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Okay. week on Wednesday at 7.30 for
prayer and Bible study. Thank you. Shhh. His name shall endure forever,
his name shall be continued as long as the sun, and men shall
be blessed in him, all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed
be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things,
and blessed be his glorious name forever, and let the whole earth
be filled with his glory. Amen and amen. Let us come now
to the Lord in prayer. O gracious God, we come to thee.
We've been reminded of the blessing, the benefits bestowed, and then
the praise that is offered. And we come tonight to praise
thee, to bless thy great and glorious name. We do so from
the bottom of our hearts. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Stir
our souls, stir our hearts to bless thee. We thank thee for
the blessings through the Lord Jesus Christ that we would return
in praise unto thee. Hear us tonight, be glorified. And as we have just heard those
words, our prayer tonight is that the glory of Jesus would
fill the earth, fill this place, fill many places in the country
this evening on. May Christ be lifted up. May
mercy be proclaimed. O hear us, for Christ's sake.
Amen. If you would turn with me to
our first praise, number 96. Number 96. And we're going to sing from
verse 6 to 11. Great honour is before His face,
Her Majesty divine, Strength is within His holy place, And
there doth beauty shine. The tune is even-jammed. Verses
6 to 11. Great honour is before His face,
and majesty divine. Strength lives within His holy
grace, and let our beauty shine. ♪ Do ye a strive unto the Lord
♪ ♪ All people every tribe ♪ ♪ Glory do ye unto the Lord ♪ ♪ And mighty
power strive ♪ Give ye the glory to the Lord, that to his name
is due. Come ye into his courts, and
bring an offering with you. In beauty of His holiness, O
do the Lord adore, Like wise heirs of the earth throughout,
Trembled His face before. Among the heathen say the praise
the world shall set past me. Be fixed from moving, ye shall
just, the meek or righteous be. Let them speak glad before the
Lord, and let the earth rejoice. Let Satan, all that is daring,
cry out and make a noise. One was produced yesterday but
I changed things in the night, changed the sermons around. When
we came to print the newsletter this morning there was thunder
and lightning and the printer didn't work. Why I mention that
is because our consecutive reading is Proverbs 19. Proverbs 19 was due to the thunderstorm
this morning. Proverbs 19 and we're reading
verses 1 through to verse 23, our consecutive reading. Better is the poor that walketh
in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and
is a fool. Also, that the soul be without
knowledge, it is not good, and he that hasteth with his feet
sin. The foolishness of man perverteth
his way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord. Wealth maketh
many friends, but the poor is separated from his neighbour.
A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh
lies shall not escape. Many will entreat the favour
of the prince, and every man is a friend to him that giveth
gifts. All the brethren of the poor
do hate him. How much more do his friends go far from him.
He pursueth them with words, yet they are wanting to him.
He that geteth wisdom loveth his own soul. He that keepeth
understanding shall find good. A false witness shall not be
unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall perish. Delight is
not seemly for a fool, much less for a servant to have rule over
princes. The discretion of a man defereth
his anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
The King's wrath is as the roaring of a lion, but his favour is
as the dew upon the grass. A foolish son is the calamity
of his father, and the contentions of a wife are a continued dropping.
House and riches are the inheritance of fathers, and a prudent wife
is from the Lord. Slothfulness casteth him to a
deep sleep, and an idle soul shall suffer hunger. He that
keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul, but he that despiseth
his ways shall die. He that hath pity upon the poor
lendeth unto the Lord. And that which he hath given,
will he pay him again? Chasten thy son, while I miss
hope, And let not thy soul spare for his crime. A man of great
wrath shall suffer punishment, For if thou deliver him, yet
thou dost do it again. Hear counsel and receive instruction,
that thou mayest be wise in thy letterment. There are many devices
in a man's heart, nevertheless for counsel of the Lord that
shall stand. The desire of a man is his kindness,
and a poor man is better than a liar. Amen. May the Lord add the blessing
to the reading of his precious word. Well, let's turn to our
second praise, number nine, and we're going to sing from verse
7 to 12, God shall endure for aye, he doth for judgment set
his throne, in righteousness to judge the world. Number nine,
verses 7 to 12. God shall endure, for aid he
doth, for judgment set his road, in righteousness to judge the
world, justice to give his one. ♪ God also will our refugee ♪
♪ For the chance of progress ♪ ♪ A refuge will he be in sight
♪ ♪ Of troubles to dispel ♪ and they shall know thy name in thee,
and all creatures will praise. For thou hast not forsaken them,
but truly seek thy praise. O sing ye praises to the Lord,
that dwells in Zion hill, and o'er the nation's terroir, his
deeds may glory still. When he inquired about the blood,
he then remembered them. The humble told me of four of
them, that call upon his name. to Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter
15. I'm going to read from verse
1 down to verse 14. Lord willing we'll begin to look
at the parable of the prodigal son or the lost son tonight and
next week there's much here in the parable. So we'll read down
to just verse 14. Chapter 15 of Luke, verse 1,
Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners full to
hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes
murmured, saying, This man was seed of sinners, and eateth with
them. And he spake this parable unto
them, saying, What man of you, having a hundred sheep, If he
lose one of them, doth not need the ninety and nine in the wilderness,
and go after that which is lost, until he find it. And when he
have found it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. And
when he comeeth home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours,
saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep
which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than
over ninety of thine just persons, which need no repentance. Either
what woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece,
doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently
till she find it, and when she have found it, she calleth her
friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me, For
I found the peace which I had lost. Likewise I say unto you,
there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one
sinner that repenteth. And he said a certain man had
two sons. And the younger of them said
to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth
to me. And he divided unto them his
living. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all
