have a wonderful day today.