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a very warm welcome to this morning's
worship service. We're again thankful to our pastor
who will be leading this time and bringing to us God's Word.
This afternoon we have the Glencourt Outreach at 2 o'clock and we
have our prayer meeting at 9.30 today. Our evening service is
at 6 and this coming Wednesday is a missionary meeting where
we will have a presentation on William Tyndale. Thank you. Praise ye the Lord, for it is
good to sing praises unto our God, for it is pleasant and praises
coming. The Lord doth build up Jerusalem,
he gathereth together the outcast of Israel, he healeth the broken
in heart and bindeth up their wounds, he telleth the number
of the stars, he calleth them all by their names. Great is
our Lord and our great power, his understanding is infinite. Let us come now to the Lord in
prayer. Let us pray. Almighty and ever-blessed
God, we bow our hearts before thee on this thy day. O Lord,
we come to thee. We are mindful of thee, O Lord,
that we meet in thy presence. Continue to favour us, O Lord,
this morning hour. Bless us through the Redeemer,
O Lord. We thank Thee for him. We thank
Thee that heaven is open because of him. He has made the way and
our prayers and our praises are covered and heard and presented
to Thee. We come to Thee, O Lord, to worship
Thee. O help us within. We are conscious of our need
of the Holy Spirit. O make known that ministry within. As we come to thee, right at
the outset of this hour, cleanse us, heavenly Father, from our
sins of this day and this past week. Hear us, O Lord, we come
to thee for Christ's sake. Amen. If you would turn with me to
our first praise, number 145. Number 145, and we're going to
sing verses 1 through to verse 5, and the tune is Glasgow. Number
145, verses 1 to 5, and the tune is Glasgow. The first version. On the 8th storey my brother
came. I'll bless thy name always. How thee I exult, my God, the
King! God bless thy name always. Live with thy blessing, is made
and will by name forever praise. Great is the Lord, much to be
praised, His greatness such exceeds. Great sun to raise, shall praise
thy works, and show thy mighty deeds. High on thy glorious majesty,
The honor we'll record, And speak of old thy mighty words, If you will attend with me in the
Word of God for our consecutive reading to Genesis chapter 12,
and we're reading from verse 10 through to verse 20. Genesis
12, verse 10 through to verse 20. Let us hear God's Word. And there
was a famine in the land, and Abraham went down into Egypt
to sojourn there. For the famine was grievous in
the land. And it came to pass, when he
came near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife,
Behold, now I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon. Therefore it shall come to pass,
when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, this
is his wife, and they will kill me, but they will save thee a
life. Say, I pray thee, thou art my
sister, that it may be well with me for thy sake, and my soul
shall live because of thee. And it came to pass that when
Abraham was coming to Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman
that she was very fair. The princes also of Pharaoh saw
her and commended her before Pharaoh, and the woman was taken
into Pharaoh's house. And he entreated Abram well for
her sake, and he had sheep and oxen, and he had asses and men's
servants, and maidservants, and she-asses, and camels. And the
Lord plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because
of Sarai, Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and
said, What is this that thou hast done unto me? Why didst
thou not tell me that she was thy wife? Why saidest thou, She
is my sister, so I might have taken her to me to wife? Now therefore, behold thy wife,
take her, and go thy way. And Pharaoh commanded his men
concerning him, and they sent him away and his wife, and all
that he had. Amen. May the Lord add the blessing
to the reading of his precious word. Well, in light of what
we've just read there, we're going to turn to our second praise,
number 144. First of all, verses 1 to 3,
and then verses 11 and 12. Number 144 of the Psalter, verses
1 to 3, and then verses 11 to 12, and the tune is Harrington.
O blessed ever be the Lord, who is my strength and my who doth
instruct my hands to war, my fingers teach to fight. Number
144, verses 1 to 3, and then verses 11 to 12. O blest and ever be the Lord,
Who is my strength and my guide, Who doth instruct my hands to
hold, My fingers each to find, My goodness fortress, my high
tower, deliverer and shield. In whom I trust, who under me,
my people, praise to you. Lord, watch this man, that Thou
art near. Trust her much, know his name. O Son of man, that Thou art near. Serve, praise her, God does name. Hold free me from strange children's
hands, Whose must be vanity, And their right hand, the right
hand is, That works its symphony. That as the flowers blossoms
may be, May you throw love at all. Our daughters like two cornerstones,
Come like a palace bell. If you would help me now for
our New Testament reading to Luke chapter 15. Luke chapter
15 and we're reading from verse 11 through to verse 24. Let us
hear God's word. Luke 11, Luke 15 and verse 11. 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 righteous living.
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 he sent him into his fields
to feed swine, and they had filled his belly with the husks that
the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. And when he came
to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's
have bread enough and to spare, that I perish with hunger? I
will arise and go to my father, and will say unto 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 he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a
great whale, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and
fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son. But the Father said to his servants,
Bring forth the best fruit, and put it on him, and put a ring
on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring him the fatted
calf, and kill it, and let us eat, and be merry. For this my
son was dead, and is alive again. For he was lost, and is found,
and they began to be many. Amen. May the Lord again add
the blessing to the reading of his precious words. Let's continue
in worship by returning to the Lord in prayer. Let us pray. O gracious God, we do thank thee
for the privilege of coming to thee this day We think that so
many in this world have no thought of Thee. And as we have read
this morning, they are lost. But Lord, we thank you for the
blessing that we are here. Lord, our God, we do count it
a great privilege to come and to worship Thee. Who are we to
worship such a great and a glorious God? so holy, so pure, yet we
are bare. We thank Thee, O Lord, we can
come through the name of our Saviour. We do thank Thee for
Him. Oh, what mercy, what grace has
been shown to us as we think of Thy grace this morning, Lord,
we marvel at it. We thank Thee for the parables
and this particular parable which magnifies Thy grace. O Lord,
why such grace to us? We would say with the Apostle,
I am what I am by the grace of God. We owe everything to thy
grace, O Lord, for the precious saviour we have. And we thank
thee here this morning, we who have faith. O Lord, we are clothed
in the best robe, his righteousness. O Lord, we thank thee for that.