together and took his journey into a far country, and there
wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent
all, there arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to
be in want. Amen. May the Lord add the blessing
to the reading of his precious word. Let's come again to the
Lord in prayer. Let us pray. O gracious God,
we stand amazed at thy grace tonight. Grace displayed in the
parable, what grace towards us. And O may we value it, may we
treasure it, may we think often of thy grace. As at the table
we fought on the grace of our Saviour, and he is precious. O Lord, thou art everything to
us. O to love thee more, O to have a greater respect for thee,
O for our affections to be ascending more often towards heaven. May
our hearts be towards thee this evening, Emma. We thank thee
for thy word, not only can we read it, we thank thee for the
reading of the word, we can sing from it and we can hear it preached,
and we can pray in the light of it, We thank thee for thy
birth, and we would say our Father, which art in heaven. Thou art
so holy, so separate, so sacred, and thou art our God. We thank
thee we can address thee as our Father. that opens up to us so
much in our minds, thy love, thy care, thy protection. O Lord, we thank thee. We would
seek to have high thoughts of thee. Hallowed be thy name. Thy
kingdom come, O Lord. Extend the kingdom. Though may
many be saved, thy kingdom come. And may thy will be done on earth
as it is in heaven. Lord, help us this week to be
mindful of thy will, O Lord. shortcomings, we don't always
think of thy will. But Lord, may we be those who
think often this week and submit to it. We thank thee for the
example of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Not my will, but
thine, be done. Lord, do give us our daily bread,
everything necessary for us this coming week, as we fought this
morning of Abraham, who stepped out in faith and now must provide
for him. Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, O Lord, as we forgive others, those who
are debtors to us. Heavenly Father, may we know
that fatherly forgiveness. Lord, help us in the valley of
temptation. O Lord, and when we fail thee
and yield to temptation, deliver us quickly, Lord, we pray, and
deliver us from the evil which so comes around us each and every
day. O be a shield to us as we fall
to the table, be a help to us this coming week, O Lord, and
thine be the glory, O Lord, the strength and the honour, All
for thee, O Lord, we will ascribe these things unto thee tonight. And as we fought earlier, we
pray for the glory of our beloved Saviour, that it would fill the
whole earth. Teach us to pray, O Lord, day
by day. Help us in prayer. We can find
a great blessing of prayer, but also the battles in prayer. O,
give us a mind centred on thee in prayer. Help us to be believing
while we pray, to look beyond the present scene, to look to
thee, for thou art a God of great power, and thou doest all things
well. Bless thy word to us tonight.
O Lord, speak to us. We pray for all who gathered
this morning. We pray for those not able to be with us tonight. We commit them unto thee. Those
who sorrow at this time, we do pray again for Serenity and Janie,
undertake for them. O Lord, do be with Serenity and
her mother at this time as well. Do support them, pray for Janie,
do speak to him if it be thy will. O Lord, that he might rest
in the Saviour, we pray. And the whole family, here in
this country, in Canada as well, we commit them to Thee. Would
you pray that Thou would help us this week, help us to step
out in faith. Lord, Thou knowest the way that
we take this week. Lord, much not known to us, but
help us to step out in faith. May we be obeying Thee each and
every day. O Lord, search us, O Lord. We
pray, speak to us through thy Word, and may we have that winning
heart to step out by faith this coming week. Bless us as a fellowship,
go before us. We thank thee for the bonds of
love here in this place and undertake it every way for us here as thy
people. Add to us, O Lord, others to
join us here. We pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst
speak in this community, we thank thee that thou wouldst place
the light in this place. O may the light shine brightly
as the winter months come on, people see the chapel lights
on. May they be reminded even more so in the winter that there
is a people worshipping thee on thy day. O we pray for those
who are strangers in our families, to grace, O we pray for them. We pray for our nation at this
time. It seems to be going through, again, a time of great difficulty. Give us leaders who fear thee. We've been reminded so often
of the blessing in a nation in the Book of Proverbs, when the
righteous are in rule, but when the unrighteous are in rule it
doesn't go well. Give us leaders that fear thee. Lord, we pray. We pray for situations
in this world again. We pray for peace in Ukraine. Oh, Lord, we pray for the end
of that war. Help us now, then, we come to
thee. We thank thee for the opportunity of meeting around the table.
May we not forget the benefits. May we remember much our Saviour
this night and in days to come. so that we are called home, we
meet around the table again. Lord, down on us, O may our walk
with Christ be closer in the interval, O Lord, draw us nearer,
that our love for Christ might ripen even more before we come
to the table again. Lord, we thank Thee for the unspeakable
gift, we thank Thee for Thy grace, we thank Thee for the Gospel,
May we be thankful this night. Heal us now, for Christ's sake. Amen. One night of the prodigal son,
of the lost son, let's turn to number 51. Number 51. The singing
from verse 1. Down to verse 5, verse 1 through
to verse 5, the truth is he killed it, after thy loving kindness
Lord have mercy upon me, for thy compassion's great blot out
all mine iniquity. Number 51, verses 1 to 5. After Thy lovingkindness, Lord,
have mercy upon me. For Thy compassion's great plot,
have all my iniquity. Migweth from sin and truly was
from my iniquity. O my transgressions, like a pest,
why did I ever sin? Grace be the only abiding in
thy sight, Dominus Deo, that when thou speak'st loudness be
just. and clear in judging still. Behold, I in enigmatic was hold
the womb within. My mother also Well, tonight we begin a new
series. We're going to focus on the Lord's
Day mornings, on the parables, that's the new series, the parables
of Christ. But I want us to begin tonight
and then we'll continue next Lord's Day morning in the parables
and particularly this parable. We considered life turned around
by the Saviour throughout the year, now we come to the parables
of Christ. There's much for us to learn
from the parables. What is a parable? where it can
be translated, the Greek word, as parable in the Bible, as a
comparing, a comparison of one thing with another, a likeness,
a proverb. That's the meaning from the Greek. The Reverend John Brown Paddington
writes, a figurative representation of the truth. So, as we consider
tonight, the lost son. We're considering one that is
lost, but then found. We'll particularly note that
next week. So we come now to the parables. There's much for our learning
in the parables. Now, we need to be careful if
we come to the parables. You think of the Good Samaritan.