How could we stand before thee? How could we come before thee?
O Lord, if we were not clothed, we thank thee for our Saviour
and what he has done. How he kept the law for us, that
we might have the title of eternal life. How he suffered the penalty
for the broken law for us, that we might have that legal security
from thine wrath. O, the Saviour we have. May we
rejoice in him this morning. May we admire the best robe.
For any without Christ, if it pleased Him, it would be put
on them, even this morning hour. O Lord, we do thank Thee for
Thy Word, O what we have read this morning of Thy Word. Help
us to be wise in our dealings, as we think of Abraham there,
how he wasn't wise. O Lord, help us to be wise and
do that which is right. O we consider there the consequences
Abraham brought on others. O Lord, help us to be circumspect,
to walk carefully, not only to consider the consequences for
ourselves, but as we think they're consequences for others that
could come upon them because of our unwise action. O Lord,
help us to be wise. Help us to walk worthy, O Lord. Help us to walk near to thy bed. O Lord, bless our walking this
week. Help us to so walk in a way that is befitting. Cause us to
know the way that we might walk there then. We thank thee for
thy words, O Lord, bless it, further this morning as we hear
from it. And other places represented
here, O Lord, we pray for them, we pray for thy servant in Trowbridge,
be with him today. for thy servant on the Isle of
Skye and other places in Scotland we can think of. We pray for
thy servant there as well. We will remember our fellowships,
Lord. We pray for the church in Salisbury. O Lord, bless thy
people there and thy servant there. We pray for his good recovery,
O Lord, from his treatment, O Lord. We pray for his wife Margaret
as well. Undertake in every way, sufficient
is thy grace. We pray for thy servant in Southampton,
in Tottenham, in Carbon, many other places we can think of.
We'll be with thy servants today. Encourage them and help them,
O Lord. We thank thee for the Sunday
school earlier. Bless, O Lord, that which was spoken by John
this morning. Bless the young ones, O Lord,
and those gathered here this morning. O Lord, bless the sons
and the daughters. We have seven of them this morning.
O bless them, we pray, O Lord, may they know thy hand upon them.
For the young people as well, we pray for them, undertake for
them in their employment and education. We do pray for those
returning to university this week. We commit Abigail and others
returning to the universities, go before them, bless them in
the fellowships they find themselves in, in this new year, we pray. So bless the young people, we
thank thee for them, lead them and guide them. O Lord, help
them in every situation, we pray. We do pray that thou bless us
all, O Lord, go before us, we beseech thee at this time. Those
who struggle, O Lord, we pray undertake for them. Those who
mourn the loss of loved ones, we pray for them. We do pray
again for those who mourn the loss of that loved one who was
shot down in America this past week. We pray for the family.
that they might know that peace today that comes from the Saviour
in their hearts. And we do pray for many in that
country, O Lord, we pray that many young people and older people
will turn to the Saviour, be drawn, O Lord. O Lord, these
are days in which there is much going on, O Lord. We do pray
for a turning back to the old paths, with values, the values
not that are laid down by certain men, but the values, the principles
of life on earth will be loved again. Oh Lord, we pray for these
things. We pray that there will be a
lifting up of the wonderful principles of blessing and marriage in our
countries again, O Lord. We pray. O, we pray for these
things. We pray for many young people.
Many are confused out in this world. O, may they be drawn,
we pray, to the Saviour. May hearts be opened We do pray
for those that mourn this particular day. Come alongside them and
help them, we pray. Lord bless us then, we pray for
the opportunity to rest them this afternoon. O Lord, we pray,
bless those in the eventide of their lives that love Thee. We
thank Thee in that place Thou hast Thine own. Be with them,
O Lord, encourage them. And as others listen on today,
may even join in, in the singing, we pray, oh Lord, that they would
remember as many were in Sunday school years ago, things that
they were taught. So Lord, hear us now. We pray
that thou would help us this week. Go before us, lead us and
guide us. Meet our every spiritual need
and our temple needs. We will pray this morning, give
us this day our daily bread, meet our every needs in a practical
way. We thank Thee for the way Thou
has blessed us over the past week in providing for us, homes
to live in, food to eat, clothing to wear. We give thanks for these
things. We recognise that ultimately
all that we have comes from Thee. We give Thee praise. O Lord,
hear us now then. We give our many sins, and have
all the glory, Lord. We lift up our praise as a thanksgiving,
and we thank Thee again for the unspeakable gift, the Lord Jesus
Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen. Let us turn to our third praise,
number 103, and we're going to sing from verse 8. The Lord our
God is merciful, and He is gracious, not suffering, and slow to wrath,
in mercy, plenteous. Notice verse 13, we're returning
this morning to consider the Prodigal Son. and we're led to consider the
grace, the favour of the Father, and we're led ultimately to consider
the amazing grace of our Heavenly Father. Verse 13. Such pity as
a father hath unto his children, dear, like pity shows the Lord
to such as worship him in fear. And in three of the prayers,
verses 8 to 13. The Lord our God is merciful
and He is gracious Longsuffering and toil to come,
in mercy plenteous. He will not shine continually,
nor keep his anger still. With us he fell, not as we seem,
no different quite are him. O'er the land of the free and
the home of the brave? The earth's abundant love, so
great to those that do Him fear. His tender mercies are, and stop at each distant drop. The blest of fath'ring From God's
green roof and in his love Hold our angel with thee Such pity and love Father had Unto his children dear My faith is sure, the Lord to
touch, and worship Him in fear. As John mentioned earlier, the
Midwich meeting will be a presentation by the lead, not by the lead,
TBS presentation on a video of William Tyndale and his anniversary. It's a very good presentation. There'll be no live stream this
coming Wednesday. Obviously, we can't put the camera
on the film. We pray for the rest of the Trinity
and Bible Society, particularly this coming week. The annual
general meeting is on Saturday. A number of us in the area will
be travelling up Do pray for that meeting at the Metropolitan
Tabernacle. We are encouraged as a committee
over the last year or so that more have been attending, particularly
young people and that's a great encouragement to see the support
of young people in different parts of the country. So do pray
for that meeting. Dr Bill Keyes next Saturday after
the business meeting he'll be preaching at the worship service. We're in light that I will be
away on Saturday. We have next Lord's Day. I will
be here, but I'm not preaching. Next Lord's Day is Pastor John
Saunders, the retired minister from Chichester. So we look forward
to his ministry next Lord's Day. And then on the Monday, if I
can just recommend the notice on the notice board. Dr. Bill
Keyes from the USA is staying on and we're very grateful to
him. Mr. Broome Sr., Mr. David Broome,
Daniel Slaven and myself on the committee were keen to have him
come and speak at the Wessex Auxiliary of the Trinity and
Bible Society and he agreed to do so. So the meeting is being
hosted in Emmanuel. I do commend that meeting to
you in the ministry of Dr. Jerry Bill Keyes. There's details
on the notice board. You do remember the work of the
Trinitarian Bible Society, what the Lord has done and what the
Lord is doing at this present time. Well we continue today
in our series on the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ and
if you recall last Thursday evening we began to look at the parable
of the prodigal son. And we're going to continue to
do so today. And then on the last day mornings, we'll continue
the series of the parables of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well,
just return with me this morning to Luke 15, and I'll read verse
20 and verse 21. Luke 15, verse 20 and verse 21. 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 unto him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son. Dear congregation, consider this
morning the greatness of God's amazing grace and love to poor
sinners. Now just consider God is infinitely
holy. There's no bounds to his holiness.
He hates sin. How amazing it is that he shows
great favour towards one who comes penitently unto him. He is angry with sin and he deals
in his justice. However, his love towards the
sinner in the time of love is most wonderful. And that's set
forth this morning in verse 20. And he arose and came to his
father. And when he was a great way off, his father saw him and
had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. Amazing
was the Father's love and grace and mercy here in the parable.
How wonderful is the heavenly Father's love, mercy, and grace. And you who love the Lord, it's
so amazing, isn't it? He came and he showed great favor
towards us. Well, this particular parable,
as I mentioned last time, sets forth and magnifies God's amazing
grace. Let me ask you, have you experienced
God's grace in an amazing way? Have you experienced His mercy? Have you known these things?
Now just consider here, the prodigal son, he was confronted with God,
with the grace of the Father and mercy. Have you been confronted? with God's grace and wonderful
mercy. Just notice verse 20, and he
arose and came to his father, and 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. There's the son, suddenly he
sees the father before him, and he's confronted with amazing
grace, love, and mercy. Have you been brought to that
place where you've suddenly seen How amazing is the grace of God. Last week we began to look at
this parable. If you recall, just by way of
introduction, the Lord was responding to the Pharisees and the scribes. You notice that in verse 2. Our
Lord, he drew near unto publicans and sinners, in verse 1. But
the Pharisees and the scribes, they were not happy, they murmured.
What did they say? This man receiveth sinners and
eateth with them. And they murmured in saying that,
I have no complaints of you, the Lord came to me. But the
Pharisees and the scribes, they were not happy. Why should these
publicans and sinners, these sinners which were known for
notorious things, why should they know the blessing? of the
presence of the Lord. When the Lord in light of that
responds with three parables. And it's important to remember
that because that helps us to understand these three parables. And so when you come to the first
parable and you consider the one compared to the 99, the 99
represent the Pharisees and the scribes. Yes, they were very
good at attending the place of worship. but all they can see
themselves in great need so you go on to the next parable and
likewise in this parable we're considering at the moment the
parable of the prodigal son or the lost son we are considering
our lord responding to the pharisees and the scribes now just notice
verse 31 Son, thou art ever with me in all that I have is thine.
The elder brother. Well, the Pharisees and the scribes,
they were always going. They knew the presence of the
Lord. They had certain privileges, but oh, they were not humbled
by grace. So it's good to remember the
background here. The Lord is responding to the Pharisees and
the scribes. He's seeking to humble them through
these parables. We come again this morning to
the parable of the prodigal son. God's amazing grace is set forth
in this parable. Last week we considered the evening,
the sinful desire first of all, secondly the sinful step, thirdly
the sinful life and then fourthly the sin of the turning point.
coming to me to verse 17, and when he came to himself, here's
the turning point, in the life of this prodigal son, he had
known certain blessings, and we can think of those who have
known certain blessings, they may have been brought up in a
godly home, or they may have attended church for a while and
heard the ministry of the word, but then there comes a time,
no more. But oh, we come now to consider
the turning point, Now, if we think of the parable, remember,
as I mentioned last week, we need to be careful with the parables.