Two coins. There'd be those who've gone
too far and thought the two coins represented 2,000 years. One
coin, 1,000. We need to be very careful going
too far into things. We need to remember it's a parable
and see what the main thing the Lord is teaching. For example,
when we come to the parable of the lost son, we see first of
all, one who knew certain blessings, but he wasn't the Lord's. He
went off, he found himself in such a place, but then the Holy
Spirit came and convicted him. He was shown his sin, but also
the suitableness of Christ. This is the things we're learning
from the parable. And then he is embraced by the Father. What
grace! And he wears the best robe. We have the other son. We believe
him to represent the Pharisees. They were always worshipping
in the temple. And that's what we see in verse
31. Son, thou art ever with me. You've
always been there. You're there, you have the blessings
outwardly. We believe him to represent the
Pharisees and the scribes, those who look down on others. And
we see that in the opening part of the chapter. You notice the
Lord is addressing the Pharisees and the scribes. So we're to
look for what the Lord is saying, the main thing. We need to be
careful, we don't go too far into detail because that's where
we can go wrong with the parables. So that's just word of introduction. Welcome with me tonight to Luke
15 and I'm going to read verse 11 and verse 12. And he said
a certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his
father father give me the portion of goods that falleth to me and
he divided unto them his living. Dear congregation One of the
great things we see in this parable is the amazing grace of God. That's one of the great things
we're taught in the parable. Just consider the father in verse
20. But when he was yet a great way
off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell down
on his neck and kissed him. Amazing grace and mercy showed
What grace! We think in verse 22, the father
said to his servants, bring forth the best robe. And we're reminded
that justification by faith is a gracious act. Well, this parable
particularly teaches us of the amazing grace of God towards
poor sinners. When you come to the first parable,
we're taught particularly of the shepherd, and how he goes
forth to find that which was lost. Now you notice verse four,
if he lose one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine
in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find
it. We're thinking of the one that
was lost. The others, they were always worshipping, we could
say. They represented the Pharisees and the scribes. Need to be careful
how we come to the parables. But what we see there is the
amazing love of the shepherd. And what love towards us he went
after us, until he found us. And what also is magnified here? Amazing pardon. Just notice verse
six. And when he cometh home, he calleth
together his friends, and they would say unto them, Rejoice
with me, for I have found my secret was lost. I say unto you,
that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repented. This joy. The Son is repented
and there's amazing pardon. So we look for the main things
in the parables. We think of the shepherd, or
we think in this parable of the lost son, of the amazing grace
of God. that the Apostle Paul wrote to
the brethren in his epistle to the Ephesians, Ephesians 2, verse
4 and 5, But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love
wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened
us together with Christ. By grace ye are saved. What rich mercy! What amazing
grace! And we're taught this in the
parable of the lost son. Now, as we think of the younger
and the elder, we're considering two people or two classes. As we think of the elder, we
think of those who continue on. They're faithful, as it were,
in doing certain things, but they do not know the Lord. And
they look down on others. You remember Luke 18, the Pharisee
in the temple, I'm not as other men are. Then we come to the
younger. He goes off. He represents a
sinner. Oh, what a state they are in. Remember the younger son found
himself in the pig field. then the Holy Spirit comes and
convicts and that's represented in the parable. Well in this
chapter we have three parables, the parable of the lost sheep,
the parable of the lost coin and the parable of the lost son
or many are called the prodigal son. Well I'd like us to consider
the lost son or the prodigal son tonight and next week we'll
continue to look at this parable First of all, we see the sinful
desire. Secondly, the sinful step. Thirdly,
the sinful life. And then fourthly, the sinner
at the turning point. The sinner at the turning point. Now, if we consider in the parable,
He goes off, does he not, in verse 15, enjoys himself to a
citizen of that country, and he sent him into the fields to
feed swine, and he would vain have filled his belly with the
husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. And
when he came to himself, in the parable, the Son comes to himself. What's the lesson here? Oh, the
Spirit has come, and convicted of sin, and shown the suitableness
of Christ. that one only hope is the Lord,
what he did and the amazing grace of God. So we simply read in
verse 17, he came to himself, he's the turning point, but oh,
there's much here for our learning. The Spirit has come and be thankful,
dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there was a turning point
in your life. We thought this morning of the
Spirit coming Oh, he came. Well, let's consider first of
all tonight then the sinful desire. Now, as we come to this parable,
it's so relevant, as with all the parables, to set the scene,
what we see today in this country. This is happening again and again. Well, let's consider first of
all in the sinful design. Verse 12, And the younger of
them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods
that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his
living. The younger son, he wants half
of the inheritance, that which is the portion that falleth to
him, because he wants to go. He'd been brought up in the Father's
house. Now do you see, you need to be careful with the parables.