We're looking at the overall theme. Some go too far. I illustrated this last time
by considering the Good Samaritan. Two coins. Some have thought
that each coin represents a thousand years, and that after two thousand
years, the Lord would return. There have been some that have
taken it too far. Well, we know that wasn't right.
Very plain. So we need to be very careful
with the parables. What is the overall thing the
Lord is speaking to us about? Well, in verse 20, it's about
God's amazing grace. Such mercy to poor sinners. Well, we come to consider these
things this morning and I'd like you to think of two things, time
permitting. First of all, true gospel repentance. true gospel repentance, and then
secondly, amazing grace and wonderful love. True gospel repentance,
first of all, we have it set forth in the parable, and then
secondly, amazing grace and wonderful love. We'll come and meet in
verse 17. When he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants
of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with
hunger? I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto
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 he arose and came to his
father, but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him in
that compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him, and
the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven
and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son. I've just mentioned he came to
himself, the prodigal son, he came to himself. But what do
we learn here? That one is brought to a point,
the Holy Spirit is at work in what we call effectual When the
Lord is saving in effectual calling, the Holy Spirit is so at work. And here is one represented of
being convicted of sin. And the Lord Jesus Christ, 7th
John, 16, verse 8, speaking of the Holy Spirit, and when He
has come, He will reprove the world of sin. Particularly that
will be known. And you can think of the day
of Pentecost. They were pricked in their heart. The Holy Spirit
was working within. We notice what the prodigal son
experiences in verse 17, and when he came to himself, and
then he considers further in verse 17, and then in verse 18,
I will arise and go to my father and will say unto him, Father,
I have sinned against heaven. He had gone off. He lived his
life. He gazed in immoral things. Notice
that in verse 13, he devoured his father's inheritance with
violence. Oh, what an immoral lie! More
than his reasoning here, he shows he's done wrong. Oh, we consider
the Holy Spirit comes to a poor sinner and conveys what is felt,
led to fill their self. Oh, what a state he was in. But
then he comes to himself. Oh, what the Lord does. Let me
ask you, have you come to yourself? The Lord's Spirit said, when
it's besides themselves, they do not think right, do they?
In light of God, truly. Oh, have you come to yourself? Now we see here the prodigal
son. He has a true sense of his sin, and he grieves over it. Notice what he purposes to say
in verse 18, 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
pious servants. And when he comes in verse 21,
Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and
am no more worthy to be called thy son. He fills his sin. that he sinned against the Lord. Do you see that there? In true
Gospel repentance, one fills their sin, they're humbled by
grace, we'll consider this in a moment, and they know that
they have sinned against the Lord. Notice verse 18, I will
arise and go to my father and will say unto him, I will arise
and go in true gospel repentance. One, they fill their sin and
they turn from it unto the Lord and they're mindful of mercy. They were helped again in the
catechism. Repentance unto life is a saving grace whereby a sinner
out of a true sense of his sin an apprehension or understanding
of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of
his sin, turn from it unto God with full purpose of an endeavour
after new obedience. There's a turning. The Holy Spirit
is at work, and one grieves, they mourn, and they turn to
the Lord, having an understanding of the mercy that is seen and
in through the Lord Jesus Christ. Now men by nature do not truly
repent. God leads. Now tell with me to
Acts 11 verse 18. And when they heard these things,
they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then have God also
to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. You see it there?
Granted. It's a gift, isn't it? Left to
ourselves, yes. We may have what we call legal
convictions. But we must not truly repent,
we give God the glory. And if we think of repentance,
God's grace is magnified. They glorified God in Acts 11,
that God also to the Gentiles had granted repentance unto life. It's all of grace, my friend.
Yes, we see here the prodigal son, the prodigal son-in-law
going to the father, repenting. But it's the goodness of the
Lord, isn't it? How the Lord often uses His word. We see that in Acts 2. They were
pricked in their heart after the preaching of the word. The
Holy Spirit was at work. And faith is put within. For one is found turning to the
Lord, looking to Him. The Holy Spirit is at work. Let me ask you, have you truly
repented of your sin? What do we read in Romans 2,
verse 4? or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance
and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth
thee to repentance." Have you repented? Have you turned to
the Lord? Are you recognizing that the
goodness of the Lord leadeth thee to repentance? Now there is a true sense of
sin, but also an understanding of the mercy of God in Christ. Think of the prodigal son. He
fills his sermon, but it doesn't end there, does it? He's led,
he goes to the Father. There's a true sense of sermon.
One's been humbled. Have you been humbled? Oh, what
grace does. We see that in the ministry of
John the Baptist, in his ministry. The hills will be brought low.
Pride is brought down. One is humbled by grace. Oh, have you this true sense
of self? Have you been humbled? That is
what he says in verse 19. I am no more worthy to be called
thy son. Make me as one of thy hired servants. He doesn't feel himself worthy,
does he? He's been humbled. Now, if we consider what the
parable is teaching, what does the parable teach there? That in effect, Rukuni, one is humbled
by grace. Have you been humbled by grace? I felled the Lord. I sinned against
the Lord. This is what we read in his confession
in verse 21. Father, I have sinned against
heaven. and in thy sight, and no more
worthy to be called thy son, on seas that they have sinned
against God, yes, they felled others in certain ways, Remember
David, he felled Bathsheba, he felled Uriah, and so on and so
forth, but against thee the only have I sinned, he says in Psalm
51 and verse 4, and done this evil in thy sight. One recognizes
above anything else they've sinned against God, it's his law they
have broken. Sinned in the sight of God. Now
God is watching. He knows everything. Have you
repented of your sin? Have you recognized that you
have sinned against God? You've broken His law. You've
disobeyed Him. Against Thee, Thee only have
I sinned. Psalm 451 verse 4. I've done
this evil in Thy sight. See there, the humility. Now
that's a believer speaking there. This is the one who's been drawn
in effectual calling. They know they've sinned against
God. Do you know that? Listen to Spurgeon. The virus
of sin lies in its opposition to God. One recognizes that. I've sinned against God. I've broken his law. I've done wrong. I'm guilty.
Now it's more what we call legal repentance. This is important
to understand. In gospel repentance, one turns
from sin unto the Lord and they find mercy. In legal repentance,
one may feel they've done wrong and have a dread of punishment,
but they do not truly turn to the Lord. Let me illustrate this.
There are many in prison and a number of them feel they've
done wrong. and they ought to be in prison. One can feel they've
done wrong. I remember for a while as a child,
I felt I did wrong, but I never turned to the Lord for mercy.
There's legal repentance, legal conviction, but in gospel repentance,
one fills their sin and they turn to the Lord. We see that
here, do we not? He came to himself in verse 17,
He's convicted, he's humbled by grace, we could say, and he
goes, he's drawn. There's a turning, have you turned
to the Lord? The one who turns to the Lord
recognizes that God is not only a holy God, but he is a God of
great mercy, and the only hope for them is in him. Have you turned to the Lord? and through this understanding
of the mercy of God in Christ. Now if we think of this, we think
of repentance, faith must be put within. For if one is to
turn to the Lord, there must be faith. Now this is illustrated
in Zechariah chapter 12. They will look and mourn, thinking
of the Jews there. Faith is put within, and one
is found repenting of their sins. One looks, one considers. Have
you looked? Have you considered? Have you
truly repented of your sin? Here's gospel repentance here
this morning. Now consider the apoplicant in
the temple. He couldn't lift up his head,
could he? Because he so felt his sin He beat his breast, he
knew the problem, his own wicked heart, yet he cried out, God
be merciful to me, a sinner. He feels his sin, but it doesn't
stop there. He cries out, God be merciful
to me, a sinner. If you turn to the Lord, he is
the prodigal son. He turns to the Father. Oh what
a blessing! We thought of those words earlier,
the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. Have you been
led to truly repent of your sin? Have you mourned over it? Is
there now a hatred of your sin and you feel you've done wrong?
Why do I do those things which I hate and God hates? Have you hated your sin? Listen
to the testimony of the Apostle Paul in Romans 7 verse 15. For that which I do, I allow
not. For what I would that do I not.
But what I hate that I do. He's a believer speaking there.
Dear child of God, you do hate your sin. At times you constrain. But when the Lord convicts, oh,
why have I done that? That which I hate. For one who's
been drawn to the Lord in effectual calling, they mourn over their
sin. They turn to the Lord for mercy,
recognizing there is mercy in Christ with a grief and hatred
of their sin. There's a grief. I've done wrong. But consider
there's a turning from sin unto God. One is humble. and they come humbly. We see
that, don't we? Look at verse 18. I will arise
and go to my father and will say unto 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 highest
servants. There is humility. And he arose
and came to his father. He came. He came humbly. Have you come humbly to the Lord?
Have you turned to him? What do we read in Jeremiah 31
verse 18? Turn thou me, and I shall be
turned, for thou art the Lord my God. Turn thou me, as Jeremiah
his humble, turn thou me, as God turned you to himself. I shall be turned when God does
away, when God turns One is turned to the Lord. Has God worked in
your heart? Have you been convicted of your
sin? Have you been humbled? Has faith been put within? Have
you been turned to a holy God? That's amazing, isn't it? We're
sinners, we've broken God's law, but in God's amazing grace, one
is turned to Him. Have you been turned to a holy
God? Have you been confronted with
grace, mercy, and love in a wonderful way? turned unto God, that's
gospel repentance. There are those who feel they've
done wrong but they haven't been turned unto a holy God. How amazing is the grace of God
in gospel repentance. Well before we just focus more
on the grace of God this morning, finally at this point through
gospel repentance, there is a four-person endeavour after new obedience. Here's the prodigal son. He's
in the pig field. But up from the pig field he
goes. And he goes to the father. I
would arise and go to my father. Make me as one of thy hired servants. He's willing to serve. He doesn't
feel himself worthy. But he doesn't want to continue
in the pig field or in that far country, no. For there's a full
purpose, an endeavour. Psalm 119 verse 59, I fought
on my ways and turned my feet unto thy testaments. Have you?
Have you fought on your ways? Think of the Ten Commandments,
the first one. Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. What's implied? One is to worship
the Lord and glorify him alone and in doing so they must believe
that he is. Therefore we consider it a sin
of unbelief. Have you fought on your ways? If you're without
Christ, you've been committing that sin of unbelief. Not believing. I fought on my ways and turned
my feet unto thy testaments. There's a turning. I want now
to follow the Lord. There's a full purpose and endeavour. True repentance isn't a casual
thing. Something why I believe in the
Lord, but I think about certain areas in my life. It's not a
casual thing. When one truly is convicted of
their sin and sees their sin for what it is, that they've
sinned against God, now through the grace of God, they want to
please Him. They want to live for Him. They
want to do that which is right, as true as it is. Yes, we know
as believers, we fell Him. When we're convicted, we mourn
over what we've done and we seek fatherly forgiveness now and
we seek to so follow him. When one is brought in in that
initial way, they're not casual. I want to so follow the Lord. Remember those words in John
14 verse 15, the words of Jesus, if you love me, keep my commandments. And the one who truly repents,
they want to keep the commandments. We know our failings, but out
of love to Jesus, we want to keep the commandments. There's
a desire to do that which is right. There's a desire to please
God. We hear the prodigal son in repentance. He comes up from the pig field.
have you come up from the pig field what a place it was what
a far country it was as well what a moral living oh that many
would be brought up from the pig field in gospel repentance
now the true believer knows gospel repentance now if we consider
repentance it's not a one-off thing It is, as James Fisher
puts it, an abiding principle. Now let me be clear. When one
has faith, they are saved because of the righteousness of Christ.