Here's the parable. He'd been brought up in the Father's
house. But we mustn't conclude that the parable is speaking
of one who falls from grace. No, some have gone wrong on this.
It's the parable at this point. He brought up in the Father's
house. He wants the portion of goods that fall off to him. And
he must see And then we read in verse 13,
There's the parable. Think of the sinful desire. He
wants to go. He wants to live his life his
way. Well, many are like that, aren't
they? They may have heard certain things in their lives. Now we can think of someone who's
of younger years. The panel sets forth the youngest
son. But as we think of the youngest
son, there's older people who've heard certain things from the
Bible but want to go off. They don't want to hear any more.
But here the youngest son, he wants to go, he has this sinful
desire, he wants to so live in the world. Now let's consider
the sinner is already living in the world. But there can come
times when they want to more live in the world. They may have
heard in Sunday School of the Saviour, or in the open air,
the Word of God. Oh, I don't want to hear this,
I'm going to live more for the world. I'm happy with the world
thus far, I want to live more for the world. Here's the sinful
desire. Now it is true, the Lord sends
the rain and the sun on the righteous and on the unrighteous. What
blessing that is. And we're thankful the rain has
fallen on the fields of ungodly farmers, because provision will
come alongside the provision that is in the fields of godly
farmers. But oh, consider those. They
just want to go further into the waves of sin. I don't want to hear any more.
I've heard it for many years. Well, I've heard it for a few
hours. I don't want to hear any more. Sadly, many are like this. They just want to go further
into the pathways of sin. Yes, thus far, fairly respectful. He sought to do that which was
right in a general way, but oh now, let's go further. That's
what he wants. There are many who are seeking
to encourage young people in rebellion. Now what do we read
in Proverbs 6 verse 20? My son, keep thy father's commandment,
and forsake not the law of thy mother. That's the exaltation.
Yet there's competition in this world, and the devil is very
active. Remember the parable of the sower?
A simple parable, but there's much there. The birds, the fowls
of the air, they come and take away the seed, and the devil
is very active. Sermons are preached, but the
devil comes. The devil is very active, I tell
you. You only have to look out in the nation, you know the devil
is very active. He's chained, that's a symbol,
isn't it, in Revelation? But he is active, he's like a
roaring lion. What a son, he has this sinful
desire but for the grace of God, it
would have been me. And as we come to the parables,
we need to come humbly to the parables. And as we come to this
parable, we need to come humbly because the elder brother, we
can think of the Pharisees and the scribes from verse two, they
were religious, but they looked down on others. They were proud.
We need to be so careful, but for the grace of God, Do you recognize that? We would
have all got to a point if we were brought up in a godly home
or we had some godly influence, we would have departed. That's
the reality. How amazing is the grace of God. It may be you did not have a
godly upbringing. It's still the grace of God,
isn't it? That you're here tonight. What grace. But here the youngest
son, he has the sinful desire, he has the glamour for independence
and living further into this world. I want to get away. I love sin. I want more of it. Think of the youngest son brought
up in the father's house. He loved the sin. Oh yes, he
paid lip service, but he loved sin. Now he wants to indulge
himself in more and more and more. Oh, there's many who want
to leave. No more. No more for me. There was a certain farmer in North
Wiltshire. He had a godly family, a wider family, known to Summit
TBS. But his father was not a believer. His father used to get drunk.
He was no good influence on his son. And there came a time the
son said, no more. I don't want to hear what the
wider family are saying. You know, some of them in North
Wiltshire are still alive. and they prayed for their son. As far as I know, he died in
his sins. I attended his funeral. He was
my uncle. No more. He ploughed himself into farming
so much, 24-7, no time. He wanted to shove it all out.
No more. And that's the cry of many, no
more, and the world comes to entice. There's the temptation
in the world. You remember temptation? We can
think of it in a threefold light. First of all, the devil tempts,
and the world tempts, but also the heart, the sin within, where
the world tempts. What do we read in Proverbs 1
verse 10? My son, if sin is enticed, ye can sin thou not. If they
say, come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk frivolously
for the innocent without cause, so on and so forth, cast in thine
utter manners, let us all have one poor's purse. Here's the
temptation, and some have such a desire, I want more. I love
sin. I met someone the other day,
I can't say I love Jesus. I love sin. Well, he's honest,
isn't he? But there's so many in this world
who are not honest. They won't say to a minister
or a Sunday school teacher or someone else, I love sin. But
they do. Well, here's the sinful desire.
The eyes are drawn more, the heart is drawn. It's been drawn
already, but here I want more. And there's the desire. As one
of the Puritans wrote, the world is painted in fair colors by
the devil. The world is painted in fair
colors by the devil. Here's the youngest son, representative
one who wants to live more in this world. Whether they be young
or old, It's not exclusive to young people, is it? It's the
parable. Here's a sinner, may have had
some influence, but now they're drawn more down the slippery
path of sin. Well, let's consider secondly,
a sinful step. Verse 13, not many days after
the youngest son gathered all together and took his journey
into a far country, and there wasted his substance with righteous
living. There was a certain son who was
brought up in Swansea. His father was a minister. There
came a time he went round to the other side of the world and
there he lived his life. Oh, he went forth, he didn't
want the influence of home anymore. Many years later, he was on the
way home And he was in this waiting room at Flint, and I happened
to go in. And I started to talk. I thought
I had half an hour to wait. And do you know what he said
to me? I know the gospel, that is in my head, but I'm not a
believer. He'd been brought up in the father's
house. His father was a minister, but
off he had gone. He took that sinful step. Here's
the younger son. He gathered together that which
was full of today. And he took his journey into
a far country. There he goes then. Oh, many
are doing that tonight. They're going further and further
away. They may have heard something
when they were younger. They may have heard something in a
fruit or come into a service. Seen a poster on the back of
a bus? A track gone through the door? I don't want that. They go further, they take the
step, away and away. Not many days, his mind was made
up, he would not listen. How sad it is. Many have taken this sinful step. No longer do I want to hear the
Bible. No longer do I want to have the
influence of Godly people. What a step! What pride in the
heart! You think of this younger son,
he thought he knew better. Do not men and women think they
know better? They think they know better than
God himself. What blasphemy! To think one
knows better than God. Yet, many people go forth, they
don't need this, They think they know better what pride. Psalm
10 verse 4, the wicked through the pride of his countenance
will not seek after God. God is not in all his forms.
That is, without any true affection. There may be some momentarily
thoughts of God in his work. No. Oh, consider the blindness. They've not truly seen the suitableness
of Christ. No, they're blind. What do we
think at the table? unto you who believe he is precious. Now some in the world may be
taken back a little bit, well there's something special about
the Lord, but as far as it goes, they say, well he was a good
man, went around doing good, he taught the parables, but they
can't say he's precious. What a blessing to be able to
say he's precious tonight. We come around the table, we
thought of him, he's precious. But as we think of ungodly men
and women, there's this blindness, they've not seen the suitableness
of Christ. Sometimes they're missing, suddenly
missing from church. One week there, the next week
gone. Missing from the home, not in family worship. So on
and so forth, the Bible is no longer considered. They cast
off God's authority. It's a sinful step. Now you recall the disciples
in John chapter 6, they walked with the Lord, that is, in an
outward way, but they came a day they couldn't grasp what the
Lord was saying. They would have made a profession
of faith. Outwardly they repented, but
there was no true repentance in their soul. The Lord was showing
that one is to receive spiritually himself, and they couldn't have
that. This is a hard saying. And what do we read in John 6,
verse 66? From that time, many of his disciples
went back and walked no more with him. Now, let me be clear
there. They were not truly walking with the Lord. They were not
in union with him. They were disciples in name,
but not in truth, and so they walked no more with Jesus. They
had walked for a while with the Lord. They'd listen to him in
prayer. They'd watch him perform miracles. They'd gather with him at the
synagogue, so on and so forth, but then, no more. Around 25 years ago, there was
a young man who lived in England. He was very attentive, but then
he was missing. No more. He took that sinful
step. Those disciples, they walked
no more with him. John 6, verse 66. Then Jesus
said unto the 12, verse 67, will you also go away? And Simon Peter
answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the wealth of
eternal life. You think of those that have
gone. Jesus says, will you also go away? What do we respond,
dear brethren, with Peter? Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou
hast the words of eternal life. Now you notice the Lord questioned
his disciples, and the Lord will question us at times, because
he wants us to focus on him. He wants us to speak to him. You remember Peter when he denied
the Lord? Our Lord came to him in mercy, love us now more, than
these. He's testing, he wants Peter
to focus and all will come and question you. Do you understand
that? But what do we say? To whom should
we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. We will follow thee. But hear
this younger son, he had a sinful desire and then suddenly We say again, we think of the
younger son, but it's not just younger people in the nation,
it's older people as well. I've been into the rest homes
at times. Some of you have been there and you've witnessed people,
they don't want to hear. I remember I went in a few years
ago in the week, and there was this elderly man there. He was
quite deaf, so everybody could hear what he said. Who is it? Someone said, it's the minister,
huh, and lifted up his paper, so I couldn't go and talk to
him. He was in his 90s. The younger son represents him. I don't know how he died. Frankly,
the parable teaches God's amazing grace when the Lord comes, but
I don't know about that man. Well, a sinful step. Thirdly,
the sinful life. You see how it follows through.
It's the slippery slope of sin. A desire, then a step, then a
life. The sinful life, verse 13, and
not many days after, the younger son gathered all together and
took his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance
with righteous living. He goes off. He takes what was
given to him and he wastes it on riotous living. Now we have
here the word riotous. Literally from the Greek, lax
in morals, loose living, lawlessness. Well, over these last few decades,
we've witnessed, those of us who are a little older, riots
in the country. A few years ago, from the 30th
of July to the 5th of August, after the South Port stabbing,
there was riots. And then in 2011, 6th of August
to the 11th of August, after a man was shot, there was riots
and 3,000 were arrested. We can think of riots, the Oxford
Shorter Dictionary, an outbreak of active lawlessness, an outbreak
Well, here it is, he went off and he wasted his substance with
righteous living. I think again of the Greek word
which is translated here as righteous, it means lawlessness, loose living,
lax in morals. Oh, he wasted his substance. Now notice verse 13. were helped
here to understand a little more of what he engaged in. Verse
30, But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured
thy living with harlots, there was killed for him the fatted
calf. That was particularly the lawlessness,
immorality. He went to visit the harlots,
he committed sexual sin, fornication, Oh, the slippery path of sin,
a sinful desire, I don't want any more of that godly influence. Then the sinful step, off I go. And then the sinful life is the
saking God's word. Oh, there's such lawlessness
in the country. I'm not thinking of riots here.