And evidence is repentance. If there's no repentance, there's
no faith. Repentance is an evidence. One
is saved, but not made perfect. And so the believer needs to
repent. They're saved, they've no gospel
repentance, but they need to repent. That's true, isn't it?
And I used to be confused as a child. When I came to faith,
I believed in the Lord and I repented of my sins. But I was confused. Am I not saved now because I
need to repent again? Because I fell in the Lord, because
I'm not perfect. And the devil used to use that
in my mind. But what is saved has been what
we call judicial forgiveness. God as a judge forgives all one's
sins. They're justified. But what isn't
made perfect? And so the believer needs to
seek fatherly forgiveness. It's an abiding principle. Once
an evidence that you've truly repented, you keep going to the
Father, repenting of your sin. And how often should we be doing
that? Remember what the Lord taught in that pattern prayer?
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts or sins,
as we forgive those that debt, our indebted, those who trespass
against us. Give us this day our daily bread. We've never lived a day when
we've been perfect, have we? Now we need to seek that forgiveness.
It's an abiding principle, isn't it? The evidence that one truly
is saved is they believed and they repented. The evidence that
one truly has repented is they know what it is to go and say
sorry, to turn to the Father, the Heavenly Father. It's an
abiding principle. It is, as James Fisher goes on
to write, the permanent grace and habitual frame of mind till,
and then he quotes scripture, God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. And what a wiping that will be.
We often think of all the tears of sorrow, what a blessing that
will be when those tears are wiped away at death. And then
for the church as a whole on a great day, but also we think
God wipes away the tears of repentance. It's an abiding principle. You
know, after death, we will never shed a tear if we have faith
in Christ. no tear of sorrow, no tear of
repentance. But till then, the true believer
will know what it is to repent. It's an abiding principle. Is
there the evidence in your life that you've been led to repentance?
Because you know what it is to keep going to the Heavenly Father
now and seeking forgiveness. Well, let's now just focus as
we draw to our second point and to a close on God's amazing grace
and wonderful love. Consider the prodigal son. He
goes to the father. What do we read in verse 20?
These are amazing words. 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. The
prodigal son is going, but oh, the father comes. He saw the
far off. He had compassion. He ran and
fell on his neck and kissed him. This is amazing. Here's the prodigal
son. He feels his sin, but now the father's there. And the father
embraces him and kisses him. What are we taught here? God's
amazing grace, wonderful love and mercy towards a poor sinner. Just notice his favor here particularly. What do we read in verse 20?
His father saw him a great way of his father saw him. That's
amazing, isn't it? And had compassion. He saw his
son, his wayward son. And yet he has such favor. The
Son is making His way, but the Father already has such favour
in His heart. And He comes, and look, there's
words, and ran. What did we sing earlier? The Lord is long-suffering and
ready to forgive. He ran. It shows that He is there. He's ready to forgive. Oh, how amazing is the grace
of God. The sinner is confronted with the grace of God and the
amazing mercy of the Lord. And read it again. He ran and
fell on his neck and kissed him. What mercy! Think of the prodigal
son. He's dressed in rags. What a sight! He's dressed in
rags. He's covered in the mud from
the pig film. And yet the father, he runs and
he embraces him. What mercy! what mercy showed
to me. He saw my sin, and it wasn't
a pleasant sight. The prodigal son knew it wasn't
a pleasant sight. And in gospel repentance, one
knows their sin is not a pleasant sight. But oh, what mercy, and
it's amazing, isn't it? Dressed in rags, but embraced
in the Father's love, What love, what amazing love for mercy.
Ephesians 2 verse 4, but God who is rich in mercy for his
great love wherewith he loved us. Rich in mercy, that's God. The prodigal son clothed in filthy
rags and the sinner clothed in the rags of sin. How amazing
is the mercy, it's rich. We see that in the parable don't
we? He came, he ran, and he fell
on his neck and kissed him. Oh, he came to me. He took hold of me. Remember
the parable of the good Samaritan? He came where he was and saw
him and had compassion on him. What did he see? That man left
half dead. What a sight it was. Oh, what
a sight, we can hardly take it in. God's coming to a sinner,
a holy God. Has a holy God come to you? As
we see in verse 20, if he has, oh, be amazed at the richness
of his mercy and his grace. He took hold of me, just see
that here in verse 20, fell on his neck and kissed him. How
amazing that God should show in a special way embrace and
love a poor sinner. It's amazing isn't it, what we
see here. What do we read in Matthew 7
verse 18? Who is a God like unto thee,
that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever,
because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have
compassion on us, he will subdue our iniquities, and thou wilt
cast all thy sins into the depths, of the sea. There was a great
distance here, but all what grace, mercy and love now stood before
the Prodigal Son. The Father delighted in mercy.