I'm thinking of a lawlessness within the soul, a disregard
of God. You know how many times you've
been in the shop and suddenly somebody blasphemes? Not always
are we able to say something. I remember a few years ago I
went into Asda in Poole and as soon as I went in the door and
went down to get the medicine this young lady took the name
of the Lord in vain and it just hit me. So I very carefully went
up to her. You know I love the one. You've
just used his name. She was taken back. She didn't
realize, really, she was blasphemed. So interwoven into her language,
she was taken back. And not always do we have the
opportunity, but sometimes we do. How people blaspheme the
name of Jesus. And to you who believe he is
precious, yet his name is blasphemed. There's a disregard for his laws
as a whole, for his day. People can be so unkind to parents. Then the adultery, the fornication,
immorality, all the sexual sins. Oh, it's very descriptive, this
parable, isn't it, of Senez today. Alice swore Senez years ago. But, oh, consider the nation.
There's lawlessness, isn't there? So many do not get married but
live in sin. So on and so forth. Consider
the drunkenness on the streets today. The psalmist said in Psalm
119, verse 136, rivers of waters run down mine eyes because they
keep not thy law. We mourn no twin. Do not we pity them that forsake
God's law? They think themselves happy but
their joy is fleeting. Is a sinful worldly joy not a
lasting true joy from heaven? Oh, what a life it is. Just think of the joy you have
known in your sins forgiven. The joy you have known in talking
to Jesus. The joy you have known in your
heart being warmed as it was on the road to Emmaus. Just a
little joy has lifted you, but the world doesn't know such things. They think themselves happy,
and let me say, there is what we call natural joy. You see
certain ones laughing together, and it's over lawful things.
There is a natural joy, but there's such a sinful joy in the hearts
of unbelievers. Believers, there's not this heaven-sent
joy. Oh, what a state of sin and misery
men are in, and this represented here, we think of the elder brother,
that represents the hypocrite and the proud, but the younger,
oh what a state. Yes, the elder brother, he was
in a state, we could say of sin and misery, but there was a formalness
about him. Just notice this in the parable,
verse 14. And when he had spent all, there
arose a mighty famine in that land, and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself
to a citizen of that country, and sent him into his fields
to feed swine. And he would vain have filled
his belly with the husks that the swine did eat. and no man
gave unto him. Here's the parable, what misery
the man was in. Now it's not to say that all
unbelievers will find themselves in such one, it's just a parable. But it teaches the misery that
sinners are in and the state of sin. Soon his money was gone. And what had it achieved? Now
money cannot buy true Happiness. Money's helpful, isn't it? Some
of you like pizzas. There's often pizzas in my house
and the restaurant in Salisbury. It's helpful to have money, isn't
it? But the danger is when riches get into the heart. Remember
the quotes of the Puritan Thomas Watson. Water is useful for the
sailing of the ship. But the danger is, you know it,
when the water gets into the ship. The very water that supports
the ship in sailing can sink the ship. Riches can be useful,
but the danger is when they get into the heart. They are in the
heart of this young son. How quickly money goes, do you
ever ask that question? How quickly money goes when they've
given their money over to buy something, hoping to have a great
return. It got him nowhere, didn't it?
Remember Joseph, he made wise preparations in view of the famine,
but this son, no wise preparation. There was a mighty famine, verse
14, and he began to be in want. Now what were they told in Joseph's
day? Go unto Joseph. And Joseph is
a type of Christ. Go unto Christ, there's provision
in him in days of difficulty. But this son, he'd wasted his
substance and he was in one. What a state! Sin gets no one
anywhere but further away from God. What a state this man was
in. He's there in the pig field,
verse 15. He was sent into his fields to
feed swine. A vein hath filled his belly
with the husk of the swine did he. Remember it's the parable
again. What a state he was in. All the smell and the filth,
there in the fields. A few weeks ago, we went for
a walk near Birkholm. Some of you may know where Birkholm
is. Lovely place. And you go up and
up and up into the hills. And then you come to a place.
And before you come to the place, you hear something. The noise
of the pigs. And then you look over the fence.
There's no green grass. They've eaten the door up. There's
mud. And the pigs are covered in filth. Well, here's the son. He's in the pig field. fleeting
sinful joys in this world. Men find, but oh, they're in
a state of sin and misery. Where does sin get one? What
a miserable state one was in. Men by nature are in a state
of sin and misery. No true communion with God. They're under his wrath. What
a state. Think of here, the younger son,
he's in the pig field, in such a state, but there, the grace
of God finds him. That's what we're learning here.
For we read in verse 17, when he came to himself, when he came
to himself. And we come to a close tonight.
We'll carry on next time, looking at the parable more. But fourthly
tonight, the sinner at the turning point. The sinner at the turning
point. When he came to himself, he said,
how many hired servants of my father's house have bread enough
and to spare, and I perished with hunger. The turning point. I was not in a desperate situation
of poverty outwardly. I had three meals each day. But
there was a turning point in my life. Remember, it's the parable.
What are we taught here? There's no true joy in sin. One
is in a miserable state of sin and misery. But there's a turning
point. It's the grace of God, isn't
it? Now the grace of the Father is magnified in verse 20, but
oh, don't overlook verse 17. He comes to himself, the sinner
at the turning point. A life of sin, where had it gotten? He's now convicted. What have
I done? Go back to that waiting room
in Flint. But it stopped there. Still he
went on in sin. I don't know where he is now.
But when the Lord is at work, there comes a turning point. Here's the youngest son in the
field. What a place. Now I was in a field once. You
may have heard this before. And I was sitting in a pig's
hut. They had these huts set up for us, working out in the
fields, digging trees, so we could go and have our lunch in
them. It was a good mile walk, so they'd set up these pig huts.
Pigs had never used them, but they were pig huts. And I remember
sitting in that pig hut, thinking, what am I doing here? There wasn't
any pig's mess there, but there was the filth of the fields,
the mud on your boots, and you sat in there. What did I do? I opened my Bible. Somebody spotted
me from the next pig hut. I used to go to Sunday school.