God delights in mercy. He comes as He can. It's amazing, isn't it? Who is a God like unto Thee? The pardon from iniquity. That's
amazing, isn't it? He pardons one's sins. He delights
in mercy. What mercy the father here in
the parable delighted in as he came and he ran and he fell on
the neck of the son and kissed him. What mercy! And he delighted
to do it. That's amazing, isn't it? God
delighted in showing mercy to me. I offended him, I broke his
law, yet he delighted in showing mercy. What a great God. How amazing, holy love, holy
grace, shown to a poor sinner. Now just come with me to verse
21. Here's the confession, Father, I have sinned against heaven
and in thy sight and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
He's speaking, he's speaking words of repentance, but he's
already been shown grace. Love, do you see that in the
parable? It's all of grace, the goodness of the Lord. The Lord
delights in mercy. But that's not all. It doesn't
end there, does it? We see grace in verse 20. We
see grace in verse 21 because it's the goodness of the Lord
that leads one to repentance. And then we see more grace in
verse 22. The Father said to his servants,
bring forth the best robe. Just follow this through. The
Father comes. He falls on his neck. He kisses
him. What grace! There's words of
repentance. There's only grace there in the
heart of the Father. And with grace in his mind, he
says in verse 22, Children, just think of it. The prodigal son
is in wrath. He's been in the pig field, but
now he's brought up from the pig field. Let's think about this. Here's
one. They know they've failed God.
They've sinned against God. They grieve over their sin. They
know their sin is such a stain on them. But they're confronted
with grace. Lord, the best robe is brought
up from the pit field and now the son has the best robe put
on him. The vest robe, what is it? We'll
turn with me to Isaiah 61, verse 10. I will greatly rejoice in
the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my goal, for he hath clothed
me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness, as a bride will decketh himself with ornaments,
and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. You see, the
Word of God is its own commentary, isn't it? He hath covered me
with the robe of righteousness. Upon the event of faith, the righteousness of Christ is
put to an end. Now we need to remember the parable,
that's important. We mustn't take things to such
a point we get the order wrong. You understand that? There's
the order of redemption, the order of salvation. But what
we see here is God's amazing grace bring forth the best role. You were not wearing it before.
Bring it forth. And what do we read in verse
22? Put it on him. That's grace, isn't it? He came
in his rag. He came with the smell from the
pig field. But the Father embraced him.
He took hold of him. Bring forth the vessel. Put it
on him. And upon the event of faith,
because of God's amazing grace, the best robe is put on a poor
sinner. Let me ask you this morning,
in the sight of God, are you sat here this morning dressed
in the rags of sin? Or are you clothed in the righteousness
of Christ? If you're clothed, admire the
grace of God. Bring forth the best robe. There's no other robe, the best
robe, put it on him. The prodigal son, he had nothing
in his hand, nothing to purchase it. It was brought and put on
him. He hath covered me, Isaiah 61
and verse 10. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness. He hath covered me. That's amazing,
isn't it? That's grace. What do we read
in Jeremiah 23 verse 6? The Lord our righteousness. The righteousness of Christ.
What he did in order to satisfy divine law and divine justice. He kept the law perfectly and
he suffered the penalty. He went all the way to the cross.
We can think of his righteousness, what he had to do and his obedience. It's the best robe. He stands
as the substitute here upon earth. And in effectual calling, when
faith is put within because one is justified by faith, the best
rule is brought and put. As the great God of heaven brought
forth the best rule and put it on you. How amazing is God's
grace. Clothed, now just think of it,
God hates sin. Yet he comes. and he puts the
best robe on. That's amazing, isn't it? Clothed
in the righteousness of Christ. All is well. What a blessing. But that's not all, is it? Notice
verse 22. Put it on him and put a ring
on his hand. Years ago, particularly rich
people, wore rings, the poor people didn't wear rings so much.
It's changed a little, hasn't it? You don't have to be so rich
to have a ring, do you? But we're told that rich people
years ago particularly wore rings. How rich the believers, are you
rich here this morning? If you have God, you're rich.
If you've known of God's amazing grace, you're rich. If you have
Christ, you're rich. Oh, what a blessing, Christ is
the heir. Oh, are you a joint heir with
Christ as the Apostle Paul makes plain? If you are, you're rich.
The ring, you're rich now. Before there was some poverty,
but you're rich. What a blessing. There have been
those who have not much in this world, but they count themselves
rich. Because they have the Lord, they
have the Saviour. Rich! The ring! Are you rich
this morning? Rich in the Lord? Have you an
inheritance awaiting you? What a wonderful inheritance
it is that awaits the believer. Are you rich this morning? Rich
because of the grace of God. But that's not all. Think of
a ring. Some of you are wearing wedding
rings here. It's a sign of marriage, isn't
it? But it's a sign of love. What do we read here? Put a ring
on his hand. It's so confirmed here, isn't
it, in verse 20. We're confronted with the love
of God in a special way, verse 20. It's brought home even more
in verse 22. Put a ring on his hand. You're
rich, my son. You're so loved, my son. Does
the Lord say that to you this morning? You're rich, you have
me, you have a wonderful inheritance, and my love towards thee is so
special. Sometimes I see people looking
at their rings. Perhaps a looking bird needs
a bit of a clean, but often they're thinking, oh, that person loves
me. Can you say that of the Father?
He loves me in a special way. A token is put on his hand. Now in verse 20, the son is confronted
with the amazing love of the father, but then he has to reign.