I remember reading a Bible. He remembered. I'll never forget
that occasion. I was downhearted. What was I
doing 50 miles away of home, in the rain, in the mud, sat
in a pig hut? I was there. because that other
man had to be reminded of early days. I pray there has been a
turning point for him. Oh, consider the turning point.
He's convicted. What has he done? What does he
say? This next week in verse 18, I
will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven and before thee. He's convicted.
Here's a sinner convicted. Now I tell you this, there are
people in this country who have what we call legal convictions. They feel they've done wrong.
There's some people in prison. They feel they've done wrong.
They show some remorse. I shouldn't have done that. One
can have legal convictions, but not no gospel repentance. Legal
convictions, one feels wrong. But here represented is one who's
been convicted but they turn and they look to the Lord for
mercy in and through Christ. The eldest son, he had openly
repented, but it was only an open repentance. But here the
youngest son, representative of a sinner, truly convicted,
he come to himself. What do we read in Romans chapter
two? The goodness of the Lord leadeth thee to repentance. Think
of all those sins in Romans 1. The goodness of the Lord leadeth
thee to repentance. And here's a sinner in the grace
and mercy of the Lord has been brought to this point. They're
convicted. You remember when you were convicted,
maybe on a day or a season you were convicted. How amazing is
God's grace. He came in What do we read here in verse
17? When he came to himself before he wasn't thinking right. Now
it's interesting here, isn't it? Even in the father's house,
though he had a good influence, he wasn't thinking right. Got to be careful with the parables,
haven't we? It's not till this time when he began to think in
the right way. I'm a sinner. I've sinned against
heaven. I would arise and go to my father
and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven
and before thee, true gospel repentance sees sin as offensive
before a holy God. There have been those who feel
they've done wrong, but they've not truly seen their sin for
what it is. Remember the psalmist, he was
a believer when he penned those words, against thee, thee only
have I sinned. We fell, others, but ultimately
it's God we have sinned against. It's God's law we have broken.
When one is brought to himself, they see sin for what it is,
and there's a grief and hatred over it. The youngest son, he's
in the pig field. Look what sin has done. He's
brought to himself. Before this time, the sinner
is not thinking straight. Listen to Spurgeon commenting
on verse 17. A sinner is beside himself. While
he is living in sin, he is out of his mind. He is beside himself. I am sure this is so. What sin
has done to the mind and the memory Think of the faculties
of the soul, and sin has affected every faculty, as we see in Isaiah
chapter 1, from the head to the foot. The will, oh, what sin has done. Yet through the grace of God,
we see in Psalm 110, thy people shall be willing in the day of
thy power. But oh, what sin has done. O Israel, thou hast destroyed
thyself, we meet in Hosea. Oh, what sin has done. But now
this son, he comes to himself, a turning point. And be thankful
there is a turning point. Millions have come to this turning
point throughout history. We can think of those who've
been brought up and had some influence for many years, or
just a little influence for 5, 10, or 20 minutes. They're represented
here. But in the grace and mercy of
the Lord, in a factual calling, one has been brought to a point,
a turning point. It's all of grace, isn't it?
The youngest son, he's in the pit field. He's spent his substance. He's got nothing. but there comes
a turning point. The sinner has nothing, but there's
a turning point. Has there been a turning point
in your life? And we think here of one being brought to this
turning point, the spirit, as it were. The spirit convicts. What do we read in John 16, verse
eight? When he has come, he will reprove
the world of sin. Reprove, convict, here it is
represented in the parable. What have I done? I've failed
God. I've sinned against Him. What
at that time is looking? Faith has been put within. And
then there's repentance. The Spirit is at work. The Spirit
comes and conveys, but also shows the suitableness of Christ. That's
plain, isn't it? You were drawn to Christ. You
were shown the suitableness of Christ. You turned to him through
the grace of God, the goodness of God, leadeth thee to repentance. You considered him, he is my
only hope, he who went to the cross of Calvary. There's a turning. He came to himself. Oh, pray
that many would come to themselves in this nation, boys, girls,
men, and women. There's hope for poor sinners
that's set forth through the amazing grace of God. There's hope for great sinners. That's what we're taught here,
isn't it? This parable sets forth great sinners, but it sets forth
the great and amazing grace of God. The Apostle Paul recognised
that in 1 Timothy 1 verse 15, this is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief, says Paul. Now at this
point we disagree with Paul, don't we? Do you? He says, I'm
the chief of sinners, says Paul. I disagree with him. Not you,
Paul. But we know what he's saying.
What Paul is saying, I'm a great sinner. I think myself to be
the chief of sinners, but a glorious Saviour came into the world.