Oh, what love! And the Lord comes to remind
us of his amazing love. Token of his love. Are you aware
of the love of God this morning? It's so amazing, isn't it? Think
of the prodigal son. He'd been off in a far country,
living his life in such a terrible way. He ended up in the pig field,
but he comes up from the pig field. He's humbled, but now
he wears the best robe. He has a ring on his finger. He's so loved. Are you amazed
this morning you're so loved? How could God love a sinner like
me? How wonderful is this love? You know, there's not so much
preaching in some churches on sin. And do you know what that
leads to? A belittling of the amazing grace
of God and love. That's where it leads to. The
son, he feels his sin. I'm wearing a ring now. I'm wearing
the best robe. How can I be so loved by God? What amazing love, amazing grace. You who love the Lord, you're
wearing the best robe this morning. That's grace, isn't it? The righteousness
of Christ. God looks on you clothed this
morning. And you're wearing a ring. You're
rich. You're an object of great love,
but then there's more, isn't there? Verse 22, shoes on his
feet, a robe of righteousness, a ring on his hand, finger, and
shoes on his feet. There's a new walk now for him.
And as we think of this, what is the parable teaching? There's
a new walk in light of the gospel. Shoes on his feet. And here the
prodigal son, oh there's a new walk for me now. I'm not in the
far-off country engaging in such immoral behaviour. I'm not in
the pig field. I've been brought up from the
pig field. I've been blessed by the Father
and I have shoes now. There's a new walk. Oh, the poor
sinner is brought to that place and they have this new walk now,
a walk in Christ as we read in Colossians 2 verse 6. There's
a new path now, a new way. There's shoes. Have you shoes
on your feet? You're walking in a new way now.
You're able to walk that way. You think, children, it's not
easy to walk in a place barefoot, is it? Where there's a lot of
shingle. I remember my parents used to take us to a certain
beach called Kelsholt. It was near. There was no sand
hardly. Why couldn't they take us to
a beach where there was sand? And I remember we used to have
to walk over the shingle and the pebbles to get into the water
for a little swim. Not easy to walk, is it? But
over here, the Prodigal, he has shoes for walking. There's a new walk and there's
a system. A new path is before him, a new way. What do we read
in 2 Columbians 5 verse 17? Therefore if any man be in Christ
he is a new creature. Old things are passed away before
old things are become new. He's a new creature. Old things
are passed away. He's not living in the way he
used to. Yes, he's bapting the sinner.
but he's not living in the way he used to. There's a new way,
and he's assisted in that new way. Oh, how amazing is the grace
of God. Just notice the first 23 times,
God brings him at the fattened cow, and kill it, and let us
eat, and be merry. There's rejoicing. Let's go back to the first parable,
verse six. And when he cometh home, he calleth
together his friends and his neighbors, saying unto them,
rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost. There's
joy. Let me tell you, there's joy
in heaven. We see it here, there's rejoicing. Verse 24, for this, my son was
dead, and was alive again. He was lost and is found, and
they began to be merry. There's rejoicing. Let me say,
has God rejoiced? Over you! God is angry with sinners. God is angry with the wicked
every day. Psalm 10. Psalm 7. Has he rejoiced over
you? You've broken his law. You are
guilty. And without Christ you are guilty. Has he rejoiced? This is amazing. What makes him
rejoice? It's his amazing grace, isn't
it? God, a holy God, rejoicing over me? How can it be? Amazing grace, a wonderful Savior,
and such special love. Up from the pig field, He's confronted
with favour, love and mercy. And a poor sinner who comes from
the pig field of bondage and sin is confronted with grace,
love and mercy. They're clothed in the righteousness
of Christ. They're comforted through love
and they have a new walk now. And they can't take it in. God's
rejoiced over me now. Has he rejoiced over you? We're
told in Micah 7, he delighted in mercy. Has he over you? If he has, you walk on. Remember the assistance to walk
on that new pathway. Walk on with him. Amen. O gracious God, we come to Thee.
How could Thou ever rejoice over a poor sinner? And we who love
Thee here this morning, we say, how could Thou ever rejoice over
us? Yet there's been rejoicing in
heaven over sinners repentant. O, we thank Thee for Thy amazing
grace, love and mercy. We who live here this morning,
we were confronted with it. We thank Thee for the best robe,
what a wonderful robe. We think what Christ has done,
what a blessing to wear the robe and have the ring on our fingers. Oh Lord, what a blessing to rejoice
in Christ today. Oh Heavenly Father, Thou hast
done it so often. In light of the parable, what
we're taught there, O may it be today that thou wouldst bring
forth the best robe and it's put on our poor sinner in thy
gracious hand. O we thank thee for the parables,
what were taught in the parables. We know them often, we have heard
them. O may we think on them. May we
know the blessing of sitting clothed in the righteousness
of Christ with a ring on our finger. O hear us now, for Christ's
sake. Amen. Amen. Let's conclude by turning to
number 32, verses 1 to 5. And the tune is St. Thomas, number
32, verses 1 to 5. And the tune is St. Thomas, O
blessed is the man to whom is freely pardoned and all the transgressions
he hath done, whose sin is covered. That's forgiveness. Blessed is
the man to whom the Lord imputed not his sin, and in whose spirit
there is no guile nor fraud is found within. Blessed is the man to whom his
dreaming father led. All the transgressions He hath
done, To sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the
Lord imputes and not his sin. And if it is, there is no God,
nor fraud is found therein. When as I did refrain my speech,
and silent was my tongue, My birds and my gentle beavers,
I roared all day long. Forever we both day and night,
by hand in every life, so that my voice shall tell it, within
someone's lap behind. I never thought that I'd have
to leave my safe and lonely chest, And likewise mine iniquity I
have no reference. I will confess unto the Lord
my trespasses today. And all my sin hath redeemed,
for Him iniquity. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be
with you all. Amen.
Prodigal son
Series The parables of Jesus
| Sermon ID | 9272581946754 |
| Duration | 1:23:39 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday - PM |
| Bible Text | Luke 15:11 |
| Language | English |
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