Oh, there's hope for great sinners, poor sinners, sinners that have
done so much wrong, sinners that have lived their lives in such
lawlessness. Now, let me pause. When you think
of the sin of unbelief, not keeping the first commandment, that's
lawlessness, isn't it? So let's be careful before we
point the finger too much. We were guilty, but what we're
learning here is sinners who have done terrible things, there's
great hope for them. And this is seen in 1 Corinthians
6 verse 9 through to verse 11. Know ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor
abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the
kingdom of God. And such were some of you. They're
all here in the parable, aren't they? Such were some of you,
although those who engaged in such fornication in Corinth,
it was a place of great wickedness, but the grace of God was found
there in the hearts of certain ones at Corinth. Such were some
of you, you come to the parable, such were we, many can say, but
ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name
of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Washed, justified,
all their sins forgiven, accepted, there's a new life now. Now let
me just pause. This son was in the pig field. What a state of misery he was
in. He had wasted his father's substance
through righteous living, immoral living. but not any longer. He wasn't perfect, and there
was the battle of indwelling sin, but our lifestyle is behind
him now, and that's what we learn in 1 Corinthians 6. Now, there
are some in the modern church because they're not brave enough
in this world, in this country, because they're fearful. Think
you can carry on living in such a way. Well, maybe tempted. but there's a new life. Old things
are passed away. The youngest son, he came up
out from the pig field. He didn't go off living a life
of righteous living. Yes, a sinner, a believer can
fail, but there's a new life now. And we need to be clear
on this. And I tell you, one of the reasons
why we need to be clear on this is this, because there is power to turn life's men, to turn men's
lives around. And we see that in Corinth. What
gross iniquity was in Corinth. What fornication. But the grace
of God intervened. Such were some of you that ye
are washed, that ye are sanctified, that ye are justified in the
name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God. What the Lord
is able to do, admire the grace of God. One wrote the vilest
offender who truly believed that moment from Jesus a pardon received. There's hope for sinners. And
when we think of all fornication and sexual sins and all immorality,
the Bible is plain, it is sin. But there's hope in Christ. What a message I have to bring
for sinners. What hope there is in this parable,
His sinners living in such an immoral way, but the grace of
God has found them out. How many really thought of that
in the parable? Just the parable of the lost
son, God's amazing grace. We may have not done certain
things like the youngest son, but I committed the sin of unbelief
every day. Sins of the heart. where he came
to himself, there's hope for sinners. Dear brothers and sisters,
thank God there was a turning point in your life. You may not
be able to remember the hour, but there was a turning point.
The life which I now live, that's your testimony, isn't it? The
life which I now live, Galatians 2, verse 20, and you're focused
on Christ. Be thankful he came after you.
We'll consider this in the first parable. Verse four, what man
of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, does
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after
that which is lost until he find it? And where did he find that
lost sheep? In the wilderness. In the wilderness
of this one. Oh, the shepherd is it where?
The Lord is it where? He found me. He found you. Remember the parable of the Good
Samaritan? He came and that man was half-left,
half-dead, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Was it a pretty sight
when Jesus came to you and looked at your heart? Unbelief. Sin. But He embraced you. with his
gracious hand, and he lifted you up, and there was joy in
his heart. That's amazing, isn't it? We're
going to consider next week, birth 20, and he arose and came
to his father, but when he was a great way off, his father saw
him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed
him. Here's the favourite, the father, and we can think of the
grace of God. What amazing grace. and when we consider the state
we were in how amazing is the grace of God and in a nation
where there's much immorality and fornication what sinners
need to hear is there is hope in the grace of God and we hold
to the old gospel that transforms men and women A new creature
in Christ, not a perfect creature, but a new creature. Old things
are passed away. And I tell you, if you think
of the parable, the youngest son was thankful for that. Poor
sinners saved by the grace of God are thankful for salvation
and the old life is passed away. Yes, there's a battle of sin.
But now the old life is passed away, they're not on the broad
way, going over to this pleasure house of sin and that pleasure
house of sin, they're on the narrow way, following the Lord. This parable sets forth the amazing
grace of God. And are we not thankful for it?
Amen. O gracious God, we would echo
those words of the Apostle, I Am Chief. Lord, we thank thee for
thy grace. When thou didst draw near, blessed
Saviour, it wasn't a pleasant sight, as thou didst obey our
hearts. But thou didst embrace us, a
new life put within, faith, we were led to repentance, We thank
Thee, O Lord, that we were brought to that point when we came to
ourselves through the work of the Spirit, we felt our sin,
and we were shown the suitableness of Christ, and we've been rejoicing
in the suitableness of Christ ever since. O Lord, we thank
Thee for this gospel that has been entrusted, hope for the
nation, hope for sinners all over the world that by this believes. O Lord our God, we
are so thankful for thy grace. Left to ourselves, we, as it
were, would still be in the pig field, not knowing any true joy. But we tonight, at the end of
this hour, rejoice in thy grace and rejoice in our Saviour. And we can truly say, blessed
Saviour, thou art precious. O, it's our prayer as we go tonight,
that we would hold Thee closer, that Thou wouldst be more precious
to us. Hear us for Christ's sake. Amen. Let's conclude then by turning
to Psalm 113. Psalm 113, we'll sing the whole
of the Psalm. Lord, from the depths of me I
cried. If you think of the younger son
here in the pig field, he's in the depths, isn't he? But he's
crying out. Here's David, here's a sinner.
He's a believer. In the depths of sorrow, Lord,
from the depths of me I cried. My voice, Lord, do Thou hear?
And to my supplication's voice, give an attentive ear. Lord, from the depths to Thee
I cry, My voice, Lord, do Thou hear? And to Thy supplications
rise, imagine him. Lord, who shall stand with
Thou, O Lord, shouldst mark iniquity, But yet with me forgiveness is,
That with Thou mayest be. I wait for the Lord, my soul
awaits, My hope is in His Word. More than they have for morning
watch, my soul waits for the Lord. I say all that may glad
to watch, the morning light to see. Let Israel learn hope in
the Lord, for with Him have we been. And with Thee as redemption
is ever found within. and from all his iniquities,
he is dwelt our Redeemer. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be
with you all. Amen.
The prodigal son part 1
Series The parables of Jesus
| Sermon ID | 914251549265449 |
| Duration | 1:27:01 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - PM |
| Bible Text | Luke 15:11 |
| Language | English |
